# Well, tonight we're drinking Asbinth... **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [December 21, 2003, 4:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-tonight-were-drinking-asbinth/220268 "2003-12-21T04:16:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Hamlet](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hamlet/32/2818_2.png) [@Hamlet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hamlet)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2003, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-tonight-were-drinking-asbinth/220268/21 "2003-12-22T14:20:57Z")
So, when’s the opera suit wearing monkey butler showing up, **sj**? ---
**Author:** ![Flymaster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c4cdca/32.png) [@Flymaster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flymaster)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2003, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-tonight-were-drinking-asbinth/220268/22 "2003-12-22T16:29:32Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Hamlet \* > \*\*So, when’s the opera suit wearing monkey butler showing up, **sj**? \*\* Mackdonna shoehorn butterhorse? ---
**Author:** ![Rilchiam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/2bfe46/32.png) [@Rilchiam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rilchiam)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2003, 9:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-tonight-were-drinking-asbinth/220268/23 "2003-12-24T09:13:57Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by sj2 \* > \*\*My husband, Improvisor, got the bottle in London, we’re planning on watching Mulan Rouge and not answering the phone. \*\* [nitpick 2.0]Moulin[/nitpick 2.0] ---
**Author:** ![auRa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c4cdca/32.png) [@auRa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/auRa)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2003, 11:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-tonight-were-drinking-asbinth/220268/24 "2003-12-24T11:22:14Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by pulykamell \* > \*\*It’s overrated. It’s basically just pretty strong aniseed-flavored spirits. I’ve had it several times in Czech Republic, Hungary, and Germany – the stuff in Czech and Hungary definitely had wormwood in it, at least – but failed to notice any special results other than getting tipsy pretty quickly. (It’s usually around 140 proof.) > > That said, the ritual is quite nice, and all the myth it’s shrouded in does make it a cool drink. \*\* I agree. My boyfriend and his friends went through an absinthe phase about a year ago when the stuff came back on the market in Finland, so I got quite sufficient exposure to the stuff to be sure that it’s not all that mystical and hallucinatory. Tastes like aniseed, gets you drunk quite quickly, but nothing else. According to [this](http://www.yrttitarha.com/tietopankki/kansanperinne/sanasto.html) site (which will be of no use to you whatsoever unless you read Finnish :)), the real reason absinthe was so dangerous and deadly was because it was a cheap booze often used in excessively large quantities. The site also claims that the green color of the stuff was caused by spinach leaves (!?!). ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2003, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-tonight-were-drinking-asbinth/220268/25 "2003-12-24T15:34:43Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by auRa \* > \*\*I agree. My boyfriend and his friends went through an absinthe phase about a year ago when the stuff came back on the market in Finland, so I got quite sufficient exposure to the stuff to be sure that it’s not all that mystical and hallucinatory. Tastes like aniseed, gets you drunk quite quickly, but nothing else. > > According to [this](http://www.yrttitarha.com/tietopankki/kansanperinne/sanasto.html) site (which will be of no use to you whatsoever unless you read Finnish :)), the real reason absinthe was so dangerous and deadly was because it was a cheap booze often used in excessively large quantities. The site also claims that the green color of the stuff was caused by spinach leaves (!?!). \*\* Adding to the mystery, I’ve heard that it was in fact copper that helped color it green, and that it was the amounts of copper in the drink that made people go nuts. I have the sneaking suspicion that the people who supposedly went insane on this stuff are probably not going nuts because of copper or thujone but rather their long history of being raging alcoholics. Call me crazy… ---
**Author:** ![Kalhoun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3bc359/32.png) [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2003, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-tonight-were-drinking-asbinth/220268/26 "2003-12-24T16:23:58Z")
Sorry, but I can’t get jacked up on hooch if it tastes putrid. If that’s all there was to drink on the planet, I’d be sober. ---
**Author:** ![Abdominal\_Snowman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f04885/32.png) [@Abdominal\_Snowman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Abdominal_Snowman)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2003, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-tonight-were-drinking-asbinth/220268/27 "2003-12-24T20:25:50Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by ralph124c \* > \*\*Supposedly, Van Gogh was driven insane by drinking absinth. Anyway, years ago I heard a story, that Van Gogh’s weird colors (in is later paintings), were the result of thujone poisoning. His vision became distorted, and his eyes became sensitive to yellows and oranges…does this theory hold any water? \*\* Actually, I think Van Gogh’s eyes were damaged by years of treatment with belladonna (often used for various heart ailments, more commonly known as digitalis). It can mess with your eyes and, more importantly, your moods, resulting in deep depression if used unchecked. In several of his portraits (the one I’m thinking of is of his doctor, who’s name escapes me at the moment), the person is seated next to a foxglove-type purple flower (belladonna). At least, that’s the way I heard it. 🙂 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-tonight-were-drinking-asbinth/220268.md?page=1)