A bottle of Absinthe? I mean, here in the U.S…
It’s illegal to commercial manufacture and sell here, and it’s illegal to import from countries where it’s legal.
But it’s regulated as a food, not a drug. So if someone were to get some into the countries (not really that hard, so I hear) what could happen if authorities caught you drinking it? Say the cops come for a loud party complaint and everyones imbibing the green fairy? I’ve poured over my Wisconsin law books and have found nothing specifically banning simple possesion of it. Any clues?
Probably the same as if you got caught with illegal fruits or prohibited meats or cheese. Since the cops would have to prove possession, and the evidence would deteriorate rapidly, they’d probably just confiscate it. However, since it’s highly alcoholic, maybe the ATF would be involved? IF it’s just simple possession, I doubt anyone’d know what you had unless you told them. Importation is the big score that the Customs Service would get you for. If, however, we’re talking about small quantities, they’d probably just pout it out.
There’s a brand of wormwood-free absinthe called “Absente” that’s widely available here in DC/NOVa, though. Having had full-strength absinthe in Prague, London and Germany, it’s about the same. Highly alcoholic (110 proof) and imported by Crillon Importers of Paramus, NJ, it’s more like anisette/raki/ouzo/Pernod than anything else. That is to say, anise or “licorice” flavored. It’s not bad, but I’ll take Evan Williams Green label any day.
(Yes, I did pull the bottle out of the cupboard to check the above)