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Absinthe... discuss. |
tikifish
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Mar 25, 2002
Posts: 2720
From: Toronto,Canada
|  Posted: 2003-12-21 5:23 pm Permalink
I just got a big honking bottle of absinthe from the guys at a music house I use a lot... now, besides getting stoned of my keyster on green wormwood liqueur, what else can one do with it?
Do you think it might be good poured over ice cream? How might you cook with it?
There's lots of info on the old sugar-spoon thing online, but not so much on getting creative in the kitchen with it.
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FLOUNDERart
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Joined: Sep 02, 2003
Posts: 1140
From: Orlando Florida
| Posted: 2003-12-21 5:59 pm Permalink
fish
You can send that bottle to me and I'll try to figure something out to do with it. When I'm done I'll send back the bottle. Promise!
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Kono
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Oct 08, 2003
Posts: 1266
From: Orlando
| Posted: 2003-12-21 8:17 pm Permalink
Quote:
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On 2003-12-21 17:23, tikifish wrote:
besides getting stoned of my keyster on green wormwood liqueur... |
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Whoah! Why you wanna go down that path? Don't play with the green fairy juice, just get your keyster stoned and don't pour it on no ice cream or flambe anything. Besides, it's very bitter and would probably make anything taste pretty awful.
I hope you have better luck with it than I have had. I found a bottle at a local liquor store but I didn't get any noticable psychotropic effects. Since absinthe is technically illegal to sell in the US I figgered that this might've been a non-wormwood version. I mail ordered a kit to make my own absinthe (absinthe is illegal to sell in the US but not illegal to make (non-distilling method) or imbibe) with wormwood and all the other ingredients. No luck. Just got the same buzz I would've gotten from any 151 proof grain alcohol (the recommended 199 proof is not available in Florida). No green fairies.  Maybe I should've snorted it. I might try making another bottle someday.
You probably have the real deal stuff. Enjoy it. Have you had it before? Let us know what you think of it.
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tikifish
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Mar 25, 2002
Posts: 2720
From: Toronto,Canada
| Posted: 2003-12-21 8:20 pm Permalink
Indeed, it is the real deal, wormwood and all. Imported from some place like Bulgaria or something. Somewhere where laws are lax and life is cheap.
I must admit, I am a little a-feared of the thing.
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Kono
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Oct 08, 2003
Posts: 1266
From: Orlando
| Posted: 2003-12-21 8:43 pm Permalink
I wouldn't be a-fearing it. Most of the "bad press" that absinthe got, back in the day, was due to it's effects on chronic users. Try it when you don't have to get up early the next day. It really does taste bad though. Really really bad..have the sugar ready.
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RevBambooBen
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Nov 12, 2002
Posts: 7417
From: Huntikington Beach
| Posted: 2003-12-21 9:11 pm Permalink
Quote:
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..have the sugar ready.
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......and an extra ear!
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Sweet Daddy Tiki
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Jul 20, 2003
Posts: 1063
From: Edmonton
| Posted: 2003-12-21 11:25 pm Permalink
There was a good article on absinthe in Modern Drunkard
http://www.moderndrunkardmagazine.com/issues/11-02/11_02_absinthe.htm
I've wanted to become an absinthe addict ever since reading John Glassco's charming "Memoires of Montparnasse" -- a recommended read (it may be out of print). I've yet to try it but I see that there are about a half dozen different brands on our (privatized) Alberta liquorstore shelves.
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PiPhiRho
Grand Member (first year) 
Joined: Mar 25, 2002
Posts: 1004
From: Redondo Beach
| Posted: 2003-12-22 12:58 am Permalink
Absinthe can be used to make one of the best cocktails ever. Even in New Orleans, where the drink was invented and is still served, it is made with pernod or herbsaint instead of absinthe, but Absinthe was what was used in the original recipe 100 years ago (give or take).
Put 2 or 3 icecubes in a cocktail shaker. Throw in a sugar cube (or a little simple syrup - I like a little falernum too), a half dozen shakes of peychauds bitters, and a jigger of good bourbon or rye whiskey (the original recipe called for rye). DO NOT USE CANADIAN WHISKEY. Shake it up until it's good and cold.
