[Carlhole]

Absinthe Goes From Banned Drug to Legal Liquor

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'I')n the 20,000 years or so that humans have been getting piss-drunk, no spirit has earned a worse rap than absinthe. Said to turn mild-mannered imbibers into raving maniacs, it was banned in the US and much of Europe in the early 1900s. (Remember Van Gogh's ear incident? Some scholars blame the green fairy.) The chemical culprit was thujone, a toxic compound found in the crushed flowers and leaves of absinthe's key ingredient, wormwood. Or so we thought...

[lotrfan55345]

Drink any kind of liquor you want + ingest wormwood/thujone extract = absinthe 'high'

[Bas]

I've had it a couple of times years ago when I was in Eastern Europe but I didn't notice anything strange about it apart from that I hardly tasted any alcohol eventhough it supposedly was 70% alcohol or so.

[Lanthanide]

Thujone, and some of the other chemicals, in authentic absinthe is slightly psychoactive, however the actual amounts in authentic absinthe are too low to make any difference until you get yourself so drunk that you wouldn't notice.

Note that "wormwood/thujone extract" that lotrfan55345 recommends is actually a very bad idea as many of those sorts of extracts and oils are toxic in high doses. So don't try and do any of that stuff in an attempt to 'recreate' absinthe.

Most modern-day absinthes that you find outside of europe bear little resemblance to real absinthe whatsoever - normally it's just got a very high alcohol content (there is one here that is 89.9%) and tastes like very strong licorice (like sambuca, although I've never had that).

The story I've always seen as to why absinthe was banned gets muddled with the supposed psychoactive properties of it. Back in the early 1900's when the temperance movement started up, absinthe was particularly picked on as a cultural demon that would make everyone drunk and destroy society etc. One of the properties of real absinthe, due to the various oils present in it, is that upon adding iced water + sugar the clear green/yellow liquid would become cloudy, which was called a louche. Because absinthe became so popular, there were many cheap knock-offs made by conmen etc, who used various heavy metals and other toxic compounds to achieve the same louche effect. This made people sick and from the heavy metals could make people metally ill, so the temperence movement picked on absinthe because of this, although really it was because of the fake absinthe that was being made, rather than the real drink itself.

[Maddog78]

I've also had a few shots in Eastern Europe.
Got a pretty good buzz but didn't really notice anything that different.
Maybe it wasn't true old style absinthe just some high alcohol modern version.

[oilbear]

Some people have too much money and time.

[Quinny]

I once tried it and wouldn't recommend. I've a fairly good stomach, but 2 or three glasses got me really drunk and I was sick as a dog for at least a day. Felt my liver was going to explode.

[Carlhole]

Well, if it's just an alcohol content thing, why was absinthe illegal when drinks like Barcardi 151 or Cognac were not illegal?

What was the basis of all those stories about authors and artists swearing by the altered state that absinthe provided?

[Carlhole]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Lanthanide', 'T')hujone, and some of the other chemicals, in authentic absinthe is slightly psychoactive, however the actual amounts in authentic absinthe are too low to make any difference until you get yourself so drunk that you wouldn't notice.

Note that "wormwood/thujone extract" that lotrfan55345 recommends is actually a very bad idea as many of those sorts of extracts and oils are toxic in high doses. So don't try and do any of that stuff in an attempt to 'recreate' absinthe.

Most modern-day absinthes that you find outside of europe bear little resemblance to real absinthe whatsoever - normally it's just got a very high alcohol content (there is one here that is 89.9%) and tastes like very strong licorice (like sambuca, although I've never had that).

The story I've always seen as to why absinthe was banned gets muddled with the supposed psychoactive properties of it. Back in the early 1900's when the temperance movement started up, absinthe was particularly picked on as a cultural demon that would make everyone drunk and destroy society etc. One of the properties of real absinthe, due to the various oils present in it, is that upon adding iced water + sugar the clear green/yellow liquid would become cloudy, which was called a louche. Because absinthe became so popular, there were many cheap knock-offs made by conmen etc, who used various heavy metals and other toxic compounds to achieve the same louche effect. This made people sick and from the heavy metals could make people metally ill, so the temperence movement picked on absinthe because of this, although really it was because of the fake absinthe that was being made, rather than the real drink itself.

[Ludi]

Big absinthe linkadoo

I have some Artemesia absinthium growing in my yard.

I wouldn't personally bother with making or drinking absinthe, but if you want to try it, you might want to make your own so you know what is in it. Just don't sell it and you'll be fine legally.

[mercurygirl]

I made some years ago, from an herbal kit I purchased. I didn't notice any strange effects, other than what the vodka provided.

[Carlhole]

[align=center][/align]

[align=center]Pablo Picasso, 'The Absinthe Drinker', 1902[/align]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'O')THER ARTISTS AND ABSINTHE

Famous absinthe users include:

* Edouard Manet
* Charles Baudelaire
* Paul Verlaine
* Arthur Rimbaud
* Oscar Wilde
* Ernest Dowson
* Edgar Degas
* Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec
* Vincent Van Gogh
* Adolphe Monticelli
* Paul Gauguin
* Alfred Jarry
* Pablo Picasso
* Ernest Hemingway

[pedalling_faster]

think there might be some Absinthe in Jagermeister ?

it has such a wierd distinctive taste.

[vision-master]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('pedalling_faster', 't')hink there might be some Absinthe in Jagermeister ?

it has such a wierd distinctive taste.

[mercurygirl]

Absinthe is a flavored liquor, of which there are many. It's a fascinating old art.
Flavored liquors
Then there are liqueurs, which have added sugar. Last summer I made a strawberry liqueur that was amazing, like summer in a glass.

[aflatoxin]

I bought a bottle of Absinthe the other day. The label clamed that it was genuine grande wormwood absinthe, made in France. Lucid brand

I like it. But I like a lot of different liquers/liquors.

For those with a DIY bent, or those who channel the spirit of Uncle Jesse, enjoy the following link:

Homedistiller.org

In the forums section, there are some people working on a absinthe recipe.

Oh yeah, this probably isn't legal to do where you live, so keep it quiet.

[Bella]

Jaegermeister is flavored with gentian root, the same as angostura bitters and the soft drink Moxie. It was originally created as an after dinner aperatif, digestive bitters as a tonic to the system. It has nothing to do with Absinthe. I do like the stuff... really cold and served with really dark chocolate, mmmm. Both absinthe and Jaegermeister both are fairly bitter drinks, but I had my first Jaegerbomb a week ago and I reccomend it to anybody who is ambivalent about their liver. Take a beer mug, pour an 8 ounce can of Red Bull in it. Pour a shotglass of Jaeger and put it in the beer mug (shotglass and all, like a boilermaker) drink and try not to take a bite out of the shotglass. It Rocks! Bella

[mercurygirl]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Ludi', 'I') have some Artemesia absinthium growing in my yard.
I wouldn't personally bother with making or drinking absinthe, but if you want to try it, you might want to make your own so you know what is in it. Just don't sell it and you'll be fine legally.

[DavidFolks]

Absinthe makes the heart grow fonder.