Is it wrong

[maillotpois]

There was a GREAT article in the NY Times about absinthe, featuring reviews of three different kinds, including the Hangar One one. Sounds similar to pastis, but maybe more delicate flavored.

[Wahine]

Man. It was mandatory to drink Pastis in Provence, so I did as not to be rude to my various hosts. But it was disgusting. I know nothing about Absinthe. But if it's like Pastis I won't be trying it.

I always learn so much on this forum.

[snapdragen]

The NYT article is very good - worth the registration. I can't wait to try the St. George Spirits version! From the article:

St. George, which will cost around $75, is the most layered of the three. Mr. Winters has a history of capturing delicate aromas in a bottle (a vodka of his called Hangar One smells just like mandarin blossoms) and his Absinthe Verte is full of fresh green herbs. Anise and fennel make their scheduled appearance but hardly dominate.

[ummbnb]

aaahhhh, just seeing that word brings on ptsd for me. Oh what a night it was I spent with the green fairy.

[mountainchick]

I've seen it sold here (in Japan). I haven't gotten the guts up to buy it yet...

[Zen]

The New York Times article is free.

[bmccasland]

You can get it here in the Big Easy at the Old Absinthe House. I believe it was one of the first places in the States that it was legal to sell it again.

So come on down!

[Mr. Bloom]

...before reading this thread, I didn't know what absinthe was, what it consisted of, whether it was legal, and what the big deal was.

...after reading this thread, I still don't know what absinthe is, what it consists of, whether it is legal, and what the big deal is.

So there, it's settled...I'm not alone!

[Kitsune06]

Absinthe is a liquor made famous in the victorian era by various artists and philosophers who were known to imbibe quite heavily.

Made of a wide array of herbs including (but not limited to) star anise, liquorice and hyssop, the star attraction of Absinthe was its use of Greater Wormwood, which contained a large amount of thujone.

Wormwood (thujone) being a neurotoxin, it was long used by doctors to cure patients of actual parasitic infections (remember, this is the 1800s...) and having been included in Absinthe, the active chemical thujone was widely reputed to be psychoactive, leading to (after great excess, much like tequila) hallucinations etc -but unlike tequila, most who overly imbibed on Absinthe claimed to have a very sober drunk- that is to say their inhibitions were inhibited and their creativity given reign. That also lead to victorian petting parties. *shrug*

Absinthe was vilified much like demon rum (though earlier) as those shiftless artists blamed it for their visions. (how dare they!) though it's been recently proven no more dangerous than regular alcohol.

The use of greater wormwood is still illegal in the states, but Absinthe can still be made with lesser wormwood with almost none of the thujone. I suppose it'd be like smoking industrial hemp (hey, man, it's for the flavor...)
or the novelty, but hey. I'd still go for it.

Actual practice is to pour a little into a glass, put a special slatted spoon over the glass with a sugar cube on top, then pouring cold water over the sugar cube to dissolve it and create a mildly sweeter (though still wickedly bitter) apartif. The chemicals in the anise, like ouzo, make it milky when water is added.

I think That's about it as far as I remember, Mr. Silver. Just the facts, sir.

[Mr. Bloom]

Thanks

[Bad JuJu]

Here's another take on absinthe, for your viewing pleasure:
Absinthe and Women

[alpinerabbit]

Kewl movielet...

the anise family of liqueurs is an acquired taste. I used to hate it too. I used to hate Gin too. You get older...

I've just encountered mauresque in southern france, that's a pastis with a dash of bitter almond syrup. Quite ladylike.

It is coming back in a big way over here, with a limit on the Wormwood content I believe, but as stated above it was probably overrated at the time when they banned it.

[teawoman]

http://jssgallery.org/Other_Artists/...he_Drinker.htm

[Kitsune06]

a lot of the biggest fans of absinthe also did a lot of other stuff that was newly introduced from other countries- opium as just the black stuff etc from the oriental immigrants, or as morphine and later heroin from their doctors looking for new medicines (remember, ether for surgeries was a new thing, so pain killers in general were much sought after) marijuana from Indian emissaries...etc. so really, if you combined all that stuff in a night... I think Absinthe would be the least of your worries, but all of those things happen to be illegal (still). I just think it's amusing that it's taking so long for the 'states to *finally* be okay with absinthe. "Watch out! We'll all turn Victorian on you!" Our artist will go nuts! Count on it!"

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

a lot of the biggest fans of absinthe also did a lot of other stuff that was newly introduced from other countries- opium as just the black stuff etc from the oriental immigrants, or as morphine and later heroin from their doctors looking for new medicines (remember, ether for surgeries was a new thing, so pain killers in general were much sought after) marijuana from Indian emissaries...etc. so really, if you combined all that stuff in a night... I think Absinthe would be the least of your worries, but all of those things happen to be illegal (still). I just think it's amusing that it's taking so long for the 'states to *finally* be okay with absinthe. "Watch out! We'll all turn Victorian on you!" Our artist will go nuts! Count on it!"

They also gathered in cafes to drink hot cocoa and coffee- novel and addictive exotic substances as well!