Opinions - Just why is absinthe so expensive and will the prices ever go down?

[Orchid_Suspiria]

Don't worry this isn't a price discussion,swim just wondered why all these websites charge such ridiculous prices even for fairly small sized bottles of absinthe?Swim could get a decent sized bottle of a good cognac for cheaper and cognac is more expensive to manufacture from what swim has heard.

Is it the novelty factor?Is it about availabillity?Why such an insane and money hungry scheme?Most importantly will these prices go down over time?

[purplehaze]

I think the thing is that it was illegal in the states, and has recently been allowed. Not sure exactly but most absinthe phaze has seen in high times magazine and other ads have been around 75% alcohol.

Traditional absinthe has been illegal to sell in the U.S. since 1912, because it contains the chemical thujone. However, in 2007 some products labelled as "absinthe" were approved for sale in the United Stated. The situation is somewhat complex, but the short version is that the agency that now regulates alcohol in the U.S. (the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau) defines "thujone free" (an FDA requirement for any food made with Absinthe's defining herb wormwood) as meaning less than 10 parts-per-million (10mg/L) thujone. It is an ongoing debate whether "thujone free" absinthe should be considered authentic, with the common understanding being that traditional absinthe contained higher levels of thujone but current manufacturers arguing that vintage absinthe had similarly low levels of thujone. Whatever the truth of their arguments, the modern low-thujone absinthes are being widely publicized as the first legal absinthes in the U.S. since the 1912 ban.

For more details about the legality of Absinthe, see Absinthe in the United States?

Another legal issue is that it is illegal in the United States to distill alcohol (even for personal consumption) without paying special taxes, filing paperwork & requesting a license from the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms. Some absinthe recipes call for distilling the product and some do not. So, technically a distilled absinthe could be illegal if made without a license. It is also illegal to sell any alcohol for human consumption without a license.

It is likely legal in the US to produce absinthe for one's personal use using commercially available distilled liquor and infusing one's own herbs into the alcohol.

http://www.erowid.org/chemicals/absi...nthe_law.shtml

Thats my opinion, dunno tho

[Orchid_Suspiria]

Why is it only available online aswell?Since it is legal now why don't more liquor stores carry it?One would think most liquor stores would want to jump on such a big money making venture.Swim is tired of the fact his local liquor store only sells that fake absinthe called absente.Swim thinks another reason it is so expensive is because of the reputation it gets from films and the like blatantly lying and making it look like a psychedellic.They know uninformed people will pay alot for what they think is some new and legal hallucinogen.Perhaps if more people got out the truth about absinthe less people would be willing to pay such extravagant prices and the ripoff would end.

[fnord]

Its because they know people will pay that much. theres is some cheap absinth around if you look hard enough. Homemade absinth is very cheap and from what ive been told by grandma much mroe potent. recipies abound all over the web. another idea would be to get a cheap bottle and spice it up with more herbs to up the alkaloid content.

[Alfa]

Absinthe is dirt cheap in the Czech republic.*

*Unless you pay with dollars.

[Orchid_Suspiria]

Dirt cheap in both price and quality from what swim hears.The sad thing is even the lower quality absinthes,ones that are even reputed to be bad from the Czech Republic are even ridiculously priced.Swim hears some of these are hardly better than those make your own absinthe kits that seem to be all over the internet nowadays.

[Panthers007]

Why? Because it's become a "Celebrity Drink." You make something famous, whether it deserves the fame or not, and you can jack the price through the roof. Plain & simple.