[ARCHIVED THREAD] - Anyone try Absinthe? (Page 1 of 2)
Posted: 7/17/2008 6:32:40 PM EDT
| My friends and my birthday fall in the same week. We are thinking about trying some absinthe as we have drank about anything we can get our hands on other than that. I heard there is a USA legal version called Lucid. Our local liquor store has the lucid at 70 bucks for 750ml bottle. I heard lucid is terrible and not the real thing. I heard you can legally order it from overseas from the internet and have it shipped here. Either way its rather expensive at 70 bucks or more a bottle. I guess my question is, is the 120+ proof green liquor worth the price, or worth a try. Anyone tried this stuff here or overseas? How does it differ than a strong liquor obtained locally? I don't want to hear any crap about how alcohol is bad either, its for my birthday and nobody will be driving. |
|
I've had it here, made it here and had it overseas. Here it sucks, making it turned out terribly (probably my fault) but overseas? Hooo boy. I drank a LOT of it in Prague and had a great time. The bar tender would throw some on the bar, light it on fire and then pour a drink. There's something psychological, disturbing and entertaining about drinking flammable booze. All that said, it's basically just a strong liquor. It tastes AWFUL at first, but has no aftertaste, so you can drink a few of them. The whole ritual thing is very cool, but still- without the psychotropic ingredients from a century ago... its just booze. Enjoy!! |
|
I like it, get the distilled stuff though. Read this:Tucker Max Absinthe and Donuts |
| What didn't you like, the taste, the effects? As a birthday party, we will be looking to be rather intoxicated. We are planning to be very cautious about how much we do, as there will be 3 of us My wife, myself and my friend. My friend is my next door neighbor so he wont have to travel far to pass out, or if he cant make it home he can crash here. We have experience with 100+ proof rum, whiskey, tequila, etc. We plan to drink it the traditional way of using a slotted spoon and running water over a sugar cube etc. |
|
If you like Licorice then its right up your alley. Really strong stuff, the stuff I have is 120 proof. Will knock you on your ass. I don’t really care for the taste of it and have had half a bottle laying around for a year.. Mostly for when Friends come over And want to try it because of the hype.. I will tell you this.. there is no drunk like an Absenthe Drunk.. You “get happy” more than anything else I have ever drank. |
It will be about 40 proof (20%), I've heard it tastes like black licorice. In other words, it will mess you up only as much as stuff that's 20%. I suggest a bottle of 151 and a couple liters of cola instead if you want to get wasted off your ass. |
| As I understand, most of the effects described of a century ago absinthe was over hyped to make it illegal. I am not expecting to "trip" or anything like that. I am asking pretty much if I get a euro bottle of absinthe and do the ritual and drink like they do, will I have a decent experience and have fun with my wife and best friend, if I don't pass out? |
Well.. I can tell ya that you do get a little something extra in there.. All I can tell ya is to try it.. Things have a little bit of a "dream world" feel to them. But.. Im a cheap drunk and pretty sensetive to chemical effects compared to most folks. |
| I am no stranger to being drunk. My question comes from the idea that being beer drunk is different from wine drunk. And liquor drunk is different too. Having not tried this, or anything this high of proof just wondering what to expect. I am 90 percent sure were going to get a bottle probably euro and do it. If it tastes like licorice how does it taste compared to Jagermeister? I would imagine quite a bit stronger, but I have a real liking for jager. I would imagine the different brands have different taste too, so I will have to do more research on which one to buy. |
| I found in my research that absente is not the real thing. I want to do the real thing. Its not the same recipe. The real stuff is not illegal to possess or drink in the USA, only illegal to sell. Its not even illegal to buy. I guess the main reason is that the FDA considers some of the grains used to make stuff as "poison" but from what I have read, all the ingredients are completely legal to possess, and even the full bottle itself. I also read you will die of alcohol poisoning before the "poison" ingredients. Its just illegal to sell due to the ingredients are not FDA approved for food or drink. |
You'll have a VERY hard time finding Absinthe with any thujane (the chemical that was supposedly a hallucinogen) content. Best bet is to get some wormwood root and let it seep into a bottle of your choice, but that wont be the "real" thing either. And yes, wormwood is quite poisonous. |
|
Nothing you buy in the US will contain thujone, which is supposedly the active ingredient that makes absinthe different than other liquor. If you want something with thujone, you have to mail order from Europe. There's a chance you'll get it seized by Customs and it'll run you $70 a bottle or so. Not really worth it. |
