What is absinthe?
 

Hello. I am wondering what this absinthe stuff is. All I know about it is it's a green drink and you need a slotted spoon or something and a sugar cube. I was drinking some stuff last night and someone was saying something about it but I can't remember what was said about it except that its effects got ya real messed up :crazy:.

So what is it and is it worth trying out? And yes, I know it's illegal in the USA to purchase it but not to own or drink it. At least that's what I was told. I guess the whole thing becoming illegal and all just sparked some curiosity in the drink. Would it be worth trying out?

- Undercover_Man

breif overveiw

contains a chemical similar to THC (cannibis)
the color depends on the strength of the psycotropic-chemical
the spoon is used in two ways one you pour the iced water over the cube disoloving it or breifly soak the cube then ignite over glass of absinthe letting molten sugar drop into it
sugar is used to sweeten it (very bitter i beleive)

some web sources are
http://www.absinthe.bz/
http://www.absinth.com/
http://www.erowid.org/chemicals/absinthe/absinthe.shtml

yeah, not the best tasting thing ever, have tried it several times, although I do still have my ear (see Vincent Van Gogh)
the first time I tried it I did notice I was a little paranoid.
The second and third time I did not notice too much of an affect.

The chemical that sets Absinthe apart from other alcoholic drinks is called Thujone. It's related to THC like Chef said, but has a bit more of a hallucinogenic effect. The sugar is used because of the auful, awful taste. Imagine anise, 140 proof liquor, and the devil's ass.
A friend once brought 2 bottles back from Spain, I don't really remember much about what happened when three of us finished them off in a night, but I guess you could say that it's pretty powerful stuff.
You can order some online from countries in Europe that still allow it to be sold, but it can cost a pretty penny and from what I've heard not all of it has Wormwood in it, which is the main ingredient in real Absinthe. I've never ordered any myself, so if you were interested, I'd do some research.

If you're as ghetto as me, and afraid to buy it over the Internet (Customs would have a field day).. you can actually make abscinthe.

We made it in our dorm room with a bottle of vodka and a few things from a herbal store. I'll spare you the actual recipe, as that would be a tad illegal .. TFP and otherwise. Do a google if you're curious. :)

For my roommates, it really only intensified the drunk without much hallucination. Like all drugs, different effects on different people.

I've only had Lafee, which is endorsed by the absinthe museum, relatively inexpensive, made to an original recipe, will post absinthe to the US and don't seem to have many problems with customs (the laws around importing absinthe are so grey it's rarely ever held up). This brand won't make you literally hallucinate- it does contain wormwood, but while the thujone levels supposedly give a feeling different to just alcohol, it's not comparable to using hallucinative drugs.

Where can I purchase the best absinthe in N. Ca.? What the hell, I've tried everything else maybe it will be a cure for the blues.

a friend of mine bought some in london for 7 pounds.

last I remember, real absinthe was not similiar to THC but to Opium, since real absinthe was opium laced 70 % alcohol.

now, I've known people who've tried what I like to call the 2nd and 3rd Generation Absinthe which has Thujone and/or THC in a soluable form within it and their experience was basically a quick way of being stoned and drunk.

Real Absinthe isn't hard to find if you live in Europe, you just gotta have the balls to travel to East Europe and get some.

But you'll either end up being an addict of heroine or you'll end up being an alcoholic pretty damn quicky.

I've made some here in the states and I enjoyed the experience. I'm not so sure that I will try it again because the taste is simmilar to death but the effects are quite enjoyable. I never hilucinated but my senses were somewhat enlightened eccept my concept of time completely went out of whack. I must say that it does effect people differently, where some of my friends reported feeling differently about the green fairy then I did when we all drank out of the same bottle.

I think I will drink some of mine tonite since I dont have work for 3 more days :lol:

The key ingredient to classic absinth is Artemis Absinthium; a tree which grows natively in Europe and the US.

Here is a pretty good page describing it:

http://www.wormwood-absente.com/wormwood.htm

Doug

Recipes are NOT illegal. They are protected by the first amendment ... otherwise books like The Anarchist Cookbook would be illegal. What someone does with that recipe is an entirely different matter.

The absinth you can buy today in most european contries is not same as it was back then. The Level of Tujon has been reduced

french drinking ritual:
* 2-4 cl Absinth in a glass
* pour ice cold water over a spoon with the sugar cube
* dilute at the rate of 1:3 -1:5

swiss drinking ritual:
* same as french minus the sugar

Czech drinking ritual
* same as french, but set the sugar on fire, when it is molten put the spoon in the absinth and add the water. be careful that the spoon is not burning anymore when you put it in the absinth!

while it does contain a mild neural-toxin its not it doesn’t cause one to hallucinate.
the real thing is about 70% alcohol by volume. Drink it fast enough and you will start to see things.

There are other compounds too, which have been talked about above.

I tried it in Prague this summer and it was nasty.

Its also like Champaign. In order for it to be truly called absinth it has to be made in region near the Switzerland/Czech boreder.

It maketh the heart grow thtronger

Clavus...you don't know me, but....

I love you! :icare: :lol: :lol: :lol:

By the way, a good guide for buying absinthe over the net is http://www.feeverte.net/ . They have excellent reviews as well.

Yeh, good idea to make sure the absinth isnt still on fire when you stir it in. I made that mistake the first time I had absinth like this! The flames pretty hard to see and the rest of the glass burns pretty well once you stir it in...not a good idea when using a plastic glass at a party...

edit: Forgot to add that I thought this tasted like washing up liquid and was not a fan at all...

mmmm it was yummy when we were in Prague and I brought back 2 bottles. I gave one away and I still have about 1/2 a bottle left...

I heart Absinthe :]

I have two bottles of absinthe concentrate ready to be diluted and distilled. I should be able to get about 4 bottles out of it, and at $150 a piece, I'm selling two and saving two for halloween. I had a few friends at school try it, and its current form is not something I would distribute, much too strong.

Just about any information you want on Absinthe can be found here: http://www.erowid.org/chemicals/absinthe/absinthe.shtml

Erowid is the main site to go to if you want to find out any information about any legitamate recreational drug.

I'm a fan of it, infact it's often a staple drink when me and my mates hit the town, at 10 New Zealand pesos a shot it does take a toll though. I never hallucinated on it, because I suspect the stuff you get here isn't "genuine" absinthe but I do like the taste, I liken it to Jaegermeister with teeth.

There is a superb article on Absinthe in the latest "Wired" magazine. Really a good read.