Anyone chasing the Green Fairy?

Joined Feb 2005
168 Posts | 0+
Central SC, in the 140th year of Federal Occupatio
I have been introduced to and smitten by Absinthe and I love it! Anyone else try this lately? By the way, the stuff that is now for sale in the US and liquor stores near you is not really Absinthe. The US approved liquor is made without Wormwoods, and without wormwood, you don't have the real McCoy. Genuine Absinthe can be purchased from several internet sites or if you are especially daring, you can make you own. Genuine Absinthe will run between 130 to 150 proof. It is usually made by steeping the botanicals, wormwood, hyssop, angelica root, peppermint, anise and lemon-balm in 190 proof grape alcohol. There are also some minor herbs in the mix. The Macerate is then distilled and more hyssop, peppermint, lemon-balm and a different type of wormword is returned to the distillate to allow for the steeping of the traditional green color. If you like licorice you'll like Absinthe!
 
ive had the real deal.


my brother is into brewing and distiling and wine brewing .

a few years ago my wife and i were going to go out to his place. A few months beforehand he called up and asked me about what kind of beer i like. i described what i look for in a good beer. he made it. still the best beer ive ever had.
after about 3 or 4 of these he broke out the bottle of home made absinthe. the stuff was nasty. mainly because wormwood is some of the most bitter tasting stuff you can find.

then again, this is why you have an absinthe spoon. An absinthe spoon (for those who dont know) is a slotted spoon with very narrow slots. Think egg slicer but many more wires and stiff... but the size of a spoon. they have a "handle" on either side so that it will sit over a glass. on top of the spoon you place a few sugar cubes. usually 2 maybe 3. you then take another regular spoon and start to drip the absinthe onto the sugar cubes. you slowly disolve the sugar into the absinthe this way because this is the only way you can really ensure that you are getting total sugar saturation (without having extra sugar at the bottom of the glass) I also think that this is a good way to slow down you drinking.

reall absinth will kick your @$$. its like being drunk, but just a little something extra. you cant put your finger on it.

i had 2 shots worth over 90 minutes. very interesting.


having tried the real deal, the US stuff is like nonalcaholic beer. whats the point?

go out and try the real stuff. it a different ball game.
 
It is a different ball game, indeed. Had the real stuff during my absinthe phase about a decade ago. A friend and I had tried Absente, the 110 proof Canadian drink, which is most definitely nothing like the real thing. He finally got the 140 proof real deal, and we tried it. It was the last time I ever tried it. We both had too much. Not like being traditionally drunk at all. The full story is on a thread buried here on the back pages.

It was actually hilarious, but enough to make me not ever want to drink it again. I went through my Jagermeister phase, my Johnnie Walker Black phase, a brief tequila phase, which I have never liked, and after trying real absinthe, and REALLY overdoing it, that was it for me. I settled down with bourbon and rye, drinking responsibly, and have been very happy ever since.

For those of you who have never had the real thing, and don't have a friend of Eastern European descent, outweighing you by 100 pounds and urging you to drink more, you may wish to try it. It is interesting, and can be fun. Better you than me, hee, hee, heee!!!
 
My girlfriend ordered me two bottles from the Czech Rebublic. The real stuff, 151 proof. Good stuff, I have seen it put 300 pound men to bed.... :lol:

Look up AbsintheX.
 
I believe that's the one we had, or something very similar. It was 140 proof, about 8-10 years ago I think, and it certainly did put a 300 and a 200 pound man to bed. Of course, the 300 pound Czech, Slovak, Jewish, Mongolian guy just HAD to insist that BOTH of us chug GLASSES of the stuff. Yeah, thanks, my best friend, ha, ha, haaaaaa!!! Some people just can't sip anything slowly and for enjoyment.

Anyway, that's the stuff, Capt. I know that I saw the Czech one at his place years later, because I think he wound up getting a few varieties for people he knew. This was all before it was legal here, although the legal Canadian version exploded on the scene before the Absinthe Boom of late. The Canadian ain't NOTHIN' like the REAL thing, the one Capt is talking about.

