The wife just informed me that for the first time since 1912, real Absinthe is now legal in the USA. Local liquor stores supposedly have it in stock for $75 a bottle. For $75 a pop, I think I can wait for the frenzy (and prices) to calm down. I tried the fake stuff and wasn't really impressed, it tasted just like Sambuca to me. I like Sambuca, but not $75 like.
Is it really real Absinthe? Or is it like the reduced Wormwood stuff like Hills that we have in Canada?
Yep. Was on the news the other day. it's been legalized.. and "are flying off the shelves" the news reports speculated that it's popular because so many artists and writers use it in their drawings or writings... how about.. "we couldn't get it before.. but now we can.. so it makes it desirable"
I don't know. Fake stuff called Absinte has been around for awhile that uses a different sort of wormwood, but this supposedly just happened.
Heh, Id like to try it. But heard it tastes nasty. And the whole sugar thing throws me off a wee bit. I was about to ebay one of the good made ones, then I changed my mind. And Im sure its not as potent as "the real" stuff possibly?
As I understand it, absinthe making was a traditional art and even the best makers didn't leave formulas; however, there is at least one brand that was made when a organic chemist with a passion for the stuff backwards engineered the process with a few bottles of the best absinthe of yesterday as reference. That stuff is probably pretty good and would explain the high price since he was using original equipment too. Speaking of expensive booze ... does anyone know where to et Samuel Adams Utopias? It's a 50 proof beer they make with a special yeast that can survive 12.5% alcohol in brewing.
Personally, after many nights of drinking it I have come to dislike it's aniseed taste. It's an uncultured, brash and nasty drink, only suitable for those wishing to completely lose themselves into a drunken stupor. No matter in which style you drink it, it's still like supping aniseed mouthwash that makes your eyes ache. To cap it all, it's stupidly expensive.
What's so special about absinthe? Apparently they do sell it around here (my sister used to have a bottle in the cupboard), but I never really got the mythical status it seems to have...
From Wikipedia: In 2007 the first legally available absinthe has been approved for sale in the United States. These brands must pass TTB testing, which is performed by the Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry method[65] and TTB considers a product to be thujone-free if the FDA's test measures less than 10ppm (equal to 10mg/kg) thujone.[66] So, there, as we all know, Wikipedia is the end-all, be-all cauldron of knowledge in the known Universe. Anyone can contribute, so how could they be wrong?
...I don't understand a word of what you just said. Well, except "From wikipedia" and the last paragraph, so basically the wiki quote goes totally over my head. Screw it, I'll stick with drinking brandy.
Here's an absinthe story... A guy I know took his brother out for his first legal drink on his 18th birthday (you have to be 18 over here), and said he would buy his brother the first drink of the night. They get to the bar and his brother says "I'll have a pint of absinthe". Now, both the older brother and the barman were unaware of the... potency of the aforementioned beverage, and a pint glass of absinthe was served up, costing £25 ($50!). The newly-legal drinker downed it in one go. 40 minutes later he was in hospital having his stomach pumped out. He's not touched alcohol since.
Holy god that's insane. It reminds me of a buddy who, when we first arrived at a party, decided that everclear was a good thing to do several shots of in the span of a few minutes. He was about 18, and fairly new to drinking. He damn near fell on his face after the fifth or sixth shot. Remember in Back to the Future III when Doc passes out after the shot? It was a lot like that. He spent the rest of the party passed out on the kitchen floor, periodically babbling incoherently.
This kind of stuff, added with having to witness my own father often getting totally wasted then throwing up in the toilet has only increased my own determination to never, ever, ever start drinking.
Drinking is fine - drinking way more than you can handle isn't. Don't wimp out on having some NORMAL drinks with friends because of reading crazy stories and seeing people totally overdoing it.
Did he drink it straight? you are suppose to mix it at 3:1 or 5:1 (according to Wiki) and pour the water to dilute it over sugar....if he drank it straight, wow...
Just straight, in a pint glass - barman had no idea of the potency or the correct way to pour it. (should try watching the video for NIN's 'The Perfect Drug'!)
