Post #565840 by TorchGuy on Sat, Nov 20, 2010 4:58 AM

Oh my, Death in the Afternoon.

I'll say this about absinthe: While it doesn't make you hallucinate, it does have a different effect. Case in point:

I'm not usually a heavy drinker. I drink for flavor above effect. But once a year, I attend a local fantasy/sci-fi convention, and I tend to drink heavily at its after-hours parties. This year, the first night I drank an awful lot of good stuff - by now I know the people to talk to, so consumption included some $300-per-bottle anejo tequila a party's bartender had a friend retrieve from his hotel room in a glass (most parties use plastic cups for good reasons, mainly the packing of 60 people into hotel suites built to hold 15). I got home at 5 AM, ate something to try to cut the alcohol, and went right to bed. I woke up at 2 the next afternoon, not hungover but actually still drunk.

The following night, I attended a friend's birthday party as my first event of the night. Someone brought Lucid, I brought Kubler and the sugar, spoons and glasses. At first, just basic louche prep absinthe was going around, but then someone showed up with Champagne. For those who don't know, Death in the Afternoon (supposedly an invention of Ernest Hemingway) consists of your standard prep, sugar and water, with Champagne substituted for water. It's very potent and very tasty. That night, I had easily as much, if not a bit more alcohol than I had the previous night, but about 50% of that was absinthe. Result: I got home at 5 AM, ate something, went to bed, and woke up 8 hours later feeling absolutely great - sober and well-rested!

Your mileage may vary, but...

Mr. Moto, what is my best option for buying a relatively inexpensive absinthe fountain? I don't mind it being simple, or having plastic spots - I just can't pay $150-200 for anything right now. There used to be a $45 glass model sold by one "Bonnecaze & Cie" on Amazon.com, but I can't find it now.