Opinions - True Absinthe: Worth It?

Hey! I was wondering if anyone at this forum ever tried absinthe and is the high price tag of buying it really worth the buzz you get from drinking it?

The best brand I could find with the highest amount of thujone I found for $200 per bottle.Its called "King of Spirits Gold". I'd be willing to buy it if anyone here thinks its worth the price. If anyone knows where to find a cheaper absinthe with a high amount of thujone let me know. Thanks

BTW its legal from where Im fromEdited by: strangedream

[Sektor]

try everclear

Sorry, Im not sure I understand your reply could you elaborate.Edited by: strangedream

[Nature Boy]

Personally, I think absinthe is vastly overrated. The stuff is ridiculously strong (if you get the 85% vol. version), the effects are nothing special to speak of (same as any spirit, just stronger) and I guarantee you that you won't remember a thing if you rip into several shots of it over the course of a night with a few beers.

Do NOT expect absinthe to provide some sort of "extra" buzz that normal alcohol can't provide.

Hello nature_boy_liam,

Yeah, I was thinking it was probably overrated too. The various websites that carry the absinthe make it sound like the high is some kind of a big deal.

I kind of figured its a marketing device in order to get you to buy their absinthe.

thanks for the adviceEdited by: strangedream

[BrandonAA]

so is there no truth to the wormwood trip aspect of absinthe? not even in certain brands from eastern european countrys?

[bman1]

it is a little over rated. check absinthe like the gold is more
harsh try a swiss brand and do the sugar thing then Its not bad
though one wont trip really but it gets you drunk much much
easier take ones tolerance down.



as for everclear one could soak wormwood in everclear and thujone will
soak in the everclear along with many other things. One could get
a so called feel for absinthe, but no where near the taste or feel as
the real thing erowids has a recipe for this



As for the link you posted edit it out of your post as it is not allowed outside of the sources forum

[Benga]

Originally Posted by bman1

as for everclear one could soak wormwood in everclear and thujone will soak in the everclear along with many other things. One could get a so called feel for absinthe, but no where near the taste or feel as the real thing erowids has a recipe for this

if you do that you should definetly REDISTILLATE it (just use pot still, pot + wok), soaked arthemisia abs. (wormwood) tastes way too bitter otherwise

Originally Posted by bman1

As for the link you posted edit it out of your post as it is not allowed outside of the sources forum

cheers thanks for the heads up

[Sky Walker]

I think you only get that special absinthe buzz when you only have 2 or 3 shots, after that your just gettin hammered.

[Red_Baran]

well let me tell you swims experience with absinthe, swim took idk like 5-7 shots and that’s all swim rembers that hole night.

Swim had sitters (also kind of drunk just not as plastered) they told swim the next morning that he was nuts last night (swim woke up just thinking he drank and went to bed) swims buddies said swim was saying he was seeing green orbs, black holes, dragons and god knows what else, also swim put some big ass dents in swims fathers car don’t know how swim was told he was just punching the car for fun, swim was also told he was being a complete jackass

[Sektor]

everclear=98% proof, over swis way, kick ass shit, burns like fuck, good times....

[ambrosius]

King of Spirits is absolutely horrible. It's technically a "bitters" not absinthe (doesn't even have anise...the ingredients are wormwood and fennel). Rule of thumb: If it doesn't have an e on the end, its probablyCzech crap.

Good absinthes to try would be Kubler, the Jades (Eduoard, Verte Suisse, and Nouvelle Orleans), Verte and Blance de Fougerolles, and Suisse Le Bleue Clandestine. For something a little different, try Serpis or Absinthe Montmartre.

Don't go for the thujone hype. You'd die of alcohol poisoning before feeling the effects of thujone. Thujone causes convulsions in its pure form.
Also, it isn't very pleasant in shots. Getting a good louche is a bit of an art which also brings out different flavors. A straight shot and all you'll taste is anise and fennel. There's a whole bouquet of flavors in a good absinthe, but it takes a bit of work to bring them out.

And finally: Absinthe is NOT hallucinogenic. Secondary effects are characterized by a slightly speedy euphoria. Poets of the time of absinthe experienced strange things for two reasons:
1) They were poets...Poets exaggerate things in writing to make them more intense than they are. It's their job.
2) Opium was highly popular at the time. The two together causes the user to have one foot in dreamland.

[cactus]

jaques senoux makes some good stuff, the least potent is 65% with 15% thoujone (sp.)


make sure if you attempt to distill your own that you get the right wormwood. theres 2 main types, 1 is used for insect repellant.

Hey thanks for the killer advice you guys really know your absinthe.