In a separate small rocks glass, put in about 1/2 teaspoon of absinthe. Roll the absinthe around in the glass so that it coats the sides of the glass. Strain the contents of the shaker (strain out the ice) into the absinth coated glass. Garnith with a lemon twist.
Now THAT is a cocktail!
PS: I have never had the real thing with real absinthe. The closest I got was using Absente, which is an absinthe substitute that uses southen wormwood rather than wormwood. The thujone content in Absente is just under the legal limit.
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Kono
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Oct 08, 2003
Posts: 1266
From: Orlando
| Posted: 2003-12-22 03:51 am Permalink
PiPhiRho, what's the name of that cocktail?
I think Absente was what I bought at the liquor store.
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Kon-Hemsby
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Sep 17, 2003
Posts: 1261
From: Andover, England
| Posted: 2003-12-22 05:59 am Permalink
I bought some absinthe a little while ago and drank it with some friends. We soaked a sugar lump in anbinthe, burnt it for a while and then stirred it into a glass of absinthe. It tasted bitter, but after about 10 minutes I was lying of the floor giggling. Great stuff.
You can also make a cocktail using a sugar cude, absinthe and champagne. Haven't tried it myself though.
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suzywong
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Feb 22, 2003
Posts: 161
From: New Orleans Upper 9th ward
| Posted: 2003-12-22 06:19 am Permalink
SAZERAC (cocktail)
The following web page has some history and a picture of the famous Sazerac glass from the Roosevelt (now Fairmont hotel)....
http://cocktails.about.com/library/weekly/aa040898.htm
More info:
While not the city's most common drink, the Sazerac is another New Orleans original. The cocktail used to call for a splash of absinthe to wet the glass before rye whiskey was added. Eventually the mildly toxic and hallucinogenic spirit was outlawed and Sazerac drinkers had to settle for Herbsaint for a hint of licorice in the glass. The Sazerac Bar in the Fairmont Hotel (123 Baronne St., 529-7111) is the home of the cocktail.
Absinthe used to be popular in New Orleans but as its own cocktail. In the traditional preparation, the bitter absinthe was poured over a sugar cube to soften its taste. The drink was then diluted with water. Special spoons and funnels were created for serving it and can still be found in New Orleans antique shops. While absinthe is still illegal, the spirit Absente is a refined version that lacks the wormwood content that spiked absinthe. Absente is only legal in one other state besides Louisiana. The Old Absinthe House (240 Bourbon St., 523-3181) offers the cocktail.
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tikifish
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Mar 25, 2002
Posts: 2720
From: Toronto,Canada
| Posted: 2003-12-22 06:20 am Permalink
Yes Kno-Hemsby, the guy who gave it to me also reported tales of giggling to ones self...
Sounds like fun! Until the hangover...
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Trader Woody
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Mar 25, 2002
Posts: 2301
From: Tiki Manor, Forest of Bowland,UK
| Posted: 2003-12-22 06:47 am Permalink
Quite a lot of pubs in the UK serve absinthe these days, but you won't find many people going through the whole sugar-lump ritual. Usually it's downed in one, followed swiftly with a beer chaser! I actually quite like the aniseed drinks like ouzo & pernod on a hot day, but absinthe is just too brutal to enjoy as a taste experience.
The few times I've had with it have been pretty good, though I'd advise you to try the absinthe early on in your evening of drinking. The temptation to go onto absinthe while already tipsy should really be avoided at all costs unless you want to miss the following day...
Trader Woody
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atomictonytiki
Grand Member (8 years) 
Joined: May 14, 2002
Posts: 1275
From: Bangkok
| Posted: 2003-12-22 11:30 am Permalink
Quote:
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On 2003-12-22 05:59, Kon-Hemsby wrote:
You can also make a cocktail using a sugar cude, absinthe and champagne. Haven't tried it myself though.
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I think i'm right in saying the Cocktail you described is called "Death in the Afternoon" and was invented by Ernest Hemmingway, and a quick check on google brings up a recipe here..
http://www.absintheusa.com/cocktails.htm
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thejab
Grand Member (first year)
Joined: Mar 25, 2002
Posts: 2986
From: Tradewinds Apartments, Alameda, CA
| Posted: 2003-12-22 11:58 am Permalink
I bought a bottle of Herbsaint a few years ago for Sazeracs and the occasional tropical drink that calls for Pernod. There's barely an inch gone in that bottle!
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