Of course, as has been observed already, you don't really feel drunk at all. What happens is that you're drinking the stuff, and the next thing you know, the referee is standing over you going TEN, OUT!!! Then, some guy is asking you who pitched a perfect game in the 1956 World Series and what your name is, plus the obligatory how many fingers do you see?

You folks can have at it. Even to sip it, I'm done. But it is very interesting, and pretty tasty, although definitely an acquired taste.
 
I'm a fan. Though not of anis, so I usually get the 'Bohemian' or Czech style. Unfortunately that means no 'louche' (the cloudy white effect), but hey, still a good drink :)

I like put some ice, water, and simple syrup in a cocktail shaker and give it a good mixing. And just keep the bottle of Absinthe and the shaker with me at the table. I have a couple glasses that are good for the stuff because the way they're cut, it's easy to measure pours. I do about 1/3 absinthe, 2/3 ice water for nice easy sipping.
 
[quote=" Good stuff, I have seen it put 300 pound men to bed.... :lol: quote]

Dammmm , my wife can do that hahahaha
 
I had some last year from a guy in my apartment complex who swore that it was the real thing. It tasted nasty on the first shot, but the second one was soooo tasty that I ended up licking the glass clean. Don't know if it was too real since I was a little drunk after 2 shots, not more than when I drink 151, but the other 3 guys passed out while playing Tiger Woods. I just left them there in their stupor and the next morning asked how they were doing.

No matter what it was, it was sooooo tasty on the second shot that I am looking forward to being somewhere that someone has it again.
 
I have been chasing that Fairy for years. And ive even caught her a few times too.

I felt i should share my knowledge in case anyone out there also has green fever.

First off dont even bother looking state side for absinthe, its not real. End of story.

Secondly, you get what you paid for. "Steeping" does not produce the real stuff. All this method consist of is soaking the herbs in pre made booze(ie. wine, vodka, everclear) If you have had absinthe and it tasted like crap this is why. Almost all Czech absinthe is steeped, its a cheap inaccurate knock off design to rip off tourist.

Thirdly, if your not dating a swiss girl who can pick some up for you when she visits home, then its gonna cost you. There are a few legitmate sites that sell the good stuff, do your research personally i recomend swiss and french brands. most of these guys stick to orginal recipes. Which is distillation.

Ive only tried steeping my own which was a big mistake, about to brew my own since stills can be purchased on line now-a-days. Just be smart when buying or making. personally im going to re-thread my net.....i know that fairy is around here some where....
 
Update about state side absinthe:

Apparently at some point last year the laws regarding wormwood / thujone loosened up a bit and liquor can now contain 10ppm of thujone and still be considered "thujone free". This equates to about 10mg of thujone per bottle. Which is also the EU regulation standard and the average content per bottle (though there are some that go up to 30mg).

As such, there are now two 'real' absinthes available in the US. Lucid and Kübler.

Time to get your sazerac on good and proper. :)
 
It doesn't call out to me. If I want a real stiff drink, Bacardi 151 is my choice-makes the best damn rum coke ever. I do like to try different drinks, but I haven't even tried the always legal Pernod substitute for Absinthe.
 
Is it bad absinthe makes me think of Salvador Dali and "far out" people?
 
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I have been chasing that Fairy for years. And ive even caught her a few times too.

I felt i should share my knowledge in case anyone out there also has green fever.

First off dont even bother looking state side for absinthe, its not real. End of story.

Secondly, you get what you paid for. "Steeping" does not produce the real stuff. All this method consist of is soaking the herbs in pre made booze(ie. wine, vodka, everclear) If you have had absinthe and it tasted like crap this is why. Almost all Czech absinthe is steeped, its a cheap inaccurate knock off design to rip off tourist.

Thirdly, if your not dating a swiss girl who can pick some up for you when she visits home, then its gonna cost you. There are a few legitmate sites that sell the good stuff, do your research personally i recomend swiss and french brands. most of these guys stick to orginal recipes. Which is distillation.

Ive only tried steeping my own which was a big mistake, about to brew my own since stills can be purchased on line now-a-days. Just be smart when buying or making. personally im going to re-thread my net.....i know that fairy is around here some where....

What a great post! Too bad it was his only post.


DL