Absinthe?! [Archive]

Divinus Arma

02-01-2006, 04:49

Yes, Absinthe. The "green fairy" is a very mysterious drink to we uncultured Americans and 'tis surrounded by myth & disinformation.

Please. Enlighten me. Have any of you tried absinthe? What are the effects? What's all the stink about it?

I have researched a little online, but I thought I would see if any of you have experience with this interesting drink.

As some of you may know, it is prohibited to buy or sell Absinthe in the U.S. and is restricted from importation. We may give it, possess it, recieve it and it is not a controlled substance like marijuana or cocaine.

Thanks!:balloon2:

Byzantine Prince

02-01-2006, 05:01

It can make you hallucinate, but usally it makes you want to touch yourself, with a tingly sensation. Oh and it is green. :book:

Just A Girl

02-01-2006, 05:04

yeah It Is strong,
And many of the myths you have heard Probably arent myths.

It has been linked to insanity,
And its one of the Old Faves for the "Watch this" Tricks.
involving tea spoons sugar, absynth a lighter and a drink of your choice.
Followed by some 1 Totaly smashed out of there face.

Its been rumoured that One famous person who lived years ago,
was a big fan of this drink.
And as a result he choped his ear off.
This is probably 1 of the myths you are talking about having heard,

It also has been banned on a number of occcasions from a number of countrys.
I think this would also have been determined to be a myth, When it does have some creedance.

Any way.
Im a 8 year + scotch man..
and i dont realy relish the thought of potential madness due to drinking that stuff :)

Although i beleve that its not going to do much harm in moderation 1ce a year or something :)

:bow:

Strike For The South

02-01-2006, 05:18

Why is all the good stuff illegal. So a few million people will get hooked and the crime rate will expontaly increase. I say we become more like the Dutch and put seeing blue rabbits and 12 breasted women aove the fabric of socitey! :2thumbsup:

I still want my guns and my jesus

Major Robert Dump

02-01-2006, 05:22

Heard a lot about it, from what I can tell it seems its just something else to make hypocritically illegal while alcohol, tobacco and fried foods are legal.

Just A Girl

02-01-2006, 05:28

absynth is alcohol.
But its Weird.
it will Mess you up....
Its been accosiated With Many of the exenrics of the past,
Vangough for is 1 i can name of the top of my head.

Its not actualy illigal here in wales.
And as such I know that the stuff is prety strong compared to other spirits i could name,

Personaly I rather get drunk on some good scotch.
But even the most Hardend drinkers i know, dont drink absinthe,
But thats quite possibly becous its so expensive,
And if they dont get there 12 cans of special brew per day. theyl get cold turkey.

Honestly though.
There are reasons why its illigal.
You DEFINATLY would not want underage kids to get ahold of this stuff.
It realy isnt your regular drink.

Major Robert Dump

02-01-2006, 05:35

Underage kids drink alcohol, do drugs and use tobacco, they watch porn, they sneak into R rated movies and they drive without a license. I can't justify not having something legal and mainstream because it might "hurt the children."

I realize it has some whack effects, and laws would have to be in place to keep people from driving, working etc while under its influence, as well as a way to test people for it, but this is just a pipe dream it will never happen.

Divinus you will have to go overseas if you ever want to do it. If I get there first I will smuggle some back in my rectum

Divinus Arma

02-01-2006, 05:43

Absinthe is legal to buy and purchase through most of the EU, unless specific member countries have adopted stricter laws. It is legal throughout Britain and France to name a few.

Empirical studies were undertaken by EU authorities and it has already been proven that absinthe does NOT lead to insanity or uncontrollable behavior. The myths and disinformation regarding this alcoholic beverage have clearly been debunked.

I would ask that this discussion not spiral into base mockery. I am genuinely curious and I would like real information rather than tom-foolery. Please.

I know that the Org is comprised of many of our European friends and it is you who I am asking for information.

I understand this is an unusual and curious topic. The first few topics clearly demonstrate the level of respect that the myths of absinthe have perpetrated. Yes, it is an unknown. It is kind of silly and weird. I am still curious, nonetheless.

