Proper preparation of Absinthe?
 

So, what's the best way to prepare this stuff? Pour cold water over a sugar cube into a glass of Absinthe?? Never had it before, just placed an online order :)

I drank absinthe in London a few years ago and I can report it tastes a lot like one might imagine cleaning fluid tasting - perhaps cleaning fluid chased with a bucket of rusty nails shot into your throat from a cannon. And that was while drinking it only a shot at a time with plenty of sugar "melted" into the drink (i.e. the bartender put a spoonful of sugar above the glass as she poured and then lit the sugar on fire so it would melt down into the drink). The stuff is incredibly harsh. I think I and my friend only managed to down three or maybe four shots before giving up - literally in disgust. So I'd suggest diluting it with as much sugar or maybe sweet fruit juice as possible.

Here are some recipes online...

http://www.rain.org/~philfear/cocktails.html

The last one with the grenadine looks most promising IMO. Let us know if it doesn't kill you, k? :D

Sooo, does the stuff really mess with your head like some websites suggest :)

I've also heard this rumor, but it doesn't make a whole lot of sense... alcohol does not make one hallucinate.

No, you just get a VERY BAD hangover (as with most annisette based liquors). Cold water over sugar or just sugar.

Born and raised very close to the absinthe plant in Spain.

I got some for a friend of mine at the Prague airport several years ago. I never tasted it, but he was thrilled with a full 750ml bottle that only cost the equivalent of $3.

Correct, but the neurotoxin found in wormwood (which is an ingrediant of absinthe) is. Hallucinogenic in small doses, turns your brain to mush in larger doses.

AFJuvat

I think you would be better of with a hand full of shrooms washed down with a few cold beers :D

Mother allready says I have mush for brains...so why the fk would I need to try anything like this?

I have a bottle of it and enjoy it from time to time. The 'pouring the water' over the sugar cube method is the 'original' and 'correct' method, if you will. The 'Czech fire ritual' is a newer way of doing things -- pure Hollywood.

As with anything, there is a difference in quality between various brands. Some of the higher quality brands are modeled after the swiss 'La Bleue' -- they are clear with a faint louche (cloudiness when water added). They cannot legally be imported, but possessing absinthe is not illegal here. Kind of like cuban cigars.

The wormwood content is much lower now than in the past, but the drink does have a mild 'buzz' which is distinct from that induced by the alcohol content.

Absinthe was hugely popular in Europe in the last century, and even threatened the French wine industry. The drink was later outlawed in much of Europe and in America due to some highly publicized murders and other events, which were linked in the publics mind to the Absinthe -- much as alcohol was linked to a myriad of sins in the temperance movement. It is probably true that some absinthe caused human illness, but the wormwood is not thought to have been the problem -- rather, heavy metals from poor distillation techniques. Some of the 'nagative' imagery comes from Van Gough, with the amusing 'ear' incident related to absinthe. But consider that he also drank paint and paint thinner.

Betina Wittels has a good book on it, and also sources 'the green fairy' in the USA. Much more info here

http://www.feeverte.net/

I probably got ripped off, but I bought a complete "kit" from a place in Germany. Should be interesting to say the least :)

-B

I've had absinthe in Amsterdam, and it's really not what everyone says it is. You dont start hallucinating like you do on LSD. It does have a unique kick to it though. It also has the effects one would expect with high proof liqour. i.e. splitting headache the next day.

Jared, did you experience the horribly bad taste that I did in London? Having tried it just once, I wonder if I was drinking a particularly bad brand or if all absinthe is so painfully harsh.

Aah, forbidden fruit. Want some cuban cigars to go with that wormwood?

just go buy some moonshine and get on with it!

Janus, the one I've had was also very bitter... if anyone wants a "simulation" take sip of Campari, straight up. That's the taste... the effect is different.

Its all pretty bad

I had some friends that made their own. You can actually make a pretty nice Martini with it...

Strange drunkeness, but definitely no hallucinations... Propaganda....

A drink with a colorful history, sounds like something to stay away from.

Get some Raki. Alcohol + opium = warmth & smiles.