I seem to recall, during a tour of the french quarter in NO, LA, that the tour guide pointed to a specific historical tavern and said that it was the only place in the US where you can legally get absinthe. Is that true?
Absinthe varies wildly in flavor, from overpoweringly anise-y and bitter (like Pernod Absinthe, not to be confused with regular Pernod), to the smoother, sweeter varieties with a less pronounced licorice flavor like Hill’s (which I think is crap).
In some ways, this reminds me of my experience with what they call in Jamaica “overproof” rum. We bought some many years ago, being told that it really gives you a buzz and you can only get it in Jamaica, mon, etc. Ok, we when we got home, we set up an evening of doing the overproof rum. Turns out it’s 152 proof - 76% alcohol, and it tastes horrid. We tried it with various juices, etc. Wound up with horrid tasting juice. But after a short while of trying it, we were pretty looped. Nothing special about overproof rum except it tastes nasty and has about 50% more alcohol in it than regular liquor. A quicker buzz on some very strong tasting material. Sounds like the absinthe thing to me.
Modern Drunkard Magazine had an article on someone taking on a $200, 140-proof, 100-mg thujone (well beyond “suggested” limits on thujone), and he seemed to feel that it was actually a “clearer” drunk.
A friend gave me a bottle of “real” absinthe. He suggested I drink it all. My gf and I ended up sharing it, using the spoon/sugar ritual. It tasted pretty awful. While waiting for our hallucinations to arrive, we cleared the foul taste from our mouth with some chilled Belvedere vodka. We got pretty shitfaced, but no incredible insight or anything.
AFAIK from the US code there is no exemption whatsoever for any specific establishment in New Orleans, or anyplace else. Consider as well that tour guides often lie like cheap rugs to make the tours more interesting.
I live in Athens and have never heard of that Absinthe stuff. I am really curious, can you show us a pic of the bottles?
I had absinthe in Paris in a reputable restaurant. They brought a rather large contraption to my table, but I don’t remember what it was for except that it involved a spoon and sugar. The shade of green was extraordinary. I’m not fond of anise, but this was tolerable. I didn’t drink the full glass. My granddaughter reminds me from time to time that I did inquire about the purpose of a salt shaker during the meal.
False.
IMHO Absinthe tastes like crap, and whatever cosmic effect you’re looking for isn’t worth the motherflunker of a hangover this shit can give you.
But if you’re going to drink it, get the good stuff. I found nothing but HILLS in London and even saw it up in Windsor (Canada). It taste like crap, and it’s thujone level is only 1.5mg.
Try to get ahold of something like Absinthe King Gold. It also taste like crap, but the Thujone content is 100mg.
But IMHO the payback is not worth the buzz.
I researched Absinthe pretty heavily a few years back, up to and including speaking with several people from another board that was all about Absinthe.
The general consensus is that the “secondary effects” are largly mythical, and that with the real high end, high thujone stuff what you end up with is similar to a Marijuana high, ie: a feeling of clarity.
Combined, of course, with being stinking drunk.
Nobody hallucinates on modern Absinthe, as far as I have been able to find. And most folks feel that hallucinations from vintage Absinthe may have been caused by chemical additives and such (copper sulfate being one, IIR) to try to make cheap Absinthe look better.
Wait until morning. When you break wind, it will sound as though the word “Honda” is being whispered. As you know, absinthe makes the fart go: ‘Honda.’ 
I believe the thujone content in absinthe can vary wildly between labels, so it’s kind of a gamble as to whether you’re going to get enough to experience any effects beyond the alcohol. Err…a friend of mine does definitely experience effects after drinking about three shots in quick succession–he finds himself focusing very carefully on visual effects, so can totally understand why it would have been popular among painters. However, he reports that anything less than about three shots doesn’t really provide any effects beyond the alcohol.
My friend also is not particularly fond of anise, so in general he prefers to use absinthe in cocktails such as the Monkey Gland and the Corpse Reviver #2 rather than doing the sugar/water schtick.
I once had a large bottle of rather strong absinthe (85% alcohol/vol). I’d just do shots of it straight (this was back in my student days when I could do that kind of crazy stuff).
The first time I tried it, my friends and I got drunk off it, but it was a far more active drunk than usual, and we simply had to leap over our front fence and run down the street. But every subsequent time I tried it I just got drunk as normal.
The last time I tried it, I drank too much of it and it ruined it for me forever. Nowadays I can’t even manage to get the glass to my mouth without retching. So I gave the rest of the bottle to my sister, who subsequently discovered it’s actually quite nice mixed with Coke.
Let’s try that again (maybe I am a bit impaired from last night’s consumption):
I have to say that your account is pretty similar to mine. First time was on some 85% stuff drank neat. My friend and I spent the a portion of the night “floating” around, we just felt incredibly calm and lucid - although this was a genuine effect I’m beginning to believe it was just placebo, as subsequent times spent trying to repeat the experience did nothing but get us shit faced. Eventually we gave it up because the strength of it (combined with other spirits) was sending us loopy as well as wearing the lining of my stomach thin.
All those links, and no one posted the absinthe article by Cecil himself?
You may experience what an old couple experienced when they drank absinthe and then smashed their glasses into the fireplace. Suddenly fish started flying out of the flames.
As another old saying goes, “Absinthe makes the hearth grow flounder.”
Neither of those has an apprecable level of thujone, so you’re not going to notice any particular effects beyond the alcohol. Just use them as you would any other pastis.