After seeing it being used in movies I looked it up and read about it. Has anybody here had it ? It is illegal in the US.
Here in Germany we have got the "toned down" version. Our neighbours, the Czech Republic (where I am originally from), haver the real Absinth, I think it was invented there. Real Absinth means that it contains wormwood (Wermut). No matter which one, the taste of Absinth reminds me of bitter liqourice...
Even mixed with juices it is a strange drink, believe me!
I've never tried Absinthe, but it's always been a consideration
I don't believe it's actually illegal to own in the US, but it's illegal to sell it in the US. There are numerous websites out there that will sell it to you from outside of the country. It's perfectly legal to buy it and have possesion of it in the US.
I have had the tamed (no wormwood) version. Its just a thick liquorice flavored drink, I liked it even though I don't normally like that flavor Still, it is not bad over ice, and makes a cool green-white color. The wormwood was a bitter flavoring with a neurotoxin that made the buzz that much more "buzzy".
Ed
I've still got half a bottle in my cupboard from my last birthday. Man that stuff is lethal. Its illegal to have the wormwood version, but fine to have the 'tamed down' version. That being said, my one is 55% alcohol [a friend of mine used to have higher % in his one] and will still mess you up more than anything else I've drunk.
Its funny, because I hate liquorice, yet when I'm drinking, I really enjoy drinking Absinthe. No Kylie Minogue green fairy hallucinations yet though. One day I have to have it the 'proper' way: poured onto an sugarcube and flames are involved, I can't quite remember. It sounded really interesting though.
One good drink to have with absinthe is a shot I think somebody called a B52, in which you have 1/3 Absinte, 1/3 Baileys and 1/3 Cofee Liqeur. It makes a cool layered effect in the shot glass and is quite nice!
Just remember, drink in moderation!
Well I have had it and I thought it tasted awful. Strong as hell, I think its pretty over rated, it seems to have some sort of mystery surrounding it but its nothing special.
I've tried it and I enjoyed it. Like someone else pointed out, it has a black licorice taste to it- and while I don't like the candy, the taste worked well as a drink. Maybe I was tolerable to the taste because I was getting drunk. All in all, it didn't make me hallucinate. It felt different from normal alcohol, sure, but it wasn't anywhere near mushrooms or acid. I recommend you try it once.
I have a friend who made some a while back. He seemed to love it, though he became singularly obnoxious while under its influence. Fortunately, it allowed the rest of us to amuse ourselves with "Absinthe makes the heart grow fonder" jokes.
All the stuff out there like Pernod & Grappa & etc. that have anise or liquorice flavoring agents in them & that go cloudy when water is added were all produced due to the outlawing of Absinthe, as substitutes.
Real Absinthe can make things go sparkly at the edges, kind of like coming on to Mescaline. However, to get the dramatic LSD-like hallucinations, one really has to overindulge in it, and it don't seem worth it. You may have noticed that the special glasses to drink Absinthe from have little silver carriages, or accompanying spoons, to hold sugar cubes, as the really strong wormwood taste is bitter and foul, especialy at first. I have been told/read that the poisonous nature of the beverage & its bad reputation came more from impure/unregulated distilling processes & not from any inherent danger from the wormwood itself. I don't know if this is true or not.
There are a number of other popular local drinks out there that may or may not have some of the same trippy qualities, but haven't gotten the attention that Absinthe did because of Absinthe's association with the "decadent" fringes of society at the turn of the Century. My understanding is is that the high alcohol content was more responsible for any bad behaviour it caused rather than the wormwood, but it became associated with the "criminal" classes -- kinda like a 40 & a Blunt.
Say, Wence -- Moectest du ein Enzian? (Would you like an Enzian?).
Enzian is derived from the roots of small yellow flowers that bloom around 12,000 ft. up in the Bavarian Alps. It's about 40% alcohol, but that ain't what the kick's all about -- eg. Scotch is about 40% alcohol, and it ain't nothin' like the Enzian, baby!
Afficianados of it in Munich claim it never gives you a hangover, among other things -- all I know is whenever I've tried it, I've gotten a speedy, sparkly sort of rush -- very mild, but still noticable -- over and above any alcoholic effect. Put another way, Scotch makes you sleepy -- Enzian perks you up! This stuff is 100% legal, but very hard to find outside of Bavaria. Even next door in Hesse, you have to go to a big town like Darmstadt to find any.
And, oh, if you are in Darmstadt, many specialty/gourmet stores there serve "infused" schnapps, which have some very unique herbal qualities . . .
* * * *
Another booze worth seeking out in Europe, not very available over here, is Iceland's Brenevin, or The Black Death. I think the name speaks for itself . . .
peter johnson/denny crane
"Say, Wence - Möchtest du einen Enzian?" lol
"Ja, gerne, aber nicht zu viel." (Yes, but not too much)
I heard about it, but I haven´t tasted it yet.
Besides: Peter, were you stationed in Germany as GI or did you visit it as a tourist? - You know about Bavaria.
