How many of you have danced with the Green Fairy?

what is that on top of the glass? looks like a cake server

I had some in Spain. I didn't hallucinate. Tastes like anise.

I'll try it in Paris next year. I heard they sell the illegal stuff in some of the bars still.

ZombieKitten said:

a slotted spoon. you put the absinthe into the glass, then put the spoon on the glass. a sugar cube goes into the spoon and you pour water over the cube into the glass to dilute the absinthe.

not only danced ... made love to




word

Never, I don't think it's available in the States. Oscar Wilde pretty much drank himself to death with the stuff. On the other hand, there's mushrooms, peyote...for natural hallucinogenics. Even if it were available, I doubt I'd drink it. Maybe if I were 20.

Stax said:

You beat me to it.

Some folks do a variation that involves soaking the sugar cube in absinthe and setting it on fire. This so-called "Bohemian" or "Czech" fire ritual allegedly dates back to the 1920s, but it seems to be a 1990s post-Communism Czech invention.

Yum.

matt said:

interesting. i didn't know that, but i am definitely no connoisseur.

xplnyrslf said:

Well, you're not going to find it at a liquor store. But the laws governing absinthe are complicated. Absinthe is regulated as a food (FDA jurisdiction), not a controlled substance (DEA jurisdiction). I haven't looked at the actual statutes/regulations, but my understanding is this:

• Possession: Legal
  
• Consumption: Legal
  
• Manufacture: Illegal
  
• Sale: Illegal
  
• Importation: Illegal
  
• Shipment through the US Postal Service: Illegal (applies to all alcohol)
  
• Purchase: Not sure
  

I've danced many times with the green fairy. You're supposed to very slowly drip the water over ice on the spoon until the Absinthe loaches or turns a different shade of green. It's the coldness of the water coming down that loaches it perfectly. I have a nice little collection of the glasses and slotted spoons. A lot of people use sugar but I think it tastes better without the extra sweetness. Sometimes I drink it neat.

I've had the original Absinthe in Europe and Absente here at home and there isn't a whole lot of difference. You can get Absente at some of the larger liquor stores in the US. The Absente site has some really good recipes for mixed drinks you can make:

http://www.crillonimporte...-about.htm

You can also get some nice glasses and spoons from them.

They sell it here at the MLC but I havent picked up any yet or tried it.

xplnyrslf said:

It's available in the States I picked up a bottle last year for Christmas.

NAnomaly said:

The stuff you can get here doesn't contain wormwood, which is what provides the "special effects" of absinthe.

NAnomaly said:

There's a few different brands here from different countries. I like Absente the best.

No, never get near the stuff. I like colored butterflys anyway.

I tried it earlier this year. I did not see Kylie (or anything else flying around my living room). It tasted like cough suryp. It did, however, give me some pretty effed up dreams that night.

HereToRockYourWorld said:

Absente is made with Southern worwood,not Grande wormwood like Absenthe proper. The slightly lower thujone levels ake it legal for sale here. But there's not much difference at all. Actually even the origial Absinthe never had all that much thujone anyway. If you drink Absente and smoke a little pot you have about the same effect as real absunthe.

shellyevon said:

I was told that when I picked it up, all I know is this whatever it was suppose to be missing that makes it legal to sell here in the States the "special effects" potion, I couldn’t tell it wasn’t in it and I didn't miss it because that shit knocked me on my ass, I love that stuff...ohhh, New Year's I know what I'll be drinking.

ME!

It's illegal for RE-sale in the united states, however that's not to say it's illegal to posses or consume. You need order over seas. There's many diffrent grades, some being nothing but crap, while others give you an elation feeling.

I don't drink it that much any more. It can get quite expensive.

However, it is one spirit that is very fun to drink and changes your consciousness for days in a pleasent and positive way. If you get a good bottle that is.

lol. is that new stuff they sell comparable to the 'old' version?

i had it several times about 10 years ago when you still had to
go get it like in some psychokiller's basement in Brussels lol.

the whole absinthe thing didn't do that much for me, you know, i
can hold my narcotics pretty well.

the only thing i thought was happening was that i had flowers
growing out of my veins. oh yes, and i thought i was caligula
and kept imploring my mate should be my consul since he looks
like a horse



and one of the last times i thought i was going to write some
very profound poetry but when i woke up in the morning all it
turned out to be was just the lyrics to madonnas 'Dress U Up'



but that was a long time ago. i'm all grown up now

back in the day, when it was still illegal. i had to go all the way to the Czech Republic.

What's Wrong With Czech Absinthe?

I can drive a few hours north to Vancouver, Canada, and buy absinthe there in some bars (try The Fountainhead Pub -- great mozzarella sticks ) or the provincial liquor stores. Problem is, only two absinthes have been approved for sale in British Columbia, and both are from the Czech Republic, including the infamous "Hill's" brand. The most that can be said for Hill's is that they probably deserve the credit for starting the modern absinthe revival.

It was a fun experience, and I did get the "secondary effects," since the Czech stuff does contain wormwood. However, I was disappointed to discover later that most Czech "absinthe" otherwise has little in common with the drink popular in France 100 years ago.

EverSoulicious said:

IstenSzek said:

that is freakin' hilarious.

xplnyrslf said:

Nah, it was imprisonment that ruined his health ( you know he was on trial because of his homosexuality).

matt said:

That´s right but there are still quite a few decent brand with a comparatively high thujon level, for instance Philip Lasala or Serpia (Serpis?) from Spain or France. Lasala costs about 30 $ a big bottle. I still haven´t finished mine, bought it six years ago.

It´s still kinda weak though, the real deal had almost eight times more thujon in it.

I would like to try it one day out of curiosity...