Come now. Any good Spanish Inquisitor knows that the most evil drink ever invented is molten lead. 
I just tried absinthe for the first time a few days ago. The stuff I had tasted very good. I don’t know about hallucinating, but it certainly got me a lot drunker that I thought it would.
Ouzo anyone?
You’re forgetting “OK Soda”.
Its active ingedient was , IIRC, “glycerol esther of wood rosin”.
It was taken off the market because non of us were cool and cynical enough to be allowed to drink it.
A Spanish Inquisitor, eh?
Funny. I wasn’t expecting that.
NOBODY EXPECTS THE SPANISH INQUI-
THE END
oh bugger.
Uh…to get back to the original question.
Absinthe abuse was a very serious problem in Europe in the late 19th Century, over and above the general problem of alcoholism.
One reason is that absinthe, when drunk, as custom demanded, with melted sugar is essentially a liquid candy–a liquid candy with a very potent does of alcohol. I’ve never tried it myself, but it apparently lacks the burn associated with most potent alcohol drinks. This means it was partaken of by a lot of people who wouldn’t drink alcohol otherwise, and people were often not conscious of what they were doing to themselves as they ingested it.
There was the additional, compounding problem that absinthe contains wormwood, which is a mild hallucinogen. One was getting two potent, addictive drugs for the price of one.
Throughout a Europe in the late 1800s the cocktail hour was known as “the green hour” in deference to absinthe. I recall seeing a painting from the era which shows a man being plagued by a transparent green angel who has placed her hands over his eyes. Numerous French Impressionists painted pictures of absinthe drinkers, generally showing them to be a debauched. debillitated lot. Numerous French Impressionists were absinthe drinkers and were a debauched, debillitated lot. The same can be said for many poets, novelists, etc. of the era, and not must from France.
There was a notorious murder case in Switzerland in the early 1900s in which the killer blamed his absinthe addiction for his crime. This appears to have helped focus efforts, already ongoing, to ban the drink in Switzerland. Soon other countries around the world were following suit. For a long time Spain was the only nation where it could be bought and consumed lawfully.
The maker of the one authentic original absinthe was Pernod, a French Company. The liquore now sold under that name is essentially absinthe without the wormwood.
It would seem very worthwhile for someone to study just why this effort to ban a drug was so successful, when so many similar efforts aimed at other drugs throughout history have done so poorly.
Good overview, slipster. Thanks!
Does there remain a General Question here?
My SO tried to make his own absinthe. He used the Absinthe FAQ as above as a guide.
I grew the wormwood, he did the assembly. I think he bought the alcohol from the local chemist, and added the wormwood, anise, fennel angalica, and a bunch of other stuff, and let it sit for a few weeks. Then he strained the solids. He usually pours it over two sugar cubes, and then lights it! It’s the most foul, undrinkable horrid stuff I’ve ever tasted. I seriously could not choke down more than a small sip.
It’s horrible, and it’s still sitting in my cupboard.
Ick!
Just to throw out my own $.02 on the issue and to go back to the OP. I’ve drunk several bottles of various kinds of absinthe over the years, with no real long-term side-effects, other than what you’d expect of a 110-140 proof drink.
Obviously, different brands vary, but usually there is a very strong anise taste that needs to be weakened to really enjoy it. The way I drink a glass, after some experimentation, is diluted, about half and half with water and one sugarcube per ounce of absinthe … again on average, some brands are very strong, some are a lot weaker.
Overall, I quite like the taste, a little bitter and strong, but very unique and tasty. While it can get you drunk very fast, as can any liquor, simply because of the alcohol content, I’ve never experienced hallucinations of any sort from it. The general feel is that of physical drunkeness, with mental clarity and sort of an overall lowered inhibition level. A pretty nice buzz to be perfectly honest.
Oh and I’ve never had a hangover just from drinking absinthe for some reason. Even after imbibing more than a fair amount.
- Yes it was legal for me to consume when I did.
- No I don’t know where to buy it other than where it is legal.
- No, I personally think it is stupid and probably illegal to make your own.
I’m going to try this again. My computer has crashed twice while I’ve tried to post this response.
1- Most home ‘brewed’ absinthes are not. It would be like me infusing vodka with corn and calling it Kentucky Whiskey.
2- The EU has had to loosen laws on Absinthe to bring all member nations into the same footing. Hence, Absinthe distilleries are opening back up after 90 years of being closed (or just going public with their product).
3- Hills, from what I’ve gleaned from speaking with many Absinthe drinkers, is crap. Most of the Czech stuff is crap with a brand called Sebor Strong (not Sebor, that’s different) leading the pack of crap. La Fee, La Bleu, F. Guy, Serpis, Deva and a host of others are far and away preferred. There are new absinthes coming out all the time now, as well. Although most usually start small, to the established elite of Absinthe conne… connesui… drinkers.
4- Politics figured in the banning on Absinthe as well. From what I’ve read (sorry no cite at this time) there was a plauge or drought that wiped out the French vineyards. Hence, the wine was lacking in quantity and quality. Absinthe distillers stepped up, and started making some real inroads into ‘polite society’ and such. French Wineries responded by pusing the Boho rep, and eventually succeeded in enacting a ban in France, which quickly spread to the rest of the world.