Absinthe

[Big King Sanctaphrax]

I believe the psychotropic effects were mostly dreamed up by temperance activists back in the 20s. It's perfectly safe, although it will get you absolutely ratted and give you a horrible hangover, in my experience. I've never liked it much, too aniseedy for my taste. The bit with the sugar cube on the slatted spoon is cool, mind.

I can't tell you too much about the different brands/varieties, I'm afraid. I've only ever sampled a few bottles that a friend brought back with him from Czech Rep., and the name of the distillery escapes me at the moment. Just give it a go and see if you like it.

[SwordsMaster]

It'll get you plastered alright. The strongest I've tried was 80%. Which was pretty strong. You can't drink shots of absinthe all night if that is your question, but it has no secondary effects - just like any other alcohol.

Just don't plan on operating heavy machinery next morning...

[Kralizec]

I thought the hallucination myth came from the fact that it was popular among artists.

No special effects, sorry to dissapoint you.

[sapi]

Apparently it did used to be dangerous, thanks to one of the chemicals used in its manufacture being, for lack of a better word, a poison

As for how it is today, though, to me it tastes bloody awful (very strong, as you'd expect, but lacking in any flavour at all), but I get the impression that after the first shot it'll all start tasting lovely

[Stig]

Every alcoholic drink is dangerous as long as you drink enough of it, if you take only 1 glass you won't feel a thing ... unless you're weak when talking about alcohol.

[sapi]

Yeh, I understand that, but absinthe was actually dangerous above and beyond the massive alcohol content

[HoreTore]

A very good site with an excellent FAQ on absinthe:

http://www.feeverte.net/faq-absinthe.html#B

It has answers to the common myths about absinthe, ie. the hallucinations, why it's banned, how dangerous it is, etc.

Absinthe is one of my favourite drinks, along with the Islay scotches. I LOVE the anis taste, to me, it goes down just as fast as milk. It's usually 80% though, to some people, that's a bit to strong. If you feel it's too strong for you, simply water it down a little, or get one of the softer ones, usually 55%, but I've seen some at 40%. It doesn't get you "high", but I've found it makes you drunk in a different way to other drinks. Kind of a like combining the happiness of wine and the coolness of scotch. Oh, and almost every time I've woke up at a place I don't know with no memory how I got there...

A piece of advice though: don't drink if you hope to get lucky that night.... It won't happen.

[Ice]

It'll get you plastered alright. The strongest I've tried was 80%. Which was pretty strong. You can't drink shots of absinthe all night if that is your question, but it has no secondary effects - just like any other alcohol.

Just don't plan on operating heavy machinery next morning...

Nuts. Damn those myths!

[Gawain of Orkeny]

When I was staioned in Japan in 1971 we all drank that stuff in the local bars. In fact it was how we would initiate the noobs their first night out on the town They never knew what hit them

[Whacker]

The chemical in question that reportedly causes the psychoactive effects is called Thujone. It's still debated right now, whether or not Thujone in sufficient concentrations can produce the "high" effects. Chemically Thujone is similar to THC, which is the element in weed that creates the "high".

I drank absinthe once in europe, it was about 80% alcohol, unknown thujone content, and I didn't get a "high" feeling. Got pretty drunk, but not "high".

[Big King Sanctaphrax]

The amount of thujone is modern Absinthe is miniscule in any case.

[Ronin]

modern absinthe is just alcohol....and it is sold over here....I don´t drink personally but friends of mine that have had the stuff describe it as nothing more than a pretty stiff drink.

in the old days apparently it did have hallucinogenic substances in it.....need proof? read some of Fernando Pessoa´s poetry the guy used to get plastered on the stuff for what is known.