[wednesday]

absinthe is an amazing drink and i love it
if you are not getting the absinthe effects you are doing one of four things
not drinking it
not preparing it correctly
you didn't get good absinthe
you drank too little/too much

absinthe is not something to take shots of. thats the wrong way to go about it

its something to be savored ie brandy...wine... the taste of a good absinthe is not to be beaten by anything
i promise you if you know what you are doing absinthe will be absolutely wonderful

[ambrosius]

Glad to see another absinthe enthusiast out there. You have a favorite absinthe?

[motorhead]

I had a glass of absinth last nite for the first time, czech stuff. Cant remember the name as really stewed by that time, but i do remember that it was light blue in colour like something off of the drink cart on the starship enterprise, 70%, and had a crisp taste. I want to say minty but it was more like liquid menthol. One might actually wake up with fresh breath after a nite of drinking this stuff.
I didnt drink enuff to experience any 'different' effects, but it will get you really plastered regardless.

[old hippie 56]

Tried it a few times, prefer Jim Beam Black. Throw a bottle in a freezer for a few hours, best doing shots.

[FrankenChrist]

Do you think Absente is any good? I think it's from the Pernod-Ricard group. Last week I saw a bottle in the supermarket for the first time, only shortly after it was legalised.

[sands of time]

I fell bad for all of you who spend $200 for a bottle of absinth. I have seen good absinth sell for under $50 dollars a bottle on the net. Not only that, but some of these cheaper ones are just as good as the best from France. Take a look as some of the Spannish absinthes, you won't be disappointed, and hopefully you will stop wasting your money on the expensive shit.

[Benga]

Absente and Versinthe and other mainstream french brands I didn't find anything special about them. I believe absente is a form of pastis. Anyway they don't taste that good. One I can recommend for taste and more is Deva's absentha, from Spain. It isn't fluorescent green, doesn't have a skyrocketing sugar / alcohol level, good louche, inexpensive.

About current french absinthes : french laws limits both thuyone and fenchone and pino-camphrone concentration, which is not the case say in Switzerland and (correct me if i'm wrong) Spain.
But then again Ian Hutton's analysis of 19th century absinthe showed that they were already within the limits of this 1988 derogation...but measurements are higly controversial... The measurements of these days have been proven to be pure fantasy or based on errors by recent studies, but this is what lead to the idea that absinthe's thujone "made you high".

Thujone, and thujone concentration that was mentioned in the original post...Most people agree that these different elements, including thujone, are not really psychoactive, that thujone containing absinthe won't make you trip or high, but that the combination does have a very subtle effect which makes absinthe slightly different from other alcohols.
The main reason to drink absinthe has to do with taste and history more than psychoactivity. Absinthe was made illegal as a result of lobbying from morality leagues and wine producers, because it was actually cheaper than wine and therefore got targeted, the ideal culprit for stressing the dangers of alcoholism.
It wasn't banned because it made people high crazy or blind, but just because it was one of the most popular drinks of these times, and had a strong alcoholic content. What you read on absinthe effect is propaganda, similar to the "refer madness" junk which popped up in some years later.
So if you think that absinthe will get you high or make you trip like other substances, you're just buying early 20th century propaganda. Or the musings of poets, but then again re-read what Baudelaire wrote on hashish jam or wine (les paradis artificiels, artificial paradises) and you will see that he and other writers of the late 19th early 20th century were not poets for nothing.

So far the bast absinthes I've tasted were either Swiss ( clandestine and since March 2005 legal again) or Spanish. Original Swiss absinthes are currently illegal in France, and have to be modified for export (such as Artemisia recette Marianne, legal in France)
I wouldn't buy current french absinthe though, really. Go for Swiss or Spanish, around 40 euros you can get something good. From what I recall the now legal "la bleue" from switzerland is now for sale around 50 euros. This drink is said to be one of the best absinthes availables.
Whatever you do stay clear of czech absinth and the sugar cube flaming thing (introduced in czech discotheques for making the novelty drink more visible). Oh and absinthe isn't "ridiculously strong". It varies between 40° (like pastis!) and 70° or so but is meant to be diluted in 4 or 5 volumes of ice cold water.
To answer your question, is absinthe "worth the price", yes, definetly, good absinthe is worth it. Not because it will get you "high" but because it is a delicious drink, which was difficult to obtain until a few years ago and because it does have something "special" about it, but then my experience makes me feel that the same can be said of Green Chartreuse for instance. My word of advice is to think of absinthe as part of an "art de vivre", art of living, like good wine, rather than in terms of effects, and to read up on absinthe, myths, history and current state of affairs on websites such as feeverte etc...
I hope this post answers some questions and demystifies this great drink, as I really feel absinthe (and coca leaves for that matter ) are really misunderstood.

cheers
b

[buddhasharlot]

