La fée verte

[CDNSushi]

Has anyone had any experiences drinking the green fairy (absinthe)?

I have a bottle of the real deal (of pre-ban thujone concentration) -- something I picked up in (literally) the back room of an underground wine cellar in Prague. The bottle, as it was explained to me, does not say "absinthe" because by labeling it as such, there is a maximum concentration of thujone they are allowed to have in the mixture. However, apparently a loophole in the law does not limit the quantity of thujone if it's not sold as absinthe... So apparently, this stuff has some crazy high concentration of it....

The bottle's been sitting, unopened in my liquour cabinet for over two years now.. Been scared to try it... lol. Should I be?

[Cynthia]

I highly recommend this site and their FAQ:

http://www.feeverte.net/

[Spc. Scott]

I highly recommend this site and their FAQ:

http://www.feeverte.net/

Good link Cynthia.

[CDNSushi]

I highly recommend this site and their FAQ:

http://www.feeverte.net/

Thanks, I'll read that. Have you ever tried it yourself?

[Cynthia]

Thanks, I'll read that. Have you ever tried it yourself?

Many times I love the Jade line, Edouard is good (Ted Breaux has taken some of the old pre-ban stuff and reverse engineered some recipes for it).

Let's see... I've had Francois Guy, Un Emile, Edouard, and at least one or two others.

Check out the reviews on that site, too.

We even have an absinthe fountain, glasses, and spoons. I don't know if I have any photos online that I could post to show you (I do on Facebook, but they're friends only, so I can't link to them).

[Old Hippie]

We even have an absinthe fountain, glasses, and spoons.

We lack the fountain.

I've tried a number of the ones available here in Canada, but my favourite is Okanagan Spirits' "Taboo." It comes from just down the road -- now that I think of it, I need to see if they're still making it!

I use "Taikoo" brand organic sugar in the spoon -- it comes in a wafer shaped like the traditional ones, instead of a cube. It may contribute an additional taste to the drink, but it's very subtle if so. It dissolves slowly instead of just going to mush and slumping into the glass.

Nothing beats sitting on the verandah high up over the North Thompson River at "l'heure vert," enjoying an absinthe or two while the Sun finishes going down behind the ridge above the house.

That floral taste isn't for everyone, and many days it's not for me, but when I want it...

:ootd:

[S.S.Muldoon]

I have tried several different brands. I REALLY REALLY like licorice, so I enjoy it, but the bitterness can have a bite! I find that drinking enough numbs the tastebuds quite a bit. As far as the thujones being such a big deal, at this point I don't believe it. I chalk the "Absintheism" stories from the turn of the last century up to the same PR firm that sold the US on the notion that smoking cannabis once will turn our youth into sex-crazed jazz musicians.
The best story I heard while tracking down real absinthe is that in the Book of Revelation, it says a burning star called 'wormwood' will fall from the sky and poison a portion of the water...and the Ukranian name for wormwood is Chernobyl!
Great story, but as it turns out, no doubt untrue.
Don't hesitate to enjoy an evening with the green fairy!

[Spc. Scott]

I had a friend that had a bottle much like the one you have. He enjoyed every drop.

I found this on the wiki (as much as one can trust it anyhow)

Thujone is most famous for being a chemical in the drink absinthe and some modern producers list their supposed thujone levels on the bottle. At one time it was estimated absinthe contained up to 260–350 mg/L thujone,[9] but this has been shown false through testing. A 2005 study recreated three 1899 high-wormwood recipes and tested them with gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The highest contained 4.3 mg/L thujone. A 1930s Pernod Tarragona was also tested and contained 1.8 mg/L thujone.[10] These results match earlier findings showing a vintage 1900s bottle contained 6 mg/L.[11] GC-MS testing is important in this capacity, because gas chromatography alone may record an inaccurately high reading of thujone because of other chemicals present that interfere and add to the apparent measured amount.[12] Through these tests it has become evident that authentic absinthe contains very little thujone. Anyone bingeing on absinthe would die of alcohol poisoning long before the thujone could cause any life-threatening effects.[13]

[shanetown]

Another good site:

http://www.wormwoodsociety.org/

Just remember, absinthe has a very high alcohol content, and is meant to be diluted...

[Zardoz]

Absinthe was portrayed by the media in the 19th and early 20th century as a dangerously addictive psychoactive drug. The chemical thujone was singled out and blamed for its alleged harmful effects. Although absinthe was vilified, and banned in Europe in the 1900's, no evidence has shown it to be any more dangerous than ordinary spirits. Its psychoactive properties have been much exaggerated.

I have a few friends that like the stuff, I've tried it a few times, including some old contraband European stuff. I don't care for it, but my friends and I did not suffer any unusual effects. Your mileage may vary!

You generally see absinthe prepared by melting a sugar cube over it, this is not the traditional way. It should be done by placing a sugar cube on top of a special slotted spoon and then placing the spoon over the glass which has been filled with a shot of absinthe. Ice water is then poured over the sugar cube so that the water is slowly mixed into the absinthe, producing a sort of cloudy mixture. The rule of thumb is 1 part absinthe to 3, up to 5, parts water.