I thought that, too, until I read this. Now I’m not so sure.
Here is the Link to the Master’s words
Absinthe was never made illegal in UK and has become available within the last ten years or so. It is also made in France legally for export dispite the fact that drinking it is illegal in France. I have whilst in UK tried several Czech and French versions, of which the taste is uniformally strong annasseed. The alcohol content is usually very high (>100% proof) and effect if any from the wormwood was always masked by the much stronder effect of the alcohol itself.
In US there is a legal product called Absente that is flavoured similarly and is as strong as Absinthe. It can be plesent watching Moulin Rouge with a few friends, and a glass or two of this drink, and I am sure no-one would notice any difference between its effects and those of modern produced european Absinthe.
scopo and pulykamell have got it pretty much nailed.
However, if you did the “ritual” from a movie, you were pretty much guaranteed to get a nasty bit of sludge that tasted like ass.
Get a glass. Pour a shot of Absinthe into the glass.
Get a knife. Place a sugar cube (european one, not the hard American ones, they don’t work) on the knife, placed across the opening of the glass.
Drip about 4 shot glasses worth of cold water on the cube. It will dissolve, and drip down into the Absinthe. The Absinthe will get cloudy (louche).
Drop the knife into the glass to get the last sugar off of it, stir and enjoy.
No fire. That’s bunk.
Tristan, who hasn’t gotten the guts up to spend $100 on a bottle of booze he may not like…
Actually, several folks I’ve spoken with who regularly drink European Absinthes say that Absente is noticably different. The process through which it is made makes sure it has no thujone content whatsoever… Tasty, for those that like an Anise liqour.
Well I know someone who bought it in a club in Northern Ireland several times a year or two ago.
And is it pronounced ab-sonth (French accent like) or ab-synth as my mate pronounced it.
Absente is different to European Absinthe, but not any more different than european Absinthes that I have tried are from each other. And far more similar to Absinthe than Pernod or Pastis for instance.
Greater than 100% proof? Wow, that’s some drink.
No, no, no. Actually, wormwood is simply one of those substances that makes one’s flatulence smell even worse.
In other words, absinthe makes the farts grow stronger.
A citeless assertion. Find me an English/Ukrainian dictionary that has the word чернобыль under the listing “wormwood” and I’ll consider it.
Well, the fire ritual’s not bunk … at least not in my experience. During my six years in Central Europe, it wasn’t at all uncommon to see the whole sugar-spoon-fire thing. That said, it was too much work for me. But it’s not some fictional Hollywood b.s.
Actually, I think that Pernod produced abinsthe at one time.
That is what is such a puzzle to me. When I was in Paris in April, I tried absinthe at a very reputable restaurant just off of Saint Germaine. The waiter said that at one time it had been illegal in France. That’s why I asked when the laws there had changed.
Tristan, the absinthe I had was served just as you described only the sugar cube was in a slotted spoon which allowed the ice water to run through. There was even a special container for the ice that had four spiggots. (I guess that it could be set in the middle of the table.)
The drink was not unpleasant. The sugar kept it from being bitter. I also enjoy the taste of anise and that made it more enjoyable. But even on the best of days I wouldn’t want to drink an entire glass of it. I left about half.
Thank you all for your responses. I had always heard of wormwood. That’s a much less appealing name.
I had heard Absinthe was illegal in France quite recently (arround 5 years ago) from a french friend and colleague. But I have no cite to its illegality or current legal state.
Searching through google, suggests that Absinthe is legal in France due to European Union trading laws rather than due to a change in French Law, but of this I can hardly claim certainty.
That jibes with what my BoHo internet friends had said… most of them were quite thrilled with the loosening legalities… It certainly seems to be driven more by an effort to make EU-wide laws, rather than a change in the laws of France, Switzerland, Spain, et al.
I’m researching the fire ritual now… I’ve gotten several references to it being more of an Eastern European thing (Czech in particular), but nothing concrete.
Just doesn’t make a whole lot of sense… why would you want to burn the alcohol out of your drink?
No, no, no. A fellow goes to see the Doctor and explains that every time he passes gas, it sounds as though someone is whispering the word, ‘Honda.’
The Doc asks for a demonstration, and sure enough, that’s what the guy’s fart sounds like.
After a sigmoidoscopy, the Doctor says, “I should have known it!” :smack:
“You have an abcess on your large bowel wall, and abcess makes the fart go Honda!”
d&r for cover 
You, my friend, have it ALL wrong! See, this hotdog vendor, who lived in San Francisco, was pushing his cart down the street whenever he came to a crest of a hill. He noticed his shoe was untied so he bent over to tie it. While he was busy with this, his cart started to roll down the street. He chased and screamed after if for three blocks before it hit into a car crossing the intersection. The driver got out of the car. Speaking broken English, the driver screamed:
“Hey buddy, remember! If you have absent brakes, the cart go fartha!”
Although I am not suggesting one should do this, and the final distillate is illegal to sell, wormwood is not an illegal herbage and I have seen several homemade absinthe recipes out there.
I remember reading thirty years ago that a lot of absinthe contained wood alcohol.
If it helps your research any, it was Czechs that taught me the fire ritual.
Anyhow, you don’t burn the alcohol out of your drink. Here’s the way I was taught:
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Pour yourself a healthy shot or so of absinthe into an appropriate glass.
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Take a spoonful of sugar and dip it edgewise into the absinthe to soak some of it up, until the sugar is wet. You’re taking a teaspoon or less of absinthe out of your drink.
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Set the sugar on fire.
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When the flames die, drop the sugar into the absinthe, stir, drink
So you’re not burning the alcohol in your drink – just some of it in the sugar.
That sounds like it should partially caramalise the sugar, yum.