Armed Polite Society

Main Forums => The Roundtable => Topic started by: Wildalaska on September 16, 2009, 01:45:10 AM

Title: Any Absinthe Drinkers
Post by: Wildalaska on September 16, 2009, 01:45:10 AM
Any folks here play with the green fairy? Whats your brand.

I'm feeling Oscar wildish
Title: Re: Any Absinthe Drinkers
Post by: Balog on September 16, 2009, 01:47:19 AM
Holy crap, I didn't think you still hung out round these parts Wild. Welcome back.
Title: Re: Any Absinthe Drinkers
Post by: Devonai on September 16, 2009, 01:58:09 AM
I tried it for the first time last week, thanks to a Czech friend who travels much.

Now, I understand the stuff is legal in the US, but she still felt it meet to import some on her last foray stateside.  A bottle of Becherovka

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Becherovka

also made it with her.

So, on a singular night, I tried both.  I found the Absinthe to be rather relaxing, although the 60% ABV probably had as much to do with that as any supposedly-hallucinogenic compound.  Overall I was quite satisfied with my annual requirement for anise-flavored beverages.
Title: Re: Any Absinthe Drinkers
Post by: Nightfall on September 16, 2009, 03:36:16 AM
Any folks here play with the green fairy?
No, but I'd like to give 'er a try.

Oh, and welcome back.  =D
Title: Re: Any Absinthe Drinkers
Post by: S. Williamson on September 16, 2009, 06:10:43 AM
Minty licorice?  Meh.

I've tried it, and was unimpressed.  Either that or I was already blitzed from the Glenfiddich.
Title: Re: Any Absinthe Drinkers
Post by: AJ Dual on September 16, 2009, 09:07:26 AM
The wormwood/thujone content in properly made Absinthe is quite low. It's really all the other herbal extracts which have many compounds that are related to caffeine and ephedra.

The net effect is a lucid buzz, similar to a strong Irish Coffee, Cauppichino and Sambuca, or any of the energy drink + alcohol concoctions that are now popular in clubs. Plus a healthy dose of psychosomatic reactions based on Absinthe's reputation, and feeding off any company you were keeping who were also imbibing.

What actually got Absinthe banned here in the States were low-end unscrupulous makers using heavy metals, chemical dyes and methanol to try and mimic Absinthe's strong alcohol content and unique color, and the way it would change from clear to cloudy when dispensed into water.

That, and Absinthe's association with less-than-stable artist types and bohemians did it in legislatively.
Title: Re: Any Absinthe Drinkers
Post by: trapperready on September 16, 2009, 09:54:57 AM
Quote
What actually got Absinthe banned here in the States were low-end unscrupulous makers using heavy metals, chemical dyes and methanol to try and mimic Absinthe's strong alcohol content and unique color, and the way it would change from clear to cloudy when dispensed into water.

That, and Absinthe's association with less-than-stable artist types and bohemians did it in legislatively.

I've got no problem with item #1, but anything associated with item #2 needs to be banned... then killed with fire.
Title: Re: Any Absinthe Drinkers
Post by: Viking on September 16, 2009, 11:17:13 AM
Yeah, I've tried it. Just a small sip though, but after what my friend said, I didn't expect much out of it. I had a friend buy 4 bottles of the stuff in Germany for other friend, he and his girlfriend finished off 2 or 3 of the bottles in one evening. Presumably because they expected some wild effects which never came. I do have my doubts about the alcohol content of those bottles though.
Title: Re: Any Absinthe Drinkers
Post by: charby on September 16, 2009, 11:32:32 AM
also made it with her.

 :cool:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pFa5E8q-940
Title: Re: Any Absinthe Drinkers
Post by: Devonai on September 16, 2009, 12:46:18 PM
Those sentence fragments can be killers! :P
Title: Re: Any Absinthe Drinkers
Post by: RevDisk on September 16, 2009, 06:46:44 PM

I tried it.  Wasn't impressed.  Didn't care for the 'taste' and didn't have any effects.
Title: Re: Any Absinthe Drinkers
Post by: 280plus on September 16, 2009, 06:54:13 PM
Used to drink it on occasion in Japan. I do know that if enough is ingested it will double the number of balls on any pool table and make it difficult to tell which ones to shoot at and which ones to ignore.   =D :angel:
Title: Re: Any Absinthe Drinkers
Post by: grampster on September 16, 2009, 07:04:44 PM
Heavy liquorish taste and a long lasting, lingering after taste that was not objectionable.  Just had a shot of it.  Not something I'd drink regularly. 
Title: Re: Any Absinthe Drinkers
Post by: PTK on September 16, 2009, 08:07:12 PM
I prefer Lucid or Leupold Bros. Absinthe. Both are middling brands, neither cheap nor expensive, being about $70/bottle. Similar taste to Ouzo, much higher alcohol content. I prefer to drink it with sugar and water. I love the odd pearly color obtained by doing so.  =D
Title: Re: Any Absinthe Drinkers
Post by: grampster on September 16, 2009, 08:26:00 PM
Heh.  I remember an affair with ouzo.  Kept putting quarters in the "jukebox" and cigarettes kept coming out. =D =D
Title: Re: Any Absinthe Drinkers
Post by: BridgeRunner on September 16, 2009, 09:26:28 PM
I tried it.  Wasn't impressed.  Didn't care for the 'taste' and didn't have any effects.

