Do you like absinthe?!
Do you like absinthe?
so do you like absinthe and did it make you hullcinate and alos do you think it lives up to its hard core reputation
Answers:
Unfortunately the Net is full of false ideas and myths about absinhte, here's what's real:
It's totally and completely false that absinthe causes hallucinations, it has been proven over and over again scientifically, either in surviving XIX century absinthe bottle either in todays modern brands of real absinthe.
Absinthe was banned because the early XX century wine producers, being threatened by the huge sales of absinthe lobbied together with religious conservative movements to forbid it under many false pretexts. Eventually, they did it. It was never banned in England, Spain and Portugal, in these two countries it is still produced today. The USA are currently the only country in the world still forbidding absinthe.
The hallucinogenic myth is being perpetuated by unscrupulous vendors (who make fortunes out of the ignorance of mainly american customers) and some manufacturers of a "thing" that is not absinthe. I'm talking about mainly czech producers who claim their "absinth" is "high on thujones".
Wormwood, arthemisia absintium, the plant, does in fact contain the mollecule thujone that despite looking similar to THC is not the same nor does it have the same effects. Before you had any hallucinations with thujone you would die first from it's toxicity since you had to ingest a massive ammount of it. The thing is that the very small ammounts of thujone in wormwood almost disappear completely through the process that any absinthe must suffer to be considered an absinthe: Distillation.
Further example of the ridiculousness of that myth, the aromatic plant used in some dishes, sage, has more thujone than wormwood, not enough to be toxic, of course.
So please, enjoy absinthe for what it really is: the most complex tasting drink made by Man, it can even be superior to the best red wines, and this because:
- ABSINTHE IS: Grape spirit distilled together with up to 9 different herbs, among them green anis (the main constituent), wormwood, petite wormwood, fennel, hyssop, melissa, angelica of the alps, star anis and sometimes coriander seeds. This process of slow distillation is very difficult and complex, it takes up to 18 hours of a carefully monitered distillation, a little too much temperature and it's ruined. That's why it can't be reproduced by amateurs. All spirits after distillation are clear as water, including whiskey and absinthe. Some absinthes are sold that way, others are coloured with natural herbs, so that green is simply clorophile, not some E-23758590...
-ABSINTHE IS NOT: cheap vodka with wormwood soaked in it, it would taste horrible because wormwood contains the second most bitter substance known to Man;
cheap grain alcohol artificially coloured and flavoured (the czech "absinths").
Final note, never, BUT NEVER burn a sugar cube over your absinthe, that's a fake, stupid commercial gimmick invented by the czechs in the 1990's, nobody ever drank absinthe that way in the XIX century. They drinked it this way:
- on a large, clear glass pour no more than two fingers of absinthe; then slowly, very slowly, drop by drop if you can pour ice cold water, no less than 2 parts of water to one of absinthe; you may notice your absinthe will become cloudy, opaque, it's a sign of it's authenticity. Now again very slowly and calmly, proceed with the tasting, absinthe is not to be stupidly gulped down like a shot, it must be appreciated with ease so that all the subtle flavours may toy with your pallate.
Cheers
Source(s):
Me. Absinthe Researcher and Drinker for 20 years.
Yeah its good, tastes like black liquorish, makes you a little loopy. I remember everything looked green. I was really happy upbeat, and you get drunk really fast.
It's a very mellow buzz. To be honest, it just made me sleepy. It has a mild hallucinogen as well as the alcohol. You won't see things unless you drink a couple bottles. That, by the way, would kill you just because of the alcohol content. Prolonged use is suspected to cause severe brain damage, which is why most countries have banned it.
Personally, I thought it was a waste of money. I did it just to do it, and after that, I never had any interest in it again.
I've had several absinthe's, some are better then others. I don't really buy the whole hallucinate thing, It's high alcohol content can make anything seem hallucinogenic In the 1900's absinthe came under the same type of attack marijuana does today. It was made to blame for everything wrong with society at the time. Van Goah drank absinthe, Van Goah cut off his ear, But did Van Goah cut off his ear because of absinthe? Probably not, but it got the blame. Like today, the more something is demonized, the more it's embraced by the counter-culture of the day. Because of that the legend grew to mythological status. Try it, enjoy it, but don't be disappointed if God doesn't ask for your home phone number.