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Absinthe... discuss. |
Unkle John
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Joined: Oct 22, 2003
Posts: 1217
From: Middle-of-the-Ocean, TX
|  Posted: 2004-07-28 10:23 pm Permalink
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......and an extra ear!
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LOL i got it.
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cheekytiki
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Joined: Mar 09, 2004
Posts: 1091
From: The Haole Hut, London, UK
| Posted: 2004-07-29 05:25 am Permalink
A bar here in London uses Absinthe instead of Pernod in their Mai-Tais(this is Dale Degroffs Version), the rest of the ingredients are the same as Don the Beachcombers recipe.
Personally its the best Mai-Tai I've ever tasted.
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Doctor Z
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Joined: Aug 01, 2002
Posts: 1614
From: The Hale Moana Lounge, Torrance, CA
| Posted: 2004-07-29 08:11 am Permalink
Absinthe in a Mai Tai?? BLECCCHH!! I'll bet Trader Vic is rolling over in his grave at the mere mention of it! With few exceptions, there's no quicker way to ruin a drink than to add absinthe to it, I tell ya... I've made Don the Beachcombers Zombie (the one from "Hawaii: Tropical Rum Drinks & Cuisine") that has both Pernod and absinthe in it, and I swear no fouler concoction has ever passed my lips... Don was really big on Pernod/absinthe for some reason, and indeed, his Mai Tai does call for it. But then again, Don's Mai Tai is a completely different drink than Vic's Mai Tai: in fact, they only have 3 things in common - lime, rum and the name! According to Dale DeGroff's "The Craft Of the Cocktail", the Mai Tai doesn't call for any Pernod/absinthe or most of the other ingredients in Don's recipe. DeGroff's recipe is nearly identical to Trader Vic's recipe.
Absinthe is great on its own (or in a Sazerac - MMMMMmmmm...), but keep it away from tropical drinks!! 
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cheekytiki
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Joined: Mar 09, 2004
Posts: 1091
From: The Haole Hut, London, UK
| Posted: 2004-07-29 09:30 am Permalink
I don't claim to be an expert by any means but it tasted good to me, they do serve both recipes and the bar that serves it is owned by the Match Bar group(Degroffs employers) and the Absinthe idea seems to be his if you read the european version of his book. Apparently the US version does't have his.
Doctor Z does your version of the book have the history of the Mai-Tai as well as he says he only found Dons Recipe when it was first published, Its an interesting read
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Tikiwahine
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Joined: Apr 09, 2003
Posts: 3288
From: Victoria, BC
| Posted: 2004-07-29 5:00 pm Permalink
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On 2004-07-29 08:11, Doctor Z wrote:
Absinthe is great on its own (or in a Sazerac - MMMMMmmmm...), but keep it away from tropical drinks!!
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I tend to highy agree.
I wonder what it would be like with salmon? Cooked over a BBQ on a cedar plank with all sorts of lemon and fennel is super tasty, I wonder if the absinth could be added to the marination? Hmmm...sounds like an experiment worth trying!
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Johnny Dollar
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Joined: Oct 01, 2003
Posts: 2966
From: Baltimore, Maryland, PNG
| Posted: 2004-07-30 05:57 am Permalink
tikiwahine, yer getting me hungry for dinner and it's currently 8:00 am for me
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bigbrotiki
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Mar 25, 2002
Posts: 11326
From: Tiki Island, above the Silverlake
| Posted: 2004-07-31 07:02 am Permalink
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On 2004-07-29 08:11, Doctor Z wrote:
Absinthe is great on its own, but keep it away from tropical drinks!!
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...unless you have the recipe for a "Monkey's Gland", which was mixed for me by Ted Haigh aka Dr.Cocktail, a classic that was once offered as containing the name ingredient itself. Astoundingly, tropical flavours and Absinth harmonize delightfully. I hope he will publish it in his upcoming recipe book.
I quite agree about the Mai Tai...just can't picture it with Absinthe. Off course the members of Don's camp will still swear he invented it, but I rather trust Vic's affidavit in the BOT. Funny that even after Don's and Vic's death, myth and controversy surround the Mai Tai.
