What the heck is Absinthe and what does it do and taste like?

Answer 1

Absinthe is good, it's a neon green liquor with a sweet taste. In Europe they call it the green fairy (seriously). It's made with wormwood and the myth of it is that it's hallucinogenic in reality during the old days only cheap absinthe had this. Today with modern distilling the old days are no more. To see how absinthe is made I recomend watching The History Channel - Distilling 2, it tells you how it's made all of the ingrediants even the company that makes it.

Answer 2

Absinthe is an aniseed flavoured spirit that is clear until water is added to it, when it turns milky.

Absinthe contains a number of herbs and spices, but the one that got it that reputation - most likely unfairly - is wormwood. Wormwood has an ingredient called thujone which has a structure similar to T.H.C. which is the active chemical in cannabis.

There is a tiny amount of wormwood - used for its bitter flavours - in Absinthe, and you'd have to drink an enormous amount of it to be affected. Bear in mind that absinthe has a very high alcohol content, around 70% alcohol (normal spirits are 40%), but that it is drunk with 6 -8 times as much water, thus diluting the alcohol and active ingredients.


However, it was made illegal in France and some other countries because of fear that people were made mad by absinthe. The stories about the effect of the wormwood content were over exagerated. But there was tremendous consumption of absinthe in France and people certainly drank too much.

What does it do? Same as any other spirit. It makes you drunk if you have too much of it. Does it make you high? Well, it didn't affect me. I think you'd have to drink so much of it that you'd be drunk from its high alcohol content first


Does it still have wormwood in it? Yes of course. Bear in mind it wasn't made illegal in all countries and even though France made absinthe illegal and thus Pernod made a wormwood free replacement drink known as Pastis, Pernod continued to make real absinthe for export.

I'm not a lawyer but the absinthe merchants say that it is only illegal to SELL absinthe in the US, but legal to buy and consume it, and so companies like eabsinthe.com ship personal orders to the US and guarantee refund if a consignment is lost or seized.

However, if you want to know what absinthe is like without buying it, go to any bar or pub and ask for a glass of Pernod or Ricard pastis. Pastis is the wormwood free replacement produced after absinthe was made illegal. These also have lower alcohol, so you add less water. The taste and look of pastis is the same as absinthe.

This online merchant that will ship absinthe to US customers from the UK - see http://www.eabsinthe.com

I've drunk absinthe several times. The last time was in November at at tasting of several different brands of absinthe in London, where it was never banned. My favorite was Pernod 68.

Answer 3

it is a bitter liquour with wormwood extract in it. You have to have it shipped here from another country as it is not sold here. It comes in green and clear. It has a very high alcohol content. You put a shot in an absinthe glass and top the glass with a slotted spoon with a sugar cube in it. You drip ice water over the cube, into the glass, dissolving the sugar cube, and making the absinthe cloudy. This reaction is called "la louche". It is like drinking a bitter, exotic shot except you sip. I don't find it is so much different from other alcoholic drinks.

Answer 4

ok.. here it is without all the fine details:

Absinthe is a strong, high content alcohol. THC (thujone) is added in the form of wormwood.

It was most popular in the late 1800s to early 1900s.

What it does is give the drinker a "high" similar to marijuana. You can "see" more clearly and have "artistic" visions.

It tastes like a strong licorice. It is green. When not mixed with water, it kind of reminds me of that strong green cough syrup that tastes like 100 licorice sticks per dose. It is actually a little bitter to me.

You can buy it from overseas, I like Sebor Absinthe the best. It is quite expensive. While illegal to sell here, it is legal for personal consumption.

Answer 5

Absinthe (also absinth) (IPA English: [ˈæbsɪnθ] IPA French: [ap.sɛ̃t]) is a distilled, highly alcoholic, anise-flavored spirit derived from herbs including the flowers and leaves of the medicinal plant Artemisia absinthium, also called grand wormwood. Although it is sometimes incorrectly called a liqueur, absinthe is not bottled with added sugar and is therefore classified as a liquor or spirit.[1]

Absinthe is often referred to as la Fée Verte ('The Green Fairy') because of its coloring — typically a naturally created pale or emerald green, but sometimes clear or artificially colored. Due to its high proof and concentration of oils, absintheurs (absinthe drinkers) typically add three to five parts ice-cold water to a dose of absinthe, which causes the drink to turn cloudy, called 'louching,' often the water is used to dissolve added sugar to decrease bitterness. This preparation is considered an important part of the experience of drinking absinthe, so much so that it has become ritualized, complete with special slotted absinthe spoons and other accoutrements. Absinthe's flavor is similar to anise-flavored liqueurs, with a light bitterness and greater complexity imparted by multiple herbs.

Absinthe originated in Switzerland as an elixir/tincture, used in a similar capacity as patent medicines would be used later in the United States. However it is better known for its popularity in late 19th and early 20th century France, particularly among Parisian artists and writers whose romantic associations with the drink still linger in popular culture. In its heyday, the most popular brand of absinthe worldwide was Pernod Fils. At the height of this popularity, absinthe was portrayed as a dangerously addictive, psychoactive drug; the chemical thujone was blamed for most of its deleterious effects. By 1915, it was banned in a number of European countries and the United States. Even though it was vilified, no evidence shows it to be any more dangerous or psychoactive than ordinary alcohol.[2] A modern absinthe revival began in the 1990s, as countries in the European Union began to reauthorize its manufacture and sale.

Answer 6

Here you go...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Absinthe