Opinions - Best absinthe brand

[mr.stark]

This random dude SWIM is looking for a good, not-overwhelmingly bitter Absinth for < $50 USD.

Absinthium 1792 sounds good, with a little over 30mg Thujone, but to buy a BLUE absinthe as a first buy sounds rather strange to the Swimmer of the Seven Seas.

Any positive experiences with a high-wormwood level Absinthe?

[Orchid_Suspiria]

Swim has seen a few blue absinthes even a red one.Swim is considering buying a blue absinthe from Italy called Alandia.Has anyone tried this one out or have any experience with it?

[Charenton]

<$50...forget it. These brands would have been made using an oil mix. Thujone is a natural terpene in artemisia absinthium and if you want to the real thing made from natural potent grande wormwood (Aa) you will need to be prepared to spend much more.

Adding water at a ratio of 1:5 will create clouding in a natural absinthe and this is the herbal oils being released (which are held in suspension by the alcohol) Therefore real absinthe is a kind of concentrate - and you only need a few glasses. Drinking absinthe to excess is not a good idea. Do not waste your money on oil mixes.

Alcohol is a GABA agonist. It stimulates the production of this neurotransmitter which causes drowsiness and sleep. Thujone is a GABA antagonist. It prohibits alcohol from performing that part of it's function. Absinthe is therefore a type of 'speedball', it's chemical constituents at once promote the production of GABA and opens its receptors, while also closing those receptors off. This explains the 'green fairy' effect that absinthe has, as oppossed to just normal drunkenness.



This is a good one, but it is only made in limited batches and there is often a waiting list.

[Orchid_Suspiria]

Is that high thujone content really so important?Most the stories about thujone being psychedellic are really huge exaggerations.And if swiy was really interested in just thujone they could make a wormwood tea for much cheaper.Swim begs to differ.Brands like Kuebler and Alandia are real absinthes.As long as swiy doesn't get the Absente brand which is made with southern wormwood they are getting real absinthe.

[Charenton]

Thujone is a benchmark of the quality of the artemisia absinthium. As I said many absinthes do not even use the wormwood herb, just oil mixes which they buy from Sweden and mix with high proof alcohol. Drinking wormwood tea will not create the effect at all. As I also mentioned you need the agonist and antagonist at work against each other to experience the effect.

Absinthe: attention performance and mood under the influence of thujone.
Dettling A, Grass H, Schuff A, Skopp G, Strohbeck-Kuehner P, Haffner HT.
Institute of Forensic and Traffic Medicine, University of Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany.
CONCLUSIONS: As they are apparently opposed to the effect of alcohol, the reactions observed here can be explained by the antagonistic effect of thujone on the gamma-aminobutyric acid receptor. Similar alterations were observed for the other mood state dimensions examined

.

[Orchid_Suspiria]

This is not true.Take a look at any site that sells absinthe.Most are indeed made with grande wormwood.The point of good absinthe is to have a balance not to have this huge content of thujone.This Century Absinthe site seems to be out to rip people off by marketing absinthe as some sort of psychedellic.

[Charenton]

Do you know what an oil mix is? A macerate? Do you think that brands like Absinthium 1792 are actually made using freshly harvested herbs?

Thujone levels are very important to Spanish consumers, they have become accustomed to drinking absinthe solely for the effect.

B. Alex Obsello Absenta, Spain Jun 18 2008

Do you know what Hausgemacht is for example? It isn't made by adding E numbers and colourants to bought in alcohol. Many of these so called absinthe companies are not even distillers. If you are drinking absinthe sold in America it is "thujone free" According to the FDA, alcoholic beverages must be thujone-free pursuant to 21 CFR 172.51. I imagine that you may have been reading that it is just like the old stuff, eh? Ask Professor W. Arnold, a biochemist at the University of Kansas:

But the biggest controversy surrounding the liquor--once dubbed "one of the worst enemies of man"--is about not its resurgence but rather its authenticity. Enthusiasts claim the thujone-free brands, which contain less than 10 parts per million (p.p.m.) of the chemical, are made with the same relatively small amounts of thujone as the old brews. But scientists wrote in the British Medical Journal that absinthe bottled before 1900 packed up to 260 p.p.m. of thujone--which may not sound like much, but consider that only 15 parts per billion of lead in drinking water is enough to scare regulators. "They are playing pretend," study co-author Wilfred Arnold says of the liquor's new cheerleaders. "It is nothing like the old stuff.