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Trader Woody
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Mar 25, 2002
Posts: 2301
From: Tiki Manor, Forest of Bowland,UK
| Posted: 2004-08-05 10:47 am Permalink
A vaguely Tiki drink involving absinthe is the Momisette:
2 Shots absinthe
Quarter shot of Orgeat
Pour into ice-filled glass and top up with mineral water & stir.
Trader Woody
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Tikiwahine
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Apr 09, 2003
Posts: 3288
From: Victoria, BC
| Posted: 2004-08-05 1:40 pm Permalink
Hey Trader Woody, that sounds good!
May have to try that one.
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cynfulcynner
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Mar 24, 2002
Posts: 1800
From: Ocean Beach, San Francisco
| Posted: 2004-11-04 12:17 pm Permalink
Absinthe legalized in Switzerland:
In January a new law takes effect in Switzerland aimed at rehabilitating the reputation of absinthe, whose distillation, distribution and sale were banned after an absinthe-besotted factory worker killed his wife and two children nearly a century ago.
The new law will allow Bugnon and dozens of other underground absinthe makers to "come out," as one Swiss newspaper put it, seek amnesty and produce absinthe legally.
full story:
http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2004/11/04/MNGQD9LM621.DTL
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twowheelin'tiki
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Joined: Nov 28, 2002
Posts: 712
From: santa monica
| Posted: 2005-09-14 5:27 pm Permalink
I had a taste of this stuff....WHEW!!, like pernod meets morphine. Which brand did you try/do you drink???.
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Satan's Sin
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Jun 13, 2004
Posts: 729
From: Imperial Beach, CA
| Posted: 2005-09-14 6:23 pm Permalink
I had this in Yokuska when I was in the Navy. Before we were given liberty from the ship, some local military police guy gave us a lecture and said absinthe was available in Japan but illegal for American military personnel and we were therefore forbidden to sample it, under penalty of torture, as they say on The Simpsons.
Natually, the first thing everyone looked for was absinthe.
Don't remember the brand. Tasted like licorice. Did nothing for me. Then it was on to boilermakers and beautiful hostesses.
For protecting you so well, fellow taxpayers, you're welcome!
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captnkirk
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Nov 06, 2002
Posts: 322
From: Hockessin, Delaware
| Posted: 2005-09-14 8:14 pm Permalink
First off the drink you probably found in Japan at that time was "Hermes Absinthe". It is/was 116 proof and is not really absinthe, it is what the French call a pastis. Literature put out by the Suntory distillery clearly states that "original Absinthe was made from wormwood, which was found to be dangerous, so Hermes Absinthe uses Anis instead" The flavor of real absinthe comes from wormwood, fennel and anis seed (and a handfull of other herbs in lesser quantities according the brand).
I like the stuff and I drink a brand called "Deva Absenta" from Spain which is realativly inexpensive. The best brand I have ever tasted is called Edouard 72. It is a recreation of now banned Edouard Pernod which I am told is very accurate.
It costs $100 a bottle and is available here: http:\\www.bestabsinthe.com
P.S. Even though the first tiki drinks were mixed up after the ban on absinthe. Don the Beachcomber and maybe Trader Vic seemed to be able to obtain it and use it in some of their most famous drinks. Mix with it, it imparts a herbal quality to drinks with out the overwelming anis flavor that most of the absinthe substitutes have.
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Hakalugi
Site Administrator
Joined: Aug 10, 2004
Posts: 3117
From: Redondo Beach, CA
| Posted: 2005-09-14 8:45 pm Permalink
I have a bottle of La Fee absinthe which uses real wormword. From what I've read it's not the best one out there but it's what I found. I picked it up in London when I was visiting there in the spring of 2004. I still have about a quarter of the bottle left. No amazing psychedelic aspects to it. You do however get the buzz of alcohol without the drowsiness but your mileage may vary.
It has been theorized that you need to be a long term drinker of absinthe to get the purported effects you may have read about. The wormwood apparently builds up in your system and then one day...
The laws here regarding absinthe are a bit hazy. I have heard that it is illegal to sell it but not illegal to own it.
La Fee will even ship their product to the US. Check it out:
http://www.lafeeabsinthe.com/
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hewey
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Joined: Sep 14, 2004
Posts: 4278
From: Sydney, Australia
| Posted: 2005-09-14 10:18 pm Permalink
I tried some new years a few years back. Illegal import into Oz. No idea what brand, the label wasnt in English. Only had half a teeny bit, and still blew me away.
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