Absinthe Alcohol

[BearsMod1]

Pretty wild.

anyone tried it?

 

[Mr. Cub]

Tastes like Jager. But then again I've never tried the "real" Absinthe.

 

[R_Mac_1]

Never tried it. I've read that the "you can't get real absinthe in the US" thing is BS and there are a couple companies that make legit absinthe here in the US. That being said, I've also heard that people exaggerate the effects of it as well, trying to compare it to hallucinogens when its really not one. It's basically just strong liquor. I have read it can give you a slightly "different" drunk, if that makes sense.

 

[Heidenlarm]

Never tried it. I've read that the "you can't get real absinthe in the US" thing is BS and there are a couple companies that make legit absinthe here in the US. That being said, I've also heard that people exaggerate the effects of it as well, trying to compare it to hallucinogens when its really not one. It's basically just strong liquor. I have read it can give you a slightly "different" drunk, if that makes sense.

Yeah, it's blown way out of proportion.

 

[Decatur Staley]

I've had it... There is a bar here in Austin that specializes in absinthe and absinthe cocktails. They've got something like 20 different absinthe's from all over the world.

It's really nothing but strong liquor...

 

[Crystallas]

Wormwood absinthe does make you hallucinate depending on it's strength and your technique with the sugar. Just be aware, there are a lot of absinthes that don't have the wormwood, still called absinthe, and if you drink that and say you get a little trip, you're full of shit/or easily effected by placebos. Just drinking straight absinthe isn't worth much, and nearly all of the stuff you can get in the US is horseshit that may as well be labeled as gin(and much of Europe too, they take advantage of lesser knowing consumers too.)


That being said, you'll get a better trip from chewing on salvia leafs.

 

[Monster]

Had the real stuff in germany... The bar had a whole section just for it with a special cold water dispenser for the sugar and the whole bit...

Like Jager... blown WAY out of proportion... had several in one sitting... no biggy... expensive memory is all...

 

[Tjodalv]

My brother and I used to order a bottle every once in a while from the Czech Republic before the ban was lifted (yet another stupid US law based solely on fear-mongering and no actual facts). The "active ingredient" that is supposedly hallucinogenic is called Thujone, the jury is largely still out as to its effects on the nervous system but it is generally agreed that it doesn't occur in high enough volumes in most absinthes to actually cause any effect at all (there are some brands that specifically advertise their high Thujone content [Absinthe King Gold is the one I can recall right now]).

I, personally, like the stuff. Yes, it's similar to a high-strength Jager or similar herb-infused liqueurs; but I think it's actually quite unique in its variety. If you're interested in trying several of them out I'd recommend first finding out what flavor characteristics you prefer (many have a heavy anise flavor [think licorice], while others can be more subtle with slightly minty aftertaste, and others still have a more fresh basil-like primary flavor). Once you figure out which flavors you enjoy you can look up reviews that will give you the best chance at finding a brand that suites your pallet.

 

[Decatur Staley]

My brother and I used to order a bottle every once in a while from the Czech Republic before the ban was lifted (yet another stupid US law based solely on fear-mongering and no actual facts). The "active ingredient" that is supposedly hallucinogenic is called Thujone, the jury is largely still out as to its effects on the nervous system but it is generally agreed that it doesn't occur in high enough volumes in most absinthes to actually cause any effect at all (there are some brands that specifically advertise their high Thujone content [Absinthe King Gold is the one I can recall right now]).

I, personally, like the stuff. Yes, it's similar to a high-strength Jager or similar herb-infused liqueurs; but I think it's actually quite unique in its variety. If you're interested in trying several of them out I'd recommend first finding out what flavor characteristics you prefer (many have a heavy anise flavor [think licorice], while others can be more subtle with slightly minty aftertaste, and others still have a more fresh basil-like primary flavor). Once you figure out which flavors you enjoy you can look up reviews that will give you the best chance at finding a brand that suites your pallet.

Anise... That's the word I was trying to remember. Yep... Good call.

How were you importing it from Czech before the ban?

 

[KittiesKorner]

I had quite a lof of it one time in Madrid. Didn't trip.

 

[Les Grossman]

Used in a sazarac, my favorite drink.

 

[Tjodalv]

Anise... That's the word I was trying to remember. Yep... Good call.

How were you importing it from Czech before the ban?

The ban was only on sales in the US, so technically if you ordered it from out of country the purchase was happening over seas and you just took delivery here.

 

[Guess Who]

Anyone try Malort?

 

[nvanprooyen]

Had the real deal in Tel Aviv. Crazy night.

 

[Tjodalv]

Anyone try Malort?

