absinthe: real thing or overblown?

[Gato Moteado]

i haven't tried absinthe but i've been told it has hallucinogenic properties. wikipedia says that's a bunch of bull.

so, DUers that have tried it, i'd like to hear your opinions. is it worth trying?

[SteppingRazor]

1. Meh. I think it's really no different than any other extremely potent...

alcoholic beverage. That said, it is an extremely potent alcoholic beverage. After a night of binge absinthe drinking, I wouldn't be surprised if someone swore it had hallucinogenic effects, but in reality was just blind drunk.

[Connonym]

2. I've always wanted to try it

but where does one even get it? I know it's legal in other countries but if you buy it online how do you know you're getting the real thing?

[crispini]

3. I don't know about hallucinogenic, but it's definitely a different kind of booze.

For me, it makes me drunk but very awake and aware and attentive, which is nice. Sort of like having your inhibitions lowered but still feeling like doing something, as opposed to the usual, "ok, I've had two drinks and now I need to go to sleep" way that alcohol makes me feel. :D

[Scarlett17]

4. Bunch of bull.

Supposedly it was copper and other impurities in the mass-production of cheap absinthe that caused medical problems in over-indulgers. Plus, there was lots of propaganda distributed by the wine industry to discourage people from drinking the competition.

Anyway, there's a version of absinthe available legally in the US now. The only difference is they use Southern Wormwood instead of the banned Wormwood. I've got some, but I don't like licorice/anise so I can't even get past the smell. It is very strong and my husband likes it once in a while, but it's in our bar mainly as a conversation piece.

http://www.crillonimporters.com/Absente/absente-about.htm

[meegbear]

5. I got a good buzz from it ...

I didn't feel drunk; I will say it felt like a "medical high", like taking an unknown prescription drug and feeling those effects.

[unpossibles]

6. it is a unique and nice buzz

sure, it's close to 151 as far as the booze, but there is something else too (with the real stuff).

Not quite hallucinogenic, but strange. Imagine being wasted yet very clear headed instead of the normal fogginess of booze. It's quite nice. My wife and I occasionally import some - you can get it online. Not cheap ($60-100 a bottle generally), but it goes pretty far, so it can be split among friends for special occasions.

Not bunk, although as another poster mentioned, not as dangerous as claimed. The real danger was the filler they used in any cheap booze (aka rotgut) back then.

[HarukaTheTrophyWife]

9. That's exactly how I describe the buzz, too.

It's very clear headed.

[Miss_Strawberry]

12. double post...

geriatric computer.

[HarukaTheTrophyWife]

16. It's not the computer. It just happens sometimes.

[Miss_Strawberry]

13. Figures...

I had a feeling you were going to respond to this thread. Absinthe is Evan's favorite thing in the world. About two years ago he talked about for months straight.

[HarukaTheTrophyWife]

17. I've got a mostly full bottle of some really shitty absinthe. I learned an important lesson from it

Never have my mother buy absinthe for me.

[eppur_se_muova]

7. The wiki entry leaves me uneasy. It tends to dismiss both the claims of ...

hallucinogenic effects and the neurotoxic effects of thujone. Prolonged use of absinthe may lead to permanent CNS damage, or it may not. If you can live without it, why risk it?

[Cobalt-60]

8. Its a buzz maker

I have had the real thing.
It of course produces a massive alcohol high.
But there is an undertone, similar to a light pot buzz.
I'm told its a result of the wormwood.
It was also very bitter. Have a sweet chaser on standby.

[GoneOffShore]

10. Good stuff

Pour water over a sugar cube into the absinthe glass.

It's not particularly trippy, but a nice buzz.

You can now buy it in France and in NYC.

[Redstone]

11. Just drink some Chartreuse, and eat some LSD. You'll replicate the experience.

Except for the part where you throw up.

(Smuggled to me from Denmark by my dear Mary in the late 1970s.)

Redstone

[Taverner]

14. Very very very very very mild Halucinogenic properties

If you've ever taken acid, it's very similar to that feeling you get when it just starts creeping up on you. You get that for about 5 minutes and then its gone. More absinthe just makes you drunker, quick (it's around 150 proof and the sugar you melt into the stuff makes the alcohol hit you quicker)

[wildhorses]

15. never tasted it

tououse latrec acquired a taste for it, i think

[catzies]

18. I've had one that I loved and one that I hated

The first was the real deal, Czech absinthe. The next wax faux-sinthe and disgusting.

This is the good stuff:



This is foul: