Where did you get it? What was it’s effect on you?
No, but for about ten years in my misspent youth, I hosted a wine tasting party at my house. You know, everyone was supposed to bring a bottle of their favorite wine, and so on and so forth. Anyhoo, one year this guy brought a bottle of retsina. There were at least 50 people there that night, and the next morning I had 50 some empty bottles to contend with. Well, actually I had 49, because no one could bring themself to drink that horrible stuff. Lots of people took a sip, just to taste, but I am telling you-that stuff is BAD!
I used that bottle of retsina as a doorstop for years, until one day I met some friends for dinner and they had this guy with them. We got to talking, and he said he liked retsina. I excused myself and ZOOMED home to get that horrible bottle of icky wine. I presented it to this guy, and my word-you would have thought I gave him something that was actually drinkable!
Not that I wish to offend anyone out there who likes the stuff, but it tasted like tree pitch to me (and everyone else at that party and the subsequent parties before I got rid of it.)
You may be wondering what the hey this has to do with absinthe, but for some reason I link them together.
Go figure.
Scotti
I’ve heard of some places to get it, but have never tried myself. Here’s my reasoning: it’s supposed to open the creative doors in your mind (to put an analogy to it), but from what I’ve heard people become dependent on it. Anything they write, paint, what have you, when they are off it seems to pail in comparison. It’s not physically adictive (from what I understand), but you get the idea. I have also heard from a special I saw on it, that after prolonged use it can seriously limit you, creatively. Or rather, it won’t limit you, but you yourself will be limited creatively even without it. Also, it can bring about other different health problems, as overuse of any substance can. I don’t want to offend anyone who does use it, but this has been my experience with it.
Keep this in mind if you are looking to try it. If you are seriously wanting to try it, go to a search engine to look it up. You can probably order it online, or at the very least get the addresses/phone numbers of places that carry it.
Okay, a place to buy it online is http://www.absinth.com, with a variety of types and prices. However, I would suggest checking out the Absinth FAQ, also. It talks about the agents active in Absinth, about the causes, and about what goes into it. Also some about the history, though Absinth.com has a lot on the history as well. Here’s what I was talking about as far as prolonged use:
[quote]
Chronic use of absinthe was believed to produce a syndrome, called absinthism, which was characterized by addiction, hyperexcitability, and hallucinations.
[quote]
And here’s a little on the long-termed use of Van Gogh that the FAQ quotes several authors disucussing:
I hope this helps you. I don’t mean to scare you with this, but I just wanted to make sure I provided a link with the affects, as well as a place to buy it.
I tried Retsina–Greek Restaurant in Chicago, business trip.
I really didn’t think it was TERRIBLE, but it did have a very strong and distinct aftertaste. I wouldn’t say I hated it, but I wouldn’t go out of my way to drink it again.
At the time, I was fairly new to alcohol, period. I suspect that one of my impressions of Retsina was that it was no worse tasting than beer. (I drink beer now.)
I could probably down a glass of it on a dare. But I wouldn’t go out of my way for it.
I tried absinthe on a ski-ing holiday in Andorra, where it’s available behind the bar with the rest of the spirits. I didn’t like it that much, it has a really strong aniseed-minty flavour which I don’t care for.
As for effects, it got me drunk. I had an exceptionally bad mood tacked onto the hangover, but that was it.
That stuff is illegal.
My buddy Allan(not his real name) did not go through the trouble of making a batch for last year’s Orycon. He did not bring three bottles with him. He did not carefully mix ten parts water with one part absinthe and he definitely did not share the same with his best friends, who most assuredly did not proceed to get happily smashed the rest of the night.
You can buy it in a lot of Europe (though not France, IIRC) – Prague airport is stocked up to the ceiling with duty-free absinthe. My local pub serves it at £4.50 a shot, which compares to about £1.20 for any regular spirit. It tastes like, well, a cross between neat whisky and Pernod (i.e. not very nice). It also feels like it evaporates as soon as it touches your tongue.
To be honest, I didn’t find it any different than a very strong spirit. I’m fairly sure that the hallucinatory ingredient that made it famous is wormwood, and that it’s very, very rarely used in its manufacture these days.
