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On three occasions, I made my own absinthe. I've also had the commercial stuff and it's a bit lower proof and tastes a little less harsh. I have to say right now that everything you've heard about the stuff is false. There are two things I can tell you about it: first, placebo is soluble in absinthe in quantities approaching infinity. Second, the difference between absinthe and any liquor of the same strength is that absinthe doesn't burn as much as straight grain, but grain doesn't taste like Pine Sol and diesel fuel.
That said, it's still potent stuff and of the 5 or 6 parties I've brought it to, the hosts were evenly divided between "oh my God, you have to bring that stuff next time" and "if you bring that stuff next time, you're not allowed to come in." A sign someone has had too much is when they ditch the sugar/water/fire absinthe ritual and start drinking it straight from the bottle; this means you have to get that bottle away from them.
When people ask me if I know anything about absinthe, my response is simple. Been there, done that, fell down a spiral staircase.
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