So I’ve heard that absinthe is now legal in the US. I’ve also heard that it’s still illegal, and that the stuff being sold now is some crappy bastardized version. Is this a no-true-Scotsman thing, or are there big differences between what I can get now and what John Leguizamo was chugging on that windmill?
I’ve always thought the deal with absinthe was you pay a lot of money to be drunk and disappointed.
Apparently, properly distilled absinthe contains very little thujone, which was formerly thought to be responsible for absinthe’s uniquely toxic/hallucinogenic properties. Absinthe is now thought to be about as dangerous as any other liquor with a similar alcohol content.
In my opinion, the stuff tastes pretty nasty.
Hello, it’s me again. I should have said that the one time I tasted it, it was pretty nasty and I had a hard time getting it down, even diluted and with added sugar. But it may not have been the best brand, and I’m not a big fan of anise-flavored anything to begin with.
Also, as far as absinthe now being thought to be about as dangerous and hallucinogenic as other alcohols of the same proof, that applies only to the traditionally distilled liquor. There are lots of novelty liquors of questionable provenance sold under the name absinthe, and at least one brand of home brewing kit. That’s not the 19th-century beverage.
Here’s a link to an old column, portions of which are now outdated:
http://www.straightdope.com/columns/011026.html
It is my understanding that the restrictions on import of Absinthe has been lifted in the US. But, as it’s not cheap anyways, not a lot of places have started selling it.
According to folks I have spoken with that are big fans of Absinthe, really “potent” absinthe will get you a high rather like Marijuana, which combined with alcohol, can be quite euphoric.
You don’t hallucinate.
That being said, while it can be sold here, I’m sure the first stuff to come in in large numbers will probably be some of the bottom tier brands, such as Hills. Hills is already available in Canada.
I’ll be saving up for some Un Emile, myself. We’ll have to see.
Apparently it’s not a total ban. After some brief research, it appears that the FDA has approved Absinthe if it can be proven to be less than 10ppm of Thujone. This opens up several brands, in theory, and has also sparked a US based distillery to offer **Lucid{/b], a US distilled Absinthe.
Online one can find many “Absinthe Kits”. They usually have anise, wormwood, and other herbs, which one is supposed to soak in a bottle of Vodka or Everclear. Please keep in mind that this would be like soaking cornor wheat in vodka and calling it whiskey.
Most absinthe made today is not at all like the absinthe made in the past. A lot of new absinthe is essentially just made for the tourist trade by people who want to be able to say they have had it. There is an American chemist distilling absinthe in France in an original absinthe distillery. His absinthe is made using old formulas and techniques. There was an article about him in the New Yorker a couple of years ago and his website is http://www.bestabsinthe.com/
Troy, just hop the ferry to Alameda, and walk on over to Hangar 1, home of the eponymous vodka and the rest of St George Spirits, makers of the first American absinthe. They are open after 1 most days.
I’m no expert, but do you have a cite regarding the differences between vintage Absinthe versus the modern version? While I have heard apocryphal tales regarding the varying levels of Thujone, but I’m not sure of the validity of that claim.
However, the making of Absinthe is pretty much the same… take herbs, distill. I would think.
The New Yorker article from Feb. 06: “Schaf said that the idea that absinthe should taste bitter is a misconception of the modern absinthe revival.” The article goes on to discuss the low quality of most modern absinthes on the market which do not adhere to the original recipes. The full article is not on the New Yorker website, but copies can be found with a little searching, but they are probably not copyright compliant.
Absinthe also has aphrodisiac properties. When Henry Winkler got married his wife was dismayed because he could not satisfy his husbandly duties. She talked to her grandmother who was born in the old country. The grandmother suggested that he drink a glass of absinthe before bed. This worked, and when the grand daughter asked her grandmother where she came up with that cure, the grandmother said “everyone knows that absinthe makes The Fonze grow harder”.
I heard it years ago…
…but it involved intense bouts of flatulence that went rrrrrrripppp like the engine of a Honda 50 dirtbike. The sufferer sought a doctor’s advice.
Doc: Any changes in your diet lately?
Patient: Hmm. I got a bottle of absinthe for my birthday and I may have overindulged.
Doc: Well you know what they say: “Absinthe makes the fart go Honda.”