:bow:

Gawain of Orkeny

02-01-2006, 05:45

. Absinthe

At first I was like what the hell.
Then the name clicked. Guess where I know it from. Thats right the Marines. When I was stationed in Japan we would always take a new guy out on his first night there and get him tanked on this stuff. It was aged in wormwood. I believe it was 180 proof as well . Man that stuff would mess you up. One guy at my house went in the bathroom to puke but was so wasted he smashed his head open on the bowl. We had to rush him to a hospital. Good thing the base was close by. Thats was in Iwakuni in case anyones interested.

Divinus Arma

02-01-2006, 05:59

At first I was like what the hell.
Then the name clicked. Guess where I know it from. Thats right the Marines. When I was stationed in Japan we would always take a new guy out on his first night there and get him tanked on this stuff. It was aged in wormwood. I believe it was 180 proof as well . Man that stuff would mess you up. One guy at my house went in the bathroom to puke but was so wasted he smashed his head open on the bowl. We had to rush him to a hospital. Good thing the base was close by. Thats was in Iwakuni in case anyones interested.

Nice to hear from you Gawain. :balloon2:

I would guess that your frineds were sick from drinking excessive amounts of 180 proof alcohol, rather than from the wormwood in the drink.

I had anopther Marine tell me today that his buddys drank it in Okinawa. He never tried it so he could not speak on the effects.

Seamus Fermanagh

02-01-2006, 06:04

A pal of mine in college created a drink named the Death Shooter.

50/50 mix of Bacardi 151 and Pernod 130.

He always claimed it would have been even better with Absinthe replacing the 130.

I had one, once, thought it ghastly and went back to my Jamesons.

A pair from that same drinking crowd introduced the drink in Erlingen (sp?) Germany a little while thereafter, where I heard it developed a following -- though that may be apocryphal.

Slainte!

Divinus Arma

02-01-2006, 06:11

I understand Pernod 130 to be a weak representation of Absinthe and not at all the real thing. It seems that Pernod 130 is primarily a market cork where no real product exists, kind of like the fake marijuana (http://www.cannabisculture.com/articles/1526.html)advertised in "high times" magazine.

Just A Girl

02-01-2006, 06:12

Hey can you guys explain what Proof means?

I mean We drink spirits here.
On the bottle it says 45% Vol

That means its 45% alcohol.
an avarage beer is 5% vol

Explain to me how 181 Proof is a more logical and understandable decription.

Proletariat

02-01-2006, 06:16

Well, you can get Absente here in the US, which is the same thing sans the wormwood (the hallucinogenic stuff). I tried because I was curious about it after reading For Whom the Bell Tolls and it was truly disgusting. Tastes like licorice, but sweeter and really syrupy. Must be an aniseed drink, I guess.

Proletariat

02-01-2006, 06:18

This system dates to the 18th century, and perhaps earlier, when spirits were graded with gunpowder: a solution of water and alcohol "proved" itself when it could be poured on a pinch of gunpowder and still ignite the wet powder. If it didn't ignite, the solution had too much water in it and the proof was considered low. This process led to the nickname firewater, coined by Native Americans.

A "proven" solution was defined as 100 degrees proof (100°). This has since been found to occur at 57.15% ethanol. This is still used as the British definition. A simpler ratio to remember is 7:4 - 70° proof is 40% alcohol by volume.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alcoholic_proof

Just a silly tradition, like pounds instead of kilos.

Just A Girl

02-01-2006, 06:30

well that means That the 180 proof Absynth previously mentioned, should have killed the person drinking it as it would have been near enough 100% alcohol.

Just A Girl

02-01-2006, 06:34

Oh and here in pritain we go By % of volume.... Not degrees proof...

that wikipeda Shure is a starnge thing to use to demonstarte fact.

QwertyMIDX

02-01-2006, 06:34

It has Thujone (the active ingredient in wormwood) in it which has hallucinogenic properties and also acts as a stimulant; the alcohol is almost an afterthought. The exact nature of Thujone is only vaugly understood though, it shares many chemical properties with THC (the active ingredient in weed). Absinthe itself is a distilled alcohol to which numerous herbal indigents are added too; extract from the leaves of the artemesia absinthium (wormwood plant) being the most important. It is traditionally made from a base of grape alcohol, although various other bases, especially grain and beet alcohol have been used by brands trying to produce cheaper products.

You can buy Absinthe in Quebec, but it’s hard to find anything other than the French variety which doesn’t have enough Thujone to have hallucinogenic effects. Absinthe from eastern Europe tends to have more. In an interesting side note, vermouth used to be made using the wormwood plant as well, it takes it's name from the german word for the wormwood plant, wermut.