Thank you benga! Recently saw a bottle of Absente at a liquor store (I live in the US) and was puzzled esp. b-c of the label (it says nothing about using "southern wormwood") and wondered as it was besided the Pernod (which I already have at home and appreciate much in the manner of absinthe, meaning with water and a bit of sugar) and saw that the asking price was higher than pernod...however I was not tempted until I found more info. I find Absente a bit misleading and imagine now that it's on the shelves people will take to it thinking about exactly what you named vis-a-vis writers such as Baudelaire, Rimbaud and other myths/movies (Moulin Rouge, From Hell)....I was jumping up in my seat that you mentioned les paradis artificiels...needless to say, it is amazing the "mental trip" some people can have simply out of expectations, etc. -- like the non-alcholic beers given to freshmen college students by older ones waiting to see and laugh at them acting as if they were indeed quite drunk. After spending some time in Germany and having access to Czech Rep. and Hungary, I did have some brand that I enjoyed but for the life of me can't remember what it was as I ordered it not really knowing about brands at that time (young, naive and innocent--ah to be a child of 19 again!). I've heard a lot of people stressing avoidance of the Czech products...and that makes me wonder...what was it that I had....hrms....in the meantime,

"Il est l'heure de s'enivrer! Pour n'etre pas les esclaves martyrises du Temps, enivrez-vous; enivrez-vous sans cesse! De vin, de poesie ou de vertu, a voitre guise." (one of Baudelaire's prose poems I have memorized through years of reading and re-reading him)

excerpt from Prose Poem XII "Enivrez-Vous" from Twenty Prose Poems.

rough translation for non-French speakers/readers/mumblers lifted from a book b-c I'm always torn on how to translate things: "It is time to get drunk! So that you may not be martyred slaves of Time, get drunk; get drunk and never pause for rest! With wine, with poetry, or with virtue, as you choose!" (trans. Michael Hamburger : City Lights Books)

[MeridiaNx]

There's certainly some good stuff on here regarding Absinthe, a couple of people who obviously appreciate it as it is supposed to be enjoyed. Thought I'd do a little sum up/add a couple of points of my own to the mix:

1. As for effects, I would agree that the 'secondary' effects of Absinthe are something approaching an euphoria and, in my experience, a slight increase in lucidity and perception. We're not talking trips here, but the negative effects associated with alcohol are somewhat mitigated (at least initially).

2. There are a variety of brands/types/strengths out there. As one poster has mentioned, the more traditional versions will most likely be spelt "Absinthe". I have not tried Spanish brands, but certainly the most common would have to be French and Czech. Alcohol content varies, although usually between the range of 40-55%. Others, at much higher strengths (80% +), do exist, although these are highly likely to be Thujone-free, well marketed products attempting to cash in on the cache associated with the drink. A brand like Sebor might be an appropriate example. In the UK this is sometimes seen in bars, yet they do not have the necessary facilities to prepare the drink properly. Such varieties will just get you horrendously drunk and will most likely taste awful.

3. Although you are quite welcome to drink it how you like, it is intended as a drink to be appreciated, much as a fine whisky. Brands vary considerably in taste, although a novice (similar to whisky) may not be able to differentiate much, if at all. I would discourage shots, but a bit or research on the net will yield results fairly quickly on the Parisienne and Bohemian methods (the two most common) of preparing the drink. You would need appropriate glasses, iced water, sugar (or not), matches (again, or not) and ideally a nice, relaxing atmosphere. I wouldn't consider it a "going out" drink, especially as it can be expensive. It would therefore be worthwhile trying to get the best from it.

4. If at all possible, rounding up a group of friends who are interested in trying the drink would allow for a tasting session. If you select a nice range of bottles, varying in alcoholic strength (perhaps), but most especially taste (there are even aniseed-free versions around, although this slightly defeats the point), then everyone can sample, the cost can be spread and you can find a favourite. This is how I got into the drink and found that some were gorgeous and some horrendous. Subtle changes in the ingredients can have a noticeable impact on the end result.

Er, think thats it really. Well worth giving a go, but you might put yourself off if you just go for the alcohol effect. Easier said than done, the drink is relatively easy to source in Europe, I know USA is a different situation. Oh, and a Hemingway (I believe it is called on some websites) replacing the iced water with champagne is a very refreshing alternative/cocktail. Hope that all helps.

[Daniel Lioneye]

SWIM has been studying Absinthe for the last few weeks. SWIM has been living in different countries across the globe, for the last 3 or so years. Yet, SWIM feels he has not had a true absinthe experience.

SWIM Lately, has found out the truth of real Absithe, from Absinthe masters across the globe. Currently residing in the U.S.. SWIM is thinking about ordering a true bottle of Absinthe, this with cost SWIM a Lot of US... And I will surely have to add a true absinthe glass and spoon. Delivery will be guaranteed, so if it is actually picked up by customes(extremely unlikely), another would be on it's way at no price.

Will it be worth the price? Or is it more of a high for people that are not regularly experimental with all kinds of drugs. SWIM could always have 1-2g of methylone or 2c-e/I for the same price. Not that they would compare.. but would it be worth it anyway.