T
Joined: Feb 01, 2005
Posts: 735
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T
I know a little about this topic. The laws in the US state that absinthe, in its proper form (made with wormwood), is illegal to sell or import. It may not be illegal to own, but that's why local liquor stores around here, including HiTime, carry the Pernod/pastis substitutes instead. The chemical thujone, which is present in wormwood is actually, if I remember my chemistry correctly, a neurotoxin, hence the strict laws about importation.
Supposedly, in properly distilled, high-end absinthe, the impurities such as thujone should be removed or only be present in very small amounts, but I'm sure the cheaper stuff could be relatively dangerous. I'm not sure how much it would take to actually cause serious harm, but as a fun trivia fact/urban legend here's a case in point: Vincent van Gogh was supposedly drunk/under the influence when he whacked off his ear. It may be that thujone works under a cumulative effect, and gets worse the longer you've been exposed to it. Makes sense to me. In any case, I think I'd rather not have chemicals in my drinks that might lead me to sever body parts. Fortunately, I've never had a MaiTai that made cutting off my ear seem like a good idea. Thank God there's no wormwood involved in producing rum.
But I digress. I've actually tried a brand called Absente, which is supposed to be more or less the same thing as real absinthe but without the wormwood. It's about $40 a bottle, which is still pretty steep. At least I think so. I actually like this stuff because it starts out with a green crystal color, and when you add the sugar water to it, it becomes opalescent like real absinthe should. You're supposed to put a sugar cube on a slotted spoon and pour cold water over the sugar to dissolve it, and the sugar water runs into the glass with the absinthe. Stir, and voila, your drink is no longer green. Plus it doesn't taste quite as bad. Most of these things are a little too bitter if you drink them straight, but again that's just my opinion.
I've actually tried another brand, I think that was called Pernod, in Paris, and it tasted pretty much the same as the Absente, but without the nifty color. This stuff was more grey. But hey, it's what they had at the bar on the Eiffel Tower. I had to drink something, and I wasn't sure I could communicate how to make a Mai Tai.
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