Gawain of Orkeny

02-01-2006, 06:37

InsaneApache

02-01-2006, 09:00

Oh and here in pritain we go By % of volume.... Not degrees proof...

that wikipeda Shure is a starnge thing to use to demonstarte fact.

We always scaled alcohol content in proof until recently. Probably because we are in the EU it got dropped. Just like our pints, quarts, ounces, pounds and soon our miles.

:wall: :sweatdrop: :shame: :no:

Just A Girl

02-01-2006, 09:06

We always scaled alcohol content in proof until recently. Probably because we are in the EU it got dropped. Just like our pints, quarts, ounces, pounds and soon our miles.

:wall: :sweatdrop: :shame: :no:

Prehaps,
But I still use ,Ounces, pints, and miles. i know that a 13mm spanner is near enough 1/2 inch. or 8/16th's

but ive never 1ce used the term proof to describe alcehol.

Hell i still call marathons marathons. "snikers"
and Pound strechers TOMS.

but there ya go. im funny like that.

Kanamori

02-01-2006, 09:55

Bleugh, I'd do so many other things before Absinthe. Going nuts in a bad way, when I can still walk around decently, isn't my idea of fun.

Ronin

02-01-2006, 10:03

I don´t drink alcool so I´ve never tried the stuff ....even if it´s legal and sold oppenly over here...
There is however a famous Portuguese writter from about a century ago, Fernando Pessoa, story goes that he used to get smashed in the stuff before going back to his house and putting pen to paper....

Let me tell you something.....when you read his stuff :book: it sure has hell shows the state he was in :dizzy2:

:laugh4:

Ironside

02-01-2006, 10:10

Well as mentioned here, it was an alcohol containing Thujone that became quite popular for the hallucinogenic properties and "insperational" properties, espicially amont painters, artists, etc. Creative people.
Heavy drinking of it did often cause severe brain damage after a while though, and it was the reason why it became illegal and fell out of use.

Nowadays the active substance (wormwood) has been removed in most cases and that type of absinthe is now legal (even in Sweden, sold at systembolaget).

It's green and quite strong, but I've only been in contact with it once personally.

Brutus

02-01-2006, 10:44

Duke Malcolm

02-01-2006, 10:48

I've only had a few nips of absinthe, but it was rather tasty. I choked on the overwhelming taste of alcohol the first sip though. I didn't have enough to hallucinate or any such things...

I wouldn't go an buy it though, also since it is rather expensive in Tesco's... I'll stick to my cognac...

Major Robert Dump

02-01-2006, 11:01

Can someone tell me how much it costs on Pesos pls?

RabidGibbon

02-01-2006, 11:36

Off the back of a bottle my brother in law brought back from Prague:

Absinth 35 is a unique product containing herbs and spices. Thuyon contents: 35mg/kg. Excellent combination of herbs macerated in 70% fine grain spirit guarantees a top quality together with experience of thuyon "euphoria".

Whilst drinking it you could take a sip and hold it in your mouth, wait for it to evaporate and inhale it (Then run around the room squealing "Ahhh It burns it burns us!"). It did have a kind of aniseedy aftertaste, although mainly it tasted of.... well 70% spirit. As for any "euphoria" we only ever cracked it open at the end of a night when we were all normally pretty "euphoric" to begin with.

Fragony

02-01-2006, 12:24

It isn't that hot, you can buy it just about everywhere here. It gives a mild high for a 5 minutes or so.

Kagemusha

02-01-2006, 15:41

And a terrible hang over.:sick2: We have had this tradition with my friends that in summer when we go to the Rock festivals.We always have one bottle of that stuff with us last summer in the festival i was also, nobody touched that stuff.Its great stuff when you have little but try to boose yourself up with other boose and then have some Absinth as the last few shots.Pleasent dreams and even more pleasant hangover.~:thumb:

Redleg

02-01-2006, 15:52

Can someone tell me how much it costs on Pesos pls?