According to this site, the amount of thujone in traditionally distilled absinthe has been exaggerated. The reason absinthe has “become” legal in the U.S. is not because the law has changed, but because people have realized that the amount of thujone in some absinthes is within the margin of error of the tests used to detect it.
No one really knows exactly how much thujone was in absinthe 100 years ago. Companies that market absinthe by touting high thujone levels are simply capitalizing on 100 years of hype.
Elsewhere on that site are some reviews of liquors which are some technical papers and liquor reviews categorized as “authentic absinthe,” “absinthe substitutes,” and “faux absinthes.”
And I heard abscess makes the fart go Honda.
Good to know… that’s been in my plans anyway. 
I hallucinated on absinthe. This magical, legendary elixir I’d so long sought had the flavor of rank shit, which I knew couldn’t possibly have been real.
$10 for the tasting, and another $10 for just the absinthe. Although they may give you a small charity taste. The regular tasting starts with pear and raspberry eau de vie, moves to the 5 vodkas, a single malt, a white and a black tea infusion, and ends with the pear and raspberry liquers. And you get to keep the glass! They claim that it’s the equivalent of 1.75 cocktails, but damn, was I feeling nice when I left.
No one, also, knows how much sugar of lead, or other poison crap, was in that or any other unregulated spirit 100 years ago.
“Absinthe” stories are right up there with other leaders on Huerta list of non-stories that the media and gen. pop. cannot spill enough ink about (others include “Kobe beef” and the coffee crapped out by that civet cat). No matter how many times the same article is recycled by lazy reporters, there’s always an audience for another iteration.
Having had absinthe in E. Europe, I can spare anyone curious the trouble: the “real” version is no better (nor much worse) than any of the hundreds of “speciality liqueurs” all over Europe: a sticky sweetish, herbal-bitter-infused concoction. It will get you loaded if you drink enough (so will “real Chartreuse”). I have no reason to believe the "American " version has any experiential or taste difference that would signify to the average drinker. I never noticed any mystical or hallucinogenic effects, other than the familiar ones of EtOH. Having said that, I still cling to the delusion (??) that there are different “kinds of drunks.” How the buzz off of a good tequila or good Champagne seem different, I can’t exactly explain. I can’t imagine the “Absinthe buzz” being, at most, anything more than this sort of subjectively-qualitatively-different buzz. So: don’t go out of your way, or pay a premium, for Absinthe (or, “Absinthe.”). If you do drink it, and find you like the particular herbal blend more than (say) Unicum, or Fernet Branca (pretty tasty) – good. But that’s about it.
I’d give a similar warning about “Kobe beef.” Especially in America, do NOT spend one dollar extra chasing after what is bound to be a disappointment (a good Prime U.S. steak is plenty good), especially as the odds that it is actually from a Japanese Wagyu cow seem very low. If in Japan, have a go at what seems there to be called simply “special Japanese beef,” and retails in teppanyaki places for about $90 for 250 g. It IS (unlike any of the dressed-up “Wagyu” crap I’ve seen outside Japan) qualitatively different, and quite delicious. Try to buy it on someone else’s dime, get it out of your system, and then forget you’ve heard the word Kobe.
I hope I’ve saved some of you some money and time.
Yes, but I don’t see any brands of absinthe being sold on the strength of their lead content.
It would appear you are absolutely correct. I am a dork. 
According to this analysis using gas chromatograhpy, the difference between a modern (un Emile) and a vintage Pernod are quite small.
Interestingly, the home distillation is WAAY higher in thujones.
Ignorance fought.
My only point being that the people who are so fascinated with how absinthe must be badass stuff because so many of the artistes who (allegedly) drank it back in the day got (allegedly) all f’d-up seem to be overlooking much more mundane reasons for why people with 19th C. standards of living and healthcare (read: dubious) experienced weird effects from consuming (along with many other tainted products) 19th c. non-FDA-approved foods and beverages. Anyone who wants to chase the Green Fairy back to that style of living is welcome to, I guess, but I doubt they will find themselves transmuted into van Gogh or Ambrose Bierce (except, perhaps, the “dead” part).
“Real” absinthe: dunno the legality. It’s available on the Web. Having had it, it IS a different breed of booze; my friends all agree. And we KNOW what it is to be “just drunk.” The stuff is very expensive.