It’s a passing fad at the moment; the kiss of death is that one of the enormous pub chains in the UK has started serving it (JD Wetherspoons’).
The wormwood in absinthe contains THC. YOu know, the stuff that makes weed weed. Anyway, drinking absinthe will sooner or later render you insane. Period. It is a psychotic drug, and that is why it is illegal here. It’s like combining marijuana with alchohol. Contrary to popular beliefs, this is not a good thing.
Is absinthe actually illegal in the US? And if so, why will everyone ship it over here? I read through site after site, and none of them listed countries that it was illegal to ship to. Now, that may be just because they don’t care, as the buyer would be the one to get in trouble (being in the US). But the absinthe FAQ linked-to here didn’t list anything about legality either.
Can’t you get wormwood free Absinthe in New Orleans?
Ummmm…No.
THC comes from Marijuana. Period. Wormwood has Tujone, which is similar to THC in its chemical structure, and is said to have similar effects, but no, it is not THC. Also, it is a psychoACTIVE drug, meaning it affects your mind or behaviour, not that it renders you psychotic. The amounts of Tujone in Absinthe these days is (IIRC) 10 to 20 ppm, and in the days of old it was over 250 ppm, this is achieved because the wormwood is soaked in water, not alcohol, as it used to be.
Drinking Absinthe these days is mainly for the ‘coolness’ of tasting a bit of history associated with The Green Fairy (Absinthe is green- it used to be a little green, now it looks like lime Kool-aid). That and the fact that it is 70% (140 proof) alcohol- knocks one on their butts quickly. Yes, there have been reports of it causing permanent damage, but I have read that to date there is no clinical evidence of this, only speculation.
As for the mixing of marijuana and alcohol, I will agree. Mixing drugs is not necessarilly safe, however, of those two substances, the safest by far would be the marijuana. The problem is when you start adding alcohol into the picture.
The ritual of drinking Absinthe (or the one I learned anyway) goes a little like this:
Take a rocks glass (the short one that they serve Scotch in normally) and add a shot of Absinthe.
Take a small spoon and fill it with sugar.
Carefully dip the tip of the spoon into the Absinthe so that the pile of sugar gets fully soaked.
Take the spoon and light the sugar/Absinthe mix.
Let the sugar burn until it caramelizes a tiny bit, but not for more than 10 seconds.
Here you have a few options- either a) pour some water over the spoon so that it puts out the flame and fills the glass, then stir, then drink OR b) put the spoon into the glass while aflame and stir quickly, put out the fire with your hand (macho) or small dish (not-as-macho-but-works-just-fine), then drink as a shot.
They sell it all over the place here in Prague, but I rarely drink it. It’s strong stuff! How often do you drink Bacardi 151? This is almost as strong as that.
Take care-
-Tomcat
Wormwood free Absinthe is Pernod (go to your liquor store, they have it). Or another way of saying it: You add Wormwood to Pernod to make Absinthe.
-Tcat
I think Red_Dragon is wrong. I don’t know if there is THC in it, but what makes you go crazy is the old school recipe…they use to put mercury in it. Absinthe is illegal in Western Europe and America…although I’m not certain they make it the same way they used to. I tried some in Prague, but not enough to do anything.
Absinth does NOT contain THC, where the heck did you get this? You’re a young kid aren’t you? Many of your post remind me of something my 15 year old would post.
(no offense, that’s just an observation. I actually like a lot of your threads).
I’d better clarify my last post. What I mean is, your view points seem to be of someone of youth. I looked at my last post and did not like how it read, sorry about that, no offense intended. It’s just that, If you are younger, I’m surprized you even know what absinth is. Many people my own age (39) have no idea what I’m talking about.
Absinthe is legal in the UK.
I had read once that back in his “Easy Rider” days, Peter Fonda tried it, decided he didn’t like it, and threw it out on his front lawn. It had a decidedly strange effect on the lawn, though, and when he asked his neighbour why, he was told “Absinth makes the hod grow, Fonda.”
Umm, I think you’re a little confused red_dragon. Absinth doesn’t have THC, but it does have Thujone. That’s what is believed to be the second active component in Absinth (the first is alcohol). It comes from Wormwood mostly, but can also be found in sage.
And Eutychuss, lol. 
Absinthe makes the heart grow fonder. 