Just stick with Mescal and swallow the worm Major

Sjakihata

02-01-2006, 16:32

Absinth; a green, very strong and bitter spirit that is made on the basis of wormwood and anise, normally has an alchol percentage of 70. Also known as the Green Muse, because artists in Paris quatier latin drank it. Illegal in various countries because it has the substance tujon (NOT SURE OF THE ENGLISH WORD, tujon is related to the active substance in cannabis) which can damage the nervous system.

greek: apsínthion = wormwood

EDIT: Before you drink absinth, put a lighter to the drink and set it aflame. This will better activate the wormwood and give you a much cooler experience. Now drink half a bottle and tell me those myths are lies :p

solypsist

02-01-2006, 17:55

had some in czech about six years ago. pass.

i'll stick with nihonshu.

Hurin_Rules

02-01-2006, 18:39

I'm going to see if I can find it at the liquor store here. Once I fire it up, I'll let you know what happens.

All in the name of science, of course :smile:

BDC

02-01-2006, 18:55

Sounds like it could be a fun idea. I'll have to get hold of some.

Fragony

02-01-2006, 18:56

Now drink half a bottle and tell me those myths are lies :p

That would probably kill you mia muca, or at least a nasty alcohol poisening.

Dîn-Heru

02-01-2006, 19:43

At Fragony:

Nah, its just enough to make you fall backwards instead going of up the stairs, despite the mind shouting at the body to move forward, only to moments later be clinging on to the toilet bowl for dear life, seeing the partysnacks coming back.. (twice..) all this before midnight.. (the party began at eight, the absinth, 60% non-halusiogenic (sp?) I think, arrived at nine, 5-6 shots about a third or so of the bottle and about 4 beers 0,5 L 4,7% in the space of about two hours resulted in the above, shortest party I have been to.. (I was prudent enough to go to bed when I failed to move forward..)

Nice taste of licorice though, and no hangover seeing how it all came back to visit.. :oops: ~:cheers:

Edit: After seein A.Saturnus's post below I guess it was not true absinth, as what I drank was bright green and had a strong taste of alcoholbefore the licorice..

A.Saturnus

02-01-2006, 19:43

Absinthe is quite good if you like anise. But be aware that many things sold as absinthe aren't absinthe. True absinthe tastes of anise, has a yellow/green color (not bright green) and does not taste strongly of alcohol.

Also, the traditional way to drink absinthe is to pour cold water over a spoon with half a cube of sugar into a glass of absinthe. Go on until the sugar is completely dissolved.

Quality absinthe (http://www.versinthe.net/)

Thanks for reminding me that I wanted to get a bottle after the exams.

Sheep

02-01-2006, 23:11

Er... alpha-thujone is a neurotoxin. I am not sure why anyone would want to drink anything labelled as a neurotoxin even by the people who sell it.

http://www.berkeley.edu/news/media/releases/2000/03/03-22-2000a.html

Hurin_Rules

02-02-2006, 00:07

Just A Girl

02-02-2006, 05:41

Well seing a thois has been said..

EDIT: Before you drink absinth, put a lighter to the drink and set it aflame. This will better activate the wormwood and give you a much cooler experience. Now drink half a bottle and tell me those myths are lies :p

il tell you how to mess your self up Good on it.

make your self a nice drink of the old green stuff.

get a spoon and heap sugar on to it. pour on some of the green drink on to the spoon so the sugar soaks up the liquid.

use a lighter to warm up the spoon.

Stir ths contaminated sugary substance in to your drink.
Repeat if your a mad man,
then drink.

See you on the other side.

jayrock

02-02-2006, 08:56

Well seing a thois has been said..

il tell you how to mess your self up Good on it.

make your self a nice drink of the old green stuff.

get a spoon and heap sugar on to it. pour on some of the green drink on to the spoon so the sugar soaks up the liquid.

use a lighter to warm up the spoon.

Stir ths contaminated sugary substance in to your drink.
Repeat if your a mad man,
then drink.

See you on the other side.

this has monster hang over written all over,

and hurin remember whatever you do always choose the pixies to talk to, those elfs are nothing but trtouble

Byzantine Mercenary

02-02-2006, 11:44

dousn't absinth cause blindness? thats what i was always told

Sjakihata

02-02-2006, 14:50

Im not blind. Maybe back in the Hemingway day, when it was homebrewed - but not today.

Shadow

02-02-2006, 15:21

After hearding all this, it really work me up into trying some

Do you guys think if i can get these stuff legally in singapore?

Fragony

02-02-2006, 16:38

After hearding all this, it really work me up into trying some

Do you guys think if i can get these stuff legally in singapore?