Terrible shit. Whenever a friend/younger sibling or whatnot turns 21 we force a shot or five of that stuff on them as a right of passage.

lol...even their website features a guy looking extremely dejected that he drank the stuff in the background.

 

[Heidenlarm]

Wormwood absinthe does make you hallucinate depending on it's strength and your technique with the sugar. Just be aware, there are a lot of absinthes that don't have the wormwood, still called absinthe, and if you drink that and say you get a little trip, you're full of shit/or easily effected by placebos. Just drinking straight absinthe isn't worth much, and nearly all of the stuff you can get in the US is horseshit that may as well be labeled as gin(and much of Europe too, they take advantage of lesser knowing consumers too.)


That being said, you'll get a better trip from chewing on salvia leafs.

http://www.thujone.info/thujone-absinthe-39.html

 

[Heidenlarm]

Anyone try Malort?

I didn't think it was as bad as most make it out to be, then again I doubt most have ever had calea zacatechichi. Now that's some vile shit.

 

[Crystallas]

http://www.thujone.info/thujone-absinthe-39.html

:shrug: Dunno why I was quoted. But okay. I never claimed that absinthe caused the same level of hallucinations as the fork-lore. People who are expecting mushroom-like results from it, are going to be severely disappointed.

 

[KittiesKorner]

the salvia "bad trip" accounts on erowid are awesome.

so are the absinthe ones for that matter.

hell, all of them pass the time at work.

 

[Heidenlarm]

:shrug: Dunno why I was quoted. But okay. I never claimed that absinthe caused the same level of hallucinations as the fork-lore. People who are expecting mushroom-like results from it, are going to be severely disappointed.

You did say it would make you hallucinate, which is false. It also has nothing to do with the sugar, sugar was simply added to balance the bitterness of the herbs.

http://www.thujone.info/absinthe_FAQ2.html

The chemical name for the principle active ingredient in wormwood is thujone. Thujone is a terpene and is related to menthol, which of
course is known for its healing and restorative qualities. In its chemically pure form, it is a colourless liquid with a menthol-like aroma. Oil
of Artemesia absinthium is typically approximately 60% thujone. Thujone – pronounced "thoo-jone" with a soft 'J' – is a naturally occurring
substance, also found in the bark of the thuja, or white cedar, tree, and in other herbs besides wormwood - including tansy and the
comon sage used in cooking. Aside from absinthe, other popular liquors, including vermouth, Chartreuse, and Benedictine, also contain
small amounts of thujone. In fact, vermouth, which was originally made using the flower heads from the wormwood plant, takes its name
from the German "wermut" ("wormwood").

Extremely high doses of thujone are however dangerous, and have been shown to cause convulsions in laboratory animals, but the
concentration of thujone actually found in absinthe is many thousands of times lower than this. Thujone's mechanism of action on the
brain is not fully understood although certain structural similarities between thujone and tetrahydrocannabinol (the active component in
marijuana) led to some speculation in the 1970's that both substances have the same site of action in the brain. More recent scientific
research however has completely discredited this idea.

Some researchers have now hypothesised that the reputed "secondary effects" of absinthe have nothing directly to do with thujone at all
- if they in fact exist at all, they may be caused by the interaction of some of the other constituent herbs ( fenchone in fennel,
pinocamphonethe in hyssop, and the anethole in anise, have all been shown to cause epileptiform convulsions in laboratory animals
when administered in very large doses).

The effect of well-made absinthe varies from person to person, but is typically no more marked than the mild “buzz” one gets from
drinking tequila. Generally, it can best be described as a kind of heightened clarity of mind and vision, warmed by the effect of the alcohol.
This seems to wear off after 20 or 30 minutes. Some users report unusually vivid dreams. Since absinthe is 55% -72% alcohol, the
alcohol's effects will in any event limit the amount of thujone you can ingest. Most modern “legal” absinthes, in keeping with EU
regulations, contains less than 10mg of thujone per litre, and recent research has shown that pre-ban Pernod Fils, contrary to ill-informed
speculation by several authors, including Strang and Arnold in a widely quoted 1999 British Medical Journal article, also had relatively
low thujone levels.

Increasingly it seems clear in fact that well-made absinthes following authentic traditional recipes seldom have thujone levels much in
excess of 35mg/l, the EU standard for thujone in bitters (a category that can, in practice, include absinthe), and many quite naturally fall
under the 10mg/l level. It seems that irrespective of the quantity of wormwood used, relatively little thujone makes it through the distilling
process into the final distillate. So the entire historical demonization of absinthe based on its allegedly high thujone content now appears
to have been based on a wholly false premise.