Ditto.  Still have most of a bottle of Partisane, which is not very good.  I've had several, with a friend who went through an absinthe phase.  The problem there was he was opposed to sweetener in any form.  I found it to be bitter enough that it was not at all enjoyable. 

The most fun part is mixing the stuff and watching the louche occur.  About all it's good for is for gaining credibility as cosmopoliton/interesting/non-girly with male law students, and it has served that purpose well on a couple of occasions.  Pretension in a bottle, right there, and I'm more than happy to exploit it.   =D
Title: Re: Any Absinthe Drinkers
Post by: Northwoods on September 16, 2009, 09:55:04 PM
Heh.  I remember an affair with ouzo.  Kept putting quarters in the "jukebox" and cigarettes kept coming out. =D =D
I have always loved Ouzo.  No 12 is probably the best I've had, and it's probably the most common brand in Greece from what I've been told. 

Had a friend in college that went home to Greece for the summer.  She brought back some Tsiporo from her great-uncle for me.  It's basically Greek moonshine.  There's a wide range of styles, but his was similar to Ouzo.  Another friend of mine and I took to calling that stuff Jet A.  I think it was at least 90% alcohol.  Once it was cut back about 2-3:1 with water it actually tasted pretty good.
Title: Re: Any Absinthe Drinkers
Post by: PTK on September 16, 2009, 10:35:51 PM
I'm trying to recall the name for the blackish ouzo that contains opium tar... the name escapes me now, but when I was in Europe I had a partial shot - and a few minutes later, that was that.  :O
Title: Re: Any Absinthe Drinkers
Post by: GigaBuist on September 17, 2009, 12:10:55 AM
I love the flavor of anise.  I'm also rather fond of pretty much every type of liquor known to man.

I had a bit of Absinthe about 7 or 8 years ago when some friends got 'hold of it right around the time it became legal for sale in the states.  I hated it quite a bit.  Tasted like dirt more than anything else to me.  Awful foul crap.

On my wife's insistence we picked up a bottle of it almost a year ago.  I'm not going near it until she decides she wants to try it.  When that day comes I'll just sit back and laugh.  Told her it was an awful waste of money, but Nooooo, she wouldn't listen. :)
Title: Re: Any Absinthe Drinkers
Post by: Wildalaska on September 17, 2009, 01:59:56 AM
Holy crap, I didn't think you still hung out round these parts Wild. Welcome back.

Im everywhere :)

Anyway, Im an Ouzo freak, and since i am now wearing a cravat and bringing condensation to a new art, I figgered is time to cut off my ear.

I'm sooooooooooooooooo tempted to buy a sampler of the stuff made in like 1910. I need a 1900 Browning and a young street arab to make the night complete.
Title: Re: Any Absinthe Drinkers
Post by: AJ Dual on September 17, 2009, 08:57:29 AM
I'm trying to recall the name for the blackish ouzo that contains opium tar... the name escapes me now, but when I was in Europe I had a partial shot - and a few minutes later, that was that.  :O

Unless it's some other digestif, you're thinking of Jagermeister. The presence of opiates is a very persistent urban/internet myth. It may also come from the fact that the strong licorice/anise flavor and other herbs (cloves perhaps) is somewhat numbing to the palate. Despite being much sweeter than other digestifs, it's reputation probably comes from the fact that due to it's strong taste, most people who consume it do so after imbibing other alcohol. It's only 70 proof.

I am a fan. I like the taste of all things spicy, licorice, and/or anise.

It is to be kept cold, and is best served at around -15C/0F.
Title: Re: Any Absinthe Drinkers
Post by: PTK on September 17, 2009, 09:10:20 AM
Unless it's some other digestif, you're thinking of Jagermeister.


No, I've never liked USA Jaegermeister - the flavor leaves a lot to be desired over the proper stuff. Here in the USA, I prefer the Hungarian alternative, Zwack.

As for the alcohol previously described, I'm absolutely, 100% certain it had opium tar. I know the taste - I've had laudanum.  =)
Title: Re: Any Absinthe Drinkers
Post by: AJ Dual on September 17, 2009, 10:19:17 AM

No, I've never liked USA Jaegermeister - the flavor leaves a lot to be desired over the proper stuff. Here in the USA, I prefer the Hungarian alternative, Zwack.

As for the alcohol previously described, I'm absolutely, 100% certain it had opium tar. I know the taste - I've had laudanum.  =)

 =D Me too. It was an Rx anti-diarrhetic with a