I have never tried it, but I have a funny story. On my honeymoon, my wife and I were in Prague and in a few days would be taking the train to Berlin where our friend was going to put us up for a few days. He had said he tried absinthe once and loved it, so I picked up five bottles (they're dirt cheap) and took them with us to Berlin. I broke them out for him and his eyes went wide. He said: "Dude, do you know how freaking illegal this stuff is in Germany??" So that's me, the international drug smuggler.
If you ask me, Hollywood has really exaggerated the cold efficiency of German border guards.
So, Wence, und Alles --
I first visited Germany in 1977, & met the Moter family while at a Bob Marley/Wishbone Ash concert in Freiburg.
I've been over for months at a time since then -- all over, really, but never to Kiel or the far North. The Moters are still "fictive kin", almost 30 years later.
Let this be a lesson, those of you Americans planning to visit Germany: You may end up with friends for life . . .
I'm going back again in October to visit Rossdorf, Erfurt, & a bunch of other Hessian areas of Mideaval interest.
While the Wall was still up, I once hitchhiked (Autostoppen) to Berlin from Baereuth, via an Autobahn strictly forbidden to Americans. I saw Soviet troops, the Volpos, and guard towers over the highways, with men in them looking down. As we entered West Berlin, an officer had me get out of the cab of the truck I was riding in, and very calmly moved my face from side to side with the barrel of his Kaloshnikov, while looking at my passport. This was after 5 prior security/border checks. My East German drivers took my case, and told the officer that they could carry anyone they wished. This was very brave of them.
I did get into Berlin.
I have a small joke in German: "Meine Fahrer ist meine Lehrer!" -- My driver is my teacher. Most spoken German I learned while thumbing around the place.
I did do a stint as a GS-12 for the Dept. of Defense in '92, wherein I toured a bunch of places as an actor (Spesarbieten!), including Salzburg, Bad Kreuznach, Auschaffenberg, Baumholder, Berchtesgaden, Schweinfurt, etc. etc. etc. -- almost 3 months of acting in a bad murder mystery called "The Case of the Cabaret Killer" --
Plus, I've spent almost a month in Munchen, Fulda, Oberammugau, & etc. in the Swiss border area.
Yes, I climed the Zugspitz -- more fool I . . .
When I go back in October, it will be my 6th(?) visit -- some of them blur together, so I'm never sure.
I like the Philosophersweg in Heidelberg. I love the Roman bridge in Wurzburg. I've gone to places whose names I can't remember, and most American tourists never see. I love the Bronze Age & Prehistoric sites in Germany, which most people don't pay attention to, and aren't included in a lot of tourist brochures.
I also like the Roman ruins in Trier --
peter johnson/denny crane
If you´re interested in medieval architecture and you´re near Nürnberg, visit it - it has a great and famous old castle. Nürnberg was an important centre of commerce in the Middle ages.
The German National Museum is recommendable, too. And we have some special "fränkisch" food like Bratwurst and Brezeln here. I´m sure you´ll like it.
My upstairs neighbor was just commenting to me the other day that he had ordered a bottle of the stuff from Amsterdam or some European country.
He said it cost him almost $200.
I told him that I wanted a shot of it when he receives it.
He said, "No problem!"
I look forward to trying it.
Oh, Ich liebe deise Deutchen Essen!!
Hey, Wence, I sure as hell have eaten Ein Tousand Kilo ins Bratwurst und Weisswurst und Blutwurst, alles mit sehr Senf!! Und Ich kenne Brezen und Schwartzenbrot und Nussbrot und Frankwein und Moselwein und Dunkelsbier und Pfungstadter Bier . . . Und Hessian Handkase mit Musik, und alles sehr gut Kase.
Trust me, Mein Herr, when Ich reise ins Deutchland, Ich essen mit die Deucthenvolk!!
No McDonalds for me -- I know what Kartoffelsalaten mit Gemuse is, etc. etc. I eat only local food wherever I go, whenever I go there.
I've missed Nurnberg twice now, but I have been to Koln.
Oh, I know there's always more there to see and do than I have seen and done --
It's why I keep going back!!
peter johnson/denny crane
I had some of the black liqourice-type that being the fake version but also from overseas. It was not bitter and had the consistency of a coffee liquor. Not worth the trouble. I remember the affects being sort of a mellow sensation, but that was most likely because I thought I was trying the real deal.
Does anyone know why the real is a no-no here? The toxins I imagine...
Many a morning I wished Yagermeister was a little harder to get.
"Does anyone know why the real is a no-no here? The toxins I imagine..."
hp: Absinthe has some chemical that comes from wood (I think) that is considered a narcotic. Are you sure you weren't drinking the non-opium-containing version of Jaegermeister? Jaegermeister tastes like black licorice and in Germany it has opium, but in America, you can only get an opium-free version (it'll still mess you up though).
Makes me really wonder about absinthe if it is illegal in Germany where opium in Jaegermeister is okay. I abstained from both because I have a job where I have to take drug tests. There's enough good things to drink in Europe.
Wow, Jaegermeister contains opium? Never heard that before...
Absinth and Jaegermeister have only this common: both they taste crappy.
My friend Paul made some that was supposedly pretty strong. It had no effect on me.