In articles at the LA Times and NY Times they discuss the new, legal absinth's entering the US. Long banned due to faulty research that said that the chemical thujone, which is in the key ingredient, wormwood, was a hallucinogen and toxic. The reality is that the thujone levels in absinthe are extremely low and under the FDAs maximum guidelines. Those Bell Époque artists and writers weren't hallucinating from the thujone. They were just drinking themselves to that point from the alcohol. There are several absinthe's that have currently passed FDA approval.
I personally hadn't had any absinthe until this past year when I tasted a few. They are similar to a good herby pastis with a high alcohol content and not sweet. They are usually served in the absinthe ritual where absinthe is poured into a special glass, a perforated spoon laid on top holding a sugar cube, and ice water drizzled down over the sugar melting it and watering down the absinthe. The drink goes a cloudy green from oils suspended in the cold mixture. Here is a link to a video showing the ritual and here is the Virtual Absinthe Library so you can learn more than would ever want to know about it. I think I may have a go at developing my own absinthe when I open my distillery this spring.
May is National BBQ Month and National Hamburger Month
Cupcakes, not for dessert (unless beef is your idea of a treat)
Because eating French Fries in the car is so tough
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
3-15-2008 @ 9:55PM
Rio Yeti said...
I guess I'm going to become the absinthe replyer on this website, since I only posted 2 other comments, one about Mansinthe and one about Absinthe Lolipops !
Anyway, your article is very correct which is still rarely the case (people still think thujone makes you see green fairies...), so congrats !
And the guy with the very french accent on the video is none other than Luc Santiago from the Paris' shop "Vert d'Absinthe", if you come to Paris France and want to discover absinthe, it's the place to go, he is very passionate and will gladly explain everything and allow tastings !
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3-16-2008 @ 6:12AM
Berkana said...
Smallscreennetwork.com has an episode on the proper way of preparing Absinthe, for those who are interested:
http://www.smallscreennetwork.com/video/55/absinthe/
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3-16-2008 @ 7:42AM
Rio Yeti said...
Nice video ! I am really glad people are starting to get educated about absinthe, and stop thinking it makes you mad, and you should burn the sugar in a devil oriented ritual !
Very cool, I hope Absinthe will one day become as popular as it used to be back in the Belle Epoque !
Cheers !
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3-16-2008 @ 6:09PM
Gobo said...
I'm glad absinthe is legal again, but I think after a brief surge in curious experimentation with the stuff it'll end up on the dusty part of the liquor shelf next to the ouzo for most people... because once you realize it's not hallucinogenic, you're left with a very pretty liquor that tastes strongly of anise (which a lot of people detest).
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3-16-2008 @ 10:33PM
Rio Yeti said...
Gobo, I very much doubt so... maybe I'm biased because I'm an absinthe lover... but I hate anise, I hate pastis, I dislike ouzo... and yet I love absinthe. Not all of them, some of them are more anise flavored, some are more bitter, some are more herbal (I tend to prefer the herbal), and some absinthes change over time, a Jade PF1901 becomes even more subtle and intricate when it is more than one year old, on the contrary some loose their particularity like (it seems) the Maitresse Rouge... All these differences, and evolutions make it similar the subtlety of wine, and therefore I think absinthe is much more than a simple curiosity for anise lovers.
Just my two cents ! ;)
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3-17-2008 @ 9:51AM
Astin said...
Or is it just that modern mass-marketed Absinthe is using different varieties of Wormwood than the more hard-core stuff? Or that modern wormwood has had the hallucinogenic properties bred out?
I've watched friends on smuggled absinthe absolutely freak out. Dragons flying from displays down onto them, uncontrolled panic attacks because someone put on glasses and it has caused their faces to implode, followed by fits of laughter over someone's toes. After only a couple drinks. And these are people who can more than hold their liquor.
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3-17-2008 @ 2:04PM
Patrick said...
I've been a fan of absinthe for a few years now, and have had maybe 6-8 different varieties from different parts of the world, which by no means makes me an expert. Like anything, whether you love or hate absinthe comes down to taste and the specific type of absinthe you're drinking, some being very bitter, others tasting very strongly of anise, and others still being sweet or having their own herbal notes, etc etc. I look forward to its full legalization here because, while absinthe is not hallucinogenic (Astin: I don't doubt your friends responded to it, but I can't say I've seen anyone react that way myself)...there's something different about it. This weekend my fiancee and her friend and myself shared a bottle of Absinth 35, which we bought more for the effects than the taste. After two fairy bombs (absinthe and red bull), the girls were bouncing off the walls like I haven't seen. I've seen them drink, seen them drink vodka and red bull, seen them drink plenty, but nothing like this: they danced nonstop for about three hours straight, laughing and having a great time. My reaction was mellower, but I did feel alert (again, I'm a caffeine junkie and a professional drinker, so it's not simply that) and stayed up with them until we finally crashed at around 7am, the last of Easy E playing on the stereo. I know this is all sacrilege to the ritual and sophistication of absinthe, but we had a fantastic night.
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