Absinthe

[Solty]

There's a loophole in the absinthe ban here in the US. It's Illegal to consume, buy and sell inside the united states borders. It, however, is legal to buy from a european vendor who's country has absinthe legalized, and have it shipped to the US and it's legal to posess absinthe...

do you a reference of this....i'd like to have some traction so i feel confident buying again...reather than a friend from buffalo driving to Canada...and bringing it back...

mike

[redspexxx]

i've wanted to try the green fairy. i've went on a quest to find her once, but came up short, except that i found something else for the alcohol that makes you trip demographic: mead. its what the vikings used to drink before they went to go pillage and rape and whatnot..

[Timko]

i went with Hill's Liquere

*cringe*

Well, now that I see you went to Canada, everything makes sense now. Canada doesn't import any quality distilled absinthes. Kid is right though, it's quite easy (abet expensive) to have European vendors send you their quality wares. If you click on that link for feeverte.net, you really will get more info that you'd ever need from there. Jade PF 1901 just came out, and it's supposed to be pretty hot!

[Rooster]

There's a loophole in the absinthe ban here in the US. It's Illegal to consume, buy and sell inside the united states borders. It, however, is legal to buy from a european vendor who's country has absinthe legalized, and have it shipped to the US and it's legal to posess absinthe...

do you a reference of this....i'd like to have some traction so i feel confident buying again...reather than a friend from buffalo driving to Canada...and bringing it back...

mike

i've had the canadian stuff when i would go up there to gamble and drink(before i was 21). did not live up to the hype.....ive heard the eurpean stuff is much better.

[Timko]

i've had the canadian stuff when i would go up there to gamble and drink(before i was 21). did not live up to the hype.....ive heard the eurpean stuff is much better.

That's because it's basically rubbing alcohol with some herbs. There's two types of ways to make absinthe: distill it, or make a concentrate and dilute (Mixed & Macerated). The majority of Absinthe that is available outside Europe is Mixed. Even in Europe, you have to go to a very fine spirits store to get good distilled Absinthe.
That said, it isn't like Hills is awful (my first bottle was Doubs from South Africa). If you don't like the taste, you won't like the better stuff. Plus, it gives you an appreciation for finer brands.

[some call me...tim?]

Hey Mike, did you get a chance to test out the goods? Going up to Vancouver this weekend and thinking of trying a bit, I'd like to hear your initial opinion of it.

[Solty]

i apologize but i steered clear of it this weekend. ended up at the bar both nights...and the friends i'm going to christen it with were outta town.

[Solty]

ventured into the depths of the bottle last nite with two friends..

we all started the nite with a hearty steak dinner and a few glasses of red wine

we did the whole ice cold water and sugar over slotted spoon...

thoughts:

didnt see a green fairy..but after 3 of em...i was fit to be tied.......tasted like a jager/sambucca drink...aka..black licorice......and was quite yummy.

overall, a tasty and expensive drunk...with no hangover in the morning....

the drunkeness was normal...not philosophical... maybe next time i will try not eating a big dinner..

[redspexxx]

i was talking about this the other night. my friend told me that to get a stronger "effect" from it, there is a diffrent preperation method. like you set a sugar cube on fire and drop it in and use much less water. im not sure but next time maybe give it a shot? i think i might order a bottle for myself...

[Timko]

like you set a sugar cube on fire and drop it in and use much less water. im not sure but next time maybe give it a shot?

*chuckle*

You'll see that on TV, in movies and in the promotional material of certain products, usually "absinths". It is an abomination, looked upon with disgust by all true absinthe enthusiasts. It has no logical or historical basis whatsoever. Do you want your drink to taste like burnt sugar? Do you want to set yourself on fire? Absinthe burns almost as well as gasoline. The burning sugar "ritual" is, to borrow the words of absinthe historian Benoit Noel, a "savage syncretism", born in the 1990s in the Czech Republic, born of the same ignorance that led the "absinth" producers there to produce the awful swill that goes under the name. The intention was probably to piggyback on the late 1980’s success of flaming sambuca and the like.

In summary, the original Czech producers knew as little about serving absinthe as making absinthe, so they made up their "tradition" as they went along. Unfortunately, the movie From Hell, in which Inspector Aberline, played by Johhny Depp, not only burns his sugar but doses his drink with Laudanum (a solution of opium in alcohol), gave this savage syncretism worldwide play, and new legends die as hard as old ones.

I have tried the burning thing, and it really makes it taste like shit.

[redspexxx]

lol. you take slotted spoon (the one you would normally use) and heat the underside of the spoon (use as little direct flame as possible to sugar cube) wait till the cube starts to bubble slightly, then pour ice water over the cube (not as much as you would normally use to louche. if you dont get enough syrup the first time, use less water so you can repeat the process untill you get the desired ammount) you dont want to char the sugar, just melt it to form a sugar syrup (what caramel is made of, if you want to try to imagine the taste). i was told it makes it possible to drink it more concentrated. im working on getting a few bottles for late min christmas presents, and one will be for myself so if no one else is brave enough to try this, i will

[Timko]

That does sound a bit more interesting that lighting your sugar cube on fire. That being said, I've never heard of anyone on feeverte's forums ever talking about this, let alone doing it. When I get some more absinthe in January, I'll do it with one of my less expensive bottles.

[Weebl]

Here is a link discribing the loophole, when I still drank I had ordered it from european websites and had no problem receiving it. Of course it was not for consumption though, then it would be illegal.

[redspexxx]

i try to stay away from open flames and high proof alcohol ever since the time we convinced my friend to take a full flaming shot of 151. we'd never seen it done before, so we didnt know to tell him to blow it out, long story short his face and the counter was covered with blue alcohols flames and now(3 years later) he can grow facial hair again...

[MrTasses]

I read this article back in 2005 and it lead me to be intrested in trying Absinthe. Thought I would pass it along.

http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/13.11/absinthe.html