Wouldn't count on it, and I wouldn't try breaking the law in Singapore when it comes to illegal substances....

You aren't really missing anything though.

Byzantine Prince

02-03-2006, 03:08

It isn't worth the high for that miserable taste. :skull:

Just A Girl

02-03-2006, 06:49

i dunno if you like pernod or oozo youd probably like it.

If you get the proper stuff. It can be quite enjoyable.
More of a high than totaly drunk.

My little brother used to drink bottles of the stuff untill i Beat him up for being so damn stupid.
So i guess its not gonna kill you.

Zalmoxis

02-03-2006, 06:55

I thought Absinthe was made up...

GoreBag

02-03-2006, 15:53

I passed an absinthe bar in my city while taking a strange and alien bus route one evening. I've never been back around to investigate, but I imagine it's crap anyway, since real absinthe isn't allowed around here.

A bunch of my friends had the stuff on a trip to France. The general report was that it was overrated, because apparently, the Western European sucks too. One needs to head to the Czech Republic or shouldn't bother.

Divinus Arma

02-04-2006, 05:30

One of you who has tried quality absinthe: can you please relay the specific difference in effect created when compared with alcohol?

I see a variety of posts here. Some say it is overrated, other say they get sick quickly, etc. I just want a straight scoop from someone that has tried quality absinthe by itself, and whether or not the feeling differs from a typical alcohol beverage and if so, how.

:bow:

Al Khalifah

02-04-2006, 12:12

Jeez, talk about a bunch of sissies. They sell Absinthe at Queens College Bar in Cambridge University. The modern commonly on sale version in the EU (by La Fee Verte) is no more hallucinagenic than vodka is, in the same way that Coca-Cola does not contain cocaine anymore.
Some more dodgy versions, including non-commerical interpretations do contain substances that produce stronger effects than mere intoxication, however, if you're going to drink stuff like that then you should expect it.

My personal favorite is Tunel Black Absinthe (80% vol). 2 shots of this gets the party started and although the after-taste is a bit rough - I don't drink this stuff for the taste. If you mix it with coke, you can barely taste it and you get a cocktail that is blacker than black.

A.Saturnus

02-04-2006, 16:43

One of you who has tried quality absinthe: can you please relay the specific difference in effect created when compared with alcohol?

I felt no differences, though I only tried it once. But I just bought a bottle for the party tonight. I'll tell you how it is tomorrow. Or maybe in a week or two, whenever I'm able to again ~;)

A.Saturnus

02-06-2006, 21:08

Ok, had a few glasses of it. No special effects. Recommandable if you like anise. A bit like uzo only slightly sweet.

RemusAvenged

02-07-2006, 06:57

Being from the US I've only had the stuff I've made myself. It seemed to work really well although it seems that my method is really out of favor nowadays. We'd use Absolut and buy the herbs at a health foods store then steep for a week.

A good batch would produce something that with a good drink would leave your mouth numb, follwed quickly by your head. The alcohol buzz was muted and changed into more of an all body tingling feeling. Continued drinking would create more of a clearheaded buzz with surprisingly not nearly as much drunkedness as would be expected. I've had some friends get a bit wild, but I haven't seen too much craziness resulting from it.

http://www.feeverte.net/

This seems to be a good Absinthe site and is where I first saw the recipe, but it's not there anymore :(

Divinus Arma

02-08-2006, 03:51

It seems to me that the Absinthe of myth and lore is dead. Absinthe appears to be nothing more than an alcohol beverage with a silly legend attached to it.

Oh well. Fair enough.

A.Saturnus

02-08-2006, 20:30

It seems to me that the Absinthe of myth and lore is dead. Absinthe appears to be nothing more than an alcohol beverage with a silly legend attached to it.

Oh well. Fair enough.

Well the Absinthe of myth and lore is still the Absinthe of myth and lore, but like most things of myth and lore it isn't quite like the myth and lore would make you believe. The truth is that Absinthe probably never made anyone crazy. A drink with enough wormwood to damage your brain would be so bitter that you couldn't possibly drink it. Can you have hallucinations from Absinthe? Sure, it got alcohol in it. Alcohol can cause hallucinations, but it depends how you react to it. Theoretically you can get hallucinations from normal air.
But why then did the poets of old drink Absinthe? Because it's an alcoholic beverage that tastes fine, has a funny color and has a sillylegend attached to it.