Lucid + Red Bull on ice =  If it didn't cost $60 / bottle I'd drink it every weekend, but on the up side a bottle lasts me a few weeks anyway. It tastes very odd at first but so long as liquorice doesn't make you gag (my wife cannot stand it), it becomes very good after the first glass. 2 or 3 of them and I'm pretty much where I like to be. Wide awake, happy, energetic and pretty buzzed. There is NO hangover when it wears off, unlike tequila, my other fav. You don't get all sloppy or a headache at all. I tried it with water and sugar and it is  . No matter how cold (frozen) I got the water, by the time it is slow dripped over the sugar it is pretty much room temperature and disgusting.No visions or anything, just a "different", awake, motivated intoxication. |
| I had a girlfriend who bought me some in spain. I drank the bottle with a friend one night. He's very sensitive to any chemicals he puts in his body... whether it be alcohol, prescription, or over the counter medicines. He noticed it more then me. It has that licorice anise taste like really strong sambuca. Overall it was mild pleasent buzz not much different from the different affects of different types of alcohol. I'd like to try some again someday. |
| I have already found it, several varieties, costing anywhere from 40-80 bucks a bottle depending on size and alcohol/wormwood concentration. The internet is a wonderfull thing. Yes wormwood may be poison, but the alcohol is more dangerous in this drink. There is not enough wormwood in the drink to kill you before the alcohol does, and I don't plan on killing myself off by either. Hell I can buy wormwood at my local home brew shop for like 2 bucks an ounce. At 120 proof for the lightweight ones, you have to figure that is at least 60 percent alcohol so caution should be used, of course. |
+1 thats what I hear |
You could have a shitload of thujone in the maceration and it won't matter, thujone is left behind during distillation, properly distilled Absinthe will have thujone levels of 10 parts per million or less. The reason people were hallucinating from the shit a century ago is because some people were adding various poisonous compounds like Copper Sulfate to color the booze. 
|
|
I would like to be first to call "Dibs" on your guns. IM me with contact info on your next of kin. (I got totally screwed over when shawnofthedead died - there was not way to collect his guns and gear). In all seriousness, toxic ingredients and a desire to get really drunk never turns out well. If you want to get really drunk, drink what you know - that way you won't end up with alcohol poisoning. A 20% difference in alcohol content in a 750mL bottle, split between 3 people used to drinking a different proof willl have some harsh results. |
Ive met loads of americans who claim this stuff is the best alcohol they have ever come across. I dont drink it myself but they go mad over it. An american company bought the brand and it will be popular in the US at some stage. Its almost an institution in Queensland and with backpackers the world over who come here. Its overproof Queensland rum made from cane sugar and it has an almost narcotic effect like an opiate. This stuff puts you on a different planet and young visitors love the stuff. I reckon you get this for your birthday i reckon you will love it.
|
There are several theories. |
Ahhh Bundaberg. I lived and worked (fairly) close to Bundaberg in QLD for a while. EVERYBODY drank it there. Memories.... 
|
Like I said, make sure you get a distilled one. The ones from extract(the most common and cheap ones) are
|
|
I spent some time in Czech 15 years go and you can get some pretty decent Absinthe there. Different countries over there have different rules regarding the contents. We were with some medical students that swore the best effect was to dip a spoonful of sugar into the absinthe, light it and let it burn until the sugar melted/liquified. Then dump the burning spoon into the shot, stir like mad, and slam the shot. I don't know how much difference doing it that way made, but every one of us that did, got knocked on our ass. They had all sorts of medical mumbo jumbo about how it changes the reaction in your stomach. |
|
The Jade varieties are good stuff, as far as absinthe goes. Absinthe tastes similar to Nyquil, if you drink it straight prepare for stomach problems. Some people light the sugar cube after putting some absinthe on it, this is called the czech method, others put some absinthe in a glass and pour distilled water over the sugar cube, this is the traditional method. Some foreign distributors will guarantee delivery, but it ain't cheap. |
I wonder if you could probally sell that stuff on the EE, Id buy some 
|
| Ok I couldn't wait for my birthday. Had the wife pick up a bottle of Lucid at Hy-vee. All I can say is wow. I did it the traditional way with the spoon and sugar cube. Did not taste like diesel fuel, tasted like jagermeister with some added tastes to it. I am going to go do another and put the expensive stuff away. Cost 63 bucks. |