Absinthe Brewing Kits

Hey Gang,

I was searching for some history on Absinthe to settle an arqument at work. While searching, I found a site for Absinthe Brewing Kits. Anybody try this before?

http://www.greendevil.com/absinthe.html

No. But it looks cool. Had it once. Strong stuff.

The few absinthe drinkers La Verandah knows who have tried such things have said: "Save your money."

What distinguishes real absinthe from pastis is thujone, the ingredient that is in wormwood. If this is not in the ingredients list, it is not absinthe.

Even it is included, there is no guarantee you will produce an elixir of decent quality. I know quite a few beer brewers and wine makers, even a decent home-brewer of saki, Okinawa-style. None of 'em use kits and will hand back any gift of such with a "Thanks, but no."

If you are determined to try making your own, La Verandah would advise you to seek out an actual recipe, then go visit a good supplier of brewing ingredients and products. There are several places on the Internet that offer recipes for making wormwood. I've seen quite a simple one that involved putting the missing wormwood back into pastis, such as Pernod.

All the recipes are different, and La Verandah has not bothered to try any herself. But what they should not advocate is using wormwood oil, which is poisonous. There is a true cautionary tale on the site of "The Gumbo Pages" about a lad who decided to go straight for the promised groovy special effects and drink the essential oil of wormwood. He suffered kidney failure and a three-month hospital stay.

I brew beer & got this from my local home-brewer's supply.
It comes with large herb pouches like teabags that you steep in a liter of Vodka & a liter of everclear for about of week.
Makes a huge mess just straining & filtering it out.
You end up with a very bitter absinthe flavored swill. Does not really taste like real absinthe at all. Save the vodka & everclear for better drinks & spend your cash on quality absinthe.

Hey, Absinthe is now leaglly imported into the US. These kits will soon disappear. Lucid and Kuebler are legal and taste great.

Save your money.

What makes absinthe is a distiller following a absinthe recipe.
Thujone is a chemical found in wormwood, sage cedar oil etc. it is not what gives absinthe it's distinctive taste or flavor.

To make absinthe: Fennel, wormwood and anise seeds are steeped in alcohol and then distilled. Wormwood is very bitter, but this distillation leaves the bitter flavors behind in the still.

If that kit says "put these and flavorings into vodka and you have absinthe."
It is a lie and the box should have said "make your own Ass-synth" because that is what it will taste like.

If the kits says put these herbs and flavorings into alcohol and then distill it.
They are telling you to break a federal law (in the USA).

If you want absinthe so bad your willing to break the law for it, order a good brand of it on the internet and have it shipped to your house. If your going to commit a crime always pick the one with low penalties and no jail time.

You can order the best brands in the world here: http://www.bestabsinthe.com/

Sure it is expensive, but so is good rum. You will get what you pay for here.

I am stiil trying to understand this q & a. While I realize that there is not a huge selection of absinthe on US shelves, now, it is now legal to buy at least 2 brands legally, with a 3rd and 4th to follow. The thujone/wormwood debate has been settled long ago by mass spectrometer tests of vintage absinthe which dispel the notion that a high thujone count was present. Give Lucid and Kuebler a try. I have drunk European absinthe in many places in Europe and here in the States. It really is, as with rum, a matter of taste. The aforementioned brands meet the USDA's approval. Go have some and leave the snake oil kit to others.

[ Edited by: bewarethe151 2008-04-04 23:55 ]

[ Edited by: bewarethe151 2008-04-04 23:56 ]

Hi y'all -

I joined up to learn more about rum and tiki drinks, but absinthe is something I've got a fair bit of experience with, so here goes my first post. I second what others have said here -- the kits are a joke, terrible, not worth the time. Making real absinthe requires fresh herbs, not dried ones, and a still, and a lot of patience and experience. Imagine trying to make rum at home by shaking brown sugar with cheap vodka...

If you're curious about the stuff, skip the tea and get a bottle of Lucid (which is more of a classic nuanced absinthe than Kubler -- Kubler is a huge blast of anise, sort of a Swiss moonshine-absinthe gone legit, interesting but not the best starting point IMO) and prepare it following the label directions (diluting 4:1 or so with icy cold water dripped in slowly, with or without a sugar cube in the dripping water's path). Lucid isn't as good as the very best European-market absinthes, but it is quite good, and thoroughly authentic -- and widely available, at least here in MA.

If you like it and want to explore further, hit absintheonline.com and order something more complex -- the Jades are probably still the best on the world market right now, though the competition is intensifying. Enjoy!

Following is an old recipe for Candy Cream of Absinthe circa 1700 or earlier, it is from Grande Dictionnaire de Cuisine by the noted author and infamous gormand Alexandre Dumas.
It appears that, historically, anise was not the only flavor for absinthe liqueur. This one is a citrus flavor. This is the only recipe for liqueur in the entire dictionary, so I am guessing that it must have been one of his favorite beverages.

Candy Cream of Absinthe
8 Quarts of Brandy (2 Gallons)
2 pounds Tips of Absinthe leaves
Zest of 4 oranges or lemons
7 pounds of sugar
1 gallon river water

Distill the brandy, absinthe and zests in a bain-marie [for which you use the river water], and reduce to 4 quarts. Add the sugar. When it has melted, stir and filter.
Absinthe is forbidden in all military barracks.

Best
Mark

[ Edited by: Sparkle Mark 2008-10-27 20:58 ]