My girlfriend just got back from backpacking europe and she brought me back a bottle of absinthe. Its a half liter of Teichenne from spain. I have never had absinthe befor and im going to try it a whole bunch of different ways, aparently Hemmingway liked his with champagne. Have you guys had absinthe befor? Any recipes to share other than the traditional spoon and sugar cube? How about crazy absinthe stories?

thanks

Tried it once. The old spoon and sugar cube method. It was ok. Didn't feel the worm root though... no heightened states of mind or any enlightenment or crap like that...

It used to be made with very toxic material and was quite addictive. I believe the formula has changed.

It was made with wormwood oil.

I have never tried it, but there are stories of the original formula killing quite a few people at one time.

ya, i know the stuff you can buy here in canada is made without the wormwood. I did some research on the bottle i have and it says it contains 10mg of thujone, which i think is the wormwood.

Try This

My roommate tried to drink this once...passed out...crawled home from down the street and then tried to kiss me after he puked. I was able to get him to the hospital and he had a BAC of 2.9

You might check the archives on this topic as well.

A friend of mine purchased a bottle from Europe and it was packaged unmarked and looked plain to pass customs. I believe he paid $150 for a bottle.

We did the sugar/spoon/water method too and it was quite tasty. It reminded me of Ouzo(sp?) There was a strong licorice taste to it. I don't recall acting strange but his wife said we acted silly and were laughing a little too much.

<==== Should look like the picture if you make it right.

You can now get "refined absinthe" in the U.S. It's called Absente. They have it at Beverages and More stores.

I bought it last summer when I was in the Philippines. Saw it at the duty free shop at the airport and thought it was the "real" stuff. So I smuggled it back, but I came to find out it is sold here. I got suspicious after I bought it and noticed it was made in France, where it hasn't been made in 100 years. Still, I got it for $30 instead of the $45 it goes for stateside.

Absente is made with "southern wormwood," a cousin of wormwood which contains thujone, the active ingredient that allows uses to hallucinate and see green fairies and allegedly caused one famous artist to lop off an ear.

The thujone content is very minimal in Absente, and you'd die of alcohol poisoning before getting a high from the thujone. I think Absente is 140 proof.

There still are companies that make the "real" stuff, and they're based in the Czech Republic. Logan Fils is a name I've seen, and for $200 you can get a fifth over the Internet. There are other "absinthes" in Europe, but the EU regulates the parts-per-million content in them. Again, you'd die of alcohol poisoning before seeing green fairies.

As for the Absente, it's got a licorice-type flavor, liked it's supposed to. I don't like licorice, but I liked this varietal.

A buddy of mine and I drank three-quarters of my bottle one night. At first, we were mixing it three-to-one with water. Then two-to-one. Then one-to-one. It's unbelievably smooth -- and dangerous. I nearly blacked out.

Oh yeah, Dre, Hemingway's drink (Absinthe and Champagne) has the perfect name -- Death in the Afternoon.

I drank half a bottle in Spain in 1977. Absenta 69 it was called. Terrfic kick to it.

It was legal then in Spain, became illegal and now it is legal again in the EU.

Good absinth thread a few months ago.

definitly going to try this death in the afternoon. (make sure there is no shotguns around though)

quote:

Originally posted by stu miller:
There still are companies that make the "real" stuff, and they're based in the Czech Republic. Logan Fils is a name I've seen, and for $200 you can get a fifth over the Internet.

Those are really ghetto brands of absinthe...the Thunderbirds of the Absinthe world. They taste horrible and are only bought by poseur Americans who spend money to pretend to be avant guarde.

I just remembered. Back in college I used a liniment called Absorbine, JR. It contained Wormwood Elixer, but I never considered drinking the stuff.

Sobek, ive been researching Absinthe for a few years now on and off, do you have any brands you like more than others? I know the Absente stuff they are talking about is crap, and from what ive heard and read is that the thujone is actually a very minor part of what makes absinthe so unique.

There are several decent brands that are good for most absinthe drinkers. Kubler, Un Emile, and Segarra are pretty decent and more widely available. I think right now, Jade is making the best commercial stuff but it's not as available and more costly than the other brands.

Sobek, have you heard of the brand i have, teichenne?

Is there a picture of a girl on the label?

I've never tried it personally, but I've not heard good things about it. It supposedly has a strange rubbery taste to it.

ya there are like 2 girls dancing on the label. Rubbery taste eh? interesting, i think im going to have it next week. I will post my tasting notes on here the next day.