Thursday, Nov. 29, 2007 Time Magazine

[Orchid_Suspiria]

This is true that the only absinthe brand sold in most US liquor stores called Absente is very low in thujone because it is made with southern wormwood and not grande wormwood.However as long as an absinthe is made with grande wormwood it is a real absinthe.

[Charenton]

Yes it is less than 10ppm thujone. I think you misundertood me when I said they don't use the wormwood herb. What I meant was that they just mix an oil with alcohol and bottle it up. This oil contains an extract of grande wormwood and yes technically it is absinthe. It is quite different to the natural distilled variety that uses specially grown and harvested wormwood to get a naturally high thujone content.

Southern wormwood as you mention is non thujone bearing and was used in the original Absente. There is now a new Absente now using grande wormwood and the European version has always used grande wormwood.

Charenton added 4 Minutes and 24 Seconds later...

The following brands of <10ppm thujone absinthe are now sold in the US under the thujone restriction and another restriction about labeling and names. It may not be called absinthe, but rather Absinthe (insert fancy word)

Lucid
St George
Sirene
Kubler
Absinto Camargo
Green Moon ( a wormwood vodka)

and a few others.

[allyourbase]

Swim has heard that some vermouths actually have a much higher thujone content than most absinthe.

http://artelis.pl/art-676,26,154-0,O..._absinthe.html

note that unlike absinthe, vermouth must actually be made with wormwood to be called vermouth, whereas some distributors try to pass off other green spiced liqours as absinthe, though they contain absolutely no thujone at all.

[mr.stark]

I'm coming to a sad point where I've found that these absinthe dealers are charging more for shipping than they are the actual absinthe! I've never spent over 30 that I can remember on a bottle of alcohol...the shipping alone exceeds that at just about each and ever site! Absurdities

[Orchid_Suspiria]

It is rather sad that because absinthe is a novelty now that people are charging ridiculous prices and trying to take every dollar they can.

[Charenton]

Then Swim can it himself! The cheap rubbish brands are nothing but macerates anyway and do not involve distillation. The flavour profile may be a little "challenging" if Swim doesn't like bitter flavours though. Swim might use Everclear or spirytus rektyfikowany (used to make homemade Piołunówka)

[Pickpoke]

its legal now in the states...at senior week me and a few buddies purchased a bottle of absinthe..it was called "lucid" and it was made in france. its 62% alcohol and was about $70 for a fifth.

[nEone]

Define "best".

Best tasting? Stongest ABV? Purported "effects"?

FYI - A really good indicator that a manufacturer is trying to rip off the public by playing into the mythology of what Absinthe does is any claim about the Thujone levels. Sebors Strong and many other macerated Czech brands tout that they have the "highest levels of thujone" available. They are invariably disgusting tasting brews with really high ABV that will certainly get a person drunk, and that's about it.

A high quality Absinthe is distilled - there's no two ways about it. Maceration (soaking wormwood and other herbs in high-proof alcohol) gives a bitter, unrefined product.

Anything from Jade Liquors, Ted Breaux, Pontalier, etc. will be a delightful refreshing experience. They are the most authentic reproductions of traditional absinthes - created by people with a vested and genuine interest in preserving a near extinct experience and culture.

If it looks like mouthwash, it's gonna taste like mouthwash. (that said, there is a quite nice red absinthe from Spain)

Don't buy into the hype - the "best" absinthe isn't going to make you trip. It's not going to thrust you into a hallucinatory world where you see fairies. Most of the popular understanding of Absinthe is a result of a media campaign begun by the French wine producers back before the prohibition began that have snowballed into "fact". The "effect" of a good absinthe is about the same as the "effect" from a gin and tonic - with a slightly sharper more lucid quality to it. And after the third glass - the "effect" is just being drunk.

Absinthe is best drunk on a hot day, prepared with ice cold water, and enjoyed while relaxing and bullshitting with friends. Anyone who tells you to set a shot on fire should be ignored or scorned.

But hey - if it's hype you want...Marylin Manson has his own brand...Mansinthe. Grabe a bottle and Go wild. While you're at it, smoke some bananna peels and then post the video on YouTube.

[Orchid_Suspiria]

Its because of people like manson the king of poseur goth,Hollywood parasites and other such hype that absinthe is so expensive."Ohhh Johnny Depp and Marilyn Manson drink it!It must be so cool."Yet another reason to hate Hollywood.

[GForce]

I hope Bajeda eventually finds this thread. He'll be able to speak for me because I can't remember what absinthe it was we tried. It was, however, brought back from a mutual friends' trip to Switzerland, so it is some Swiss brand. Whatever it was I enjoyed it a lot. We didn't have the best drinking setup, so my drink consisted of appropriate proportions of absinthe, water, and sugar in a water bottle. I remember sipping it and enjoying it to the end. I got pretty intoxicated for the amount of alcohol I consumed, but I didn't really experience any of the notorious wormwood effects.

EDIT: It might have been Kubler, but I really don't remember for sure.

[Charenton]

created by people with a vested and genuine interest in preserving a near extinct experience and culture

LOL. Vested interest is right. They are not authentic actually. They are recreations of what one brand of absinthe tatses like after being in a bottle for +100 years. Absinthe was served from barrels in cafes and there are many references to the acird aroma of fresh worwmood in Belle Epoque literature. These brands are sugared up, anise light, thujone castrated poseurs with fancy labels.

The original line of Jade absinthes that Breaux made in Bangkok had levels of thujone between 50-100mg thujone. Then he moved to France and the thujone had to be lowered and now he is selling Lucid in the US thujone has been removed altogether! Times change, and so do the stories these "noble" men tell depending on what the regulators say.

Using every bit of information I’ve processed over the past seven years, my calculations indicate that quality original Pontarlier labels contained anywhere from 50-100mg/kg total thujone. I do agree that I feel that thujone is not the only player in the secondary effects, although I’m convinced it plays an important role. I also have some evidence that indicates that the presence of other essences and even manufacturing methods is influential.T.A. Breaux
June 5, 2000

Reputation Comments on this post:

	You've shared some interesting bits and pieces in this thread: Wecome (and keep up the good work)
	Excellent quote and info - thanks!

[nEone]

^^ I'd never read that quote - but it's certainly a great find. A telling insight, to be sure.

Despite the lower level of thujone in Breaux's newer distillations - I don't think there are many brands that outperform in terms of a well balanced, complex spirit. Certainly not the Czech brands that promise higher levels.

Ah well - much like a home-cooked meal is better than any fare from McDonalds - the "best" absinthes aren't readily available on the open market - they're the Bleu's being crafted in small stills in the Swiss Jura mountains...they're the ones that never STOPPED production.

[hairy-pothead]

to all absinthe drinkers out there what is the best absinthe on the market if you can tell me anything about any like

price
thujone level
alcohol content

Reputation Comments on this post:

UTFSE

[d0wn3r]

This is the best Absinth on the market in Canada that Duff knows about; its around 70% whereas the other Absinth which is available is around 40-ish%:



About $70 a pop.

[xreaper0dx]

ok here is the answer to the actual question that was asked in the first place since everybody seems to want to argue and nobody seems to know what the hell they really are talking about in here so let me shine some light on this subject. there going to be 3 r types of absinth out there plus one and i will explain the plus one in a bit. the three types are a DELUX wich is true blu honest to god absinth. there is also classic wich is made from high spirit vodka or everclear, and finally there is the specialty class. here are the differances between them. any of the DELUX DISTILLED brands will be just that DISTILLD not mixed and will be made from something called ANISE. now anise is simmilar to everclear but gets its alcahol content from being aged, much like a stick of dynamite makes a bigger explosion the older it gets. a DELUX will also be distilled from scratch and not have much in them but licorice,wormwood, ANISE, sometimes stinging nettle and sugar. most of the brands in this category are ILLEGAL IN THE USA AND CANADA. but there is one brand that i cant remember right off the top of my head that is DISTILLED and produced the old fashioned way that is available here in oregon. and everywhere in the usa and canada. but is regulated to 10ppm for TRUJONE content. most of the brands in this category are between 60-90%BV and come in 1/5th bottles and sometimes pint bottles for the high grade stuff and be looking at paying anywhere from 80-400 dollars a bottle.

then there is classic wich is usually a bunch of crap thrown into a barrel along with wormwood nettles of many types licorice cinnamon believe it or not and sometimes anise is used but in small amounts. and aged not distilled untill the desired alcahol content is reached usually 55-65% bv but it is made by using cheap vodka and or everclear and most of these taste like garbage. st lhons and lucid are decent tasting when prepped correctly and using filtered water that has ice cubes in it that were also made with filtered water. most of these brands are available in the us and have less then 10ppm trujone and caost anywhere from 40-200 a bottle and in some instances there are some brands that have content of 35-50%BV designed for mixing and have 2PPM trujone content and are really sweet to the taste and can be shot straight

then there is the specialty class. ranging anywhere from 30-500$ per bottle. most of which cannot be acquired any longer except La Bleu which has 2 color option pink that has a more bitter taste to it and is 65%BV or bleu (blue) that is 70%BV and is sweeter for some reason. most of these types have more then 10PPM trujone content and cant be acquired in the usa but i have seen them in canada for some reason and 200$ a bottle for 70CL wich is roughly a 1/5th bottle. they come in varying colors some bright green and some colorless and look like vodka. these are usually a delux style distillation but have different colors to them hence the specialty name tag

now to the fourth type which is the cheap knock off brands. before the ban was lifted for the consumption of wormwood in the usa they were producing knock off brands that had no wormwood content that were sweet to the taste but were bitter in the throat and would not louche because of the absence of wormwood. these should be avoided at all costs simply because they are not a true absinth.

there about 5-9 brands available from liquor stores in the usa. lucid and a weaker mix of ST.Jhons is available and they are all i really touch at exactly 10PPM trujone and 65 and 70% BV they are the most potent for the money available and both brands louche quite well. here they rannge for the lucid 64.95-70.00$ and for the ST.Jhons65.85-78.98 they are both a pale green and are not unbalanced. they have a good mixture and taste like a true absinth should taste.

sorry that this post was so long but it needed to be put out there that there are different types and that the prices are rediculous for what is being sold. as for the grande wormwood anything that is made with wormwood that comes from the czeck republick is true absinthe and there is a true absinthe coming out of portland oregon made with anise and oregon wormwood that happens to be native to this state. just keep an eye out for frauders that know nothing about what they are talking about. ask them if it is a delux distill or a classic if they dont know what you are talking about dont buy fgrom them. nothing is worse then buying product from people that know nothing about what they are trying to sell.

once again sorry about the long post but this should stop the arguing

[terrapinzflyer]

Originally Posted by xreaper0dx

... and will be made from something called ANISE. now anise is simmilar to everclear but gets its alcahol content from being aged, much like a stick of dynamite makes a bigger explosion the older it gets. a DELUX will also be distilled from scratch and not have much in them but licorice,wormwood, ANISE, sometimes stinging nettle and sugar.

Not true ! Anise is an herb that imparts the licorice flavor in Absinthe- licorice is another species entirely and is not used in the production of Absinthe.
Anise is also NOT the source of the alcohol in any sence. Traditionally Absinthe is made with a grape alcohol.

Erowid had a wonderful piece on Thujone last winter, debunking many of its myths, in the Erowid Extracts- not sure if it available online - the print version goes to members...

[RX420]

swim thought Absinthe King of Spirits Gold was the best of the best??? From the research my friend has done, it seems to be hailed as the best out there. going for over a couple hundred dollars a bottle...(not exact price, so swims not giving prices out) just to give swiy an idea of what a bottle is going for.

[RX420]

and swim was just curious couldn't swiy buy absinthe than just add more wormwood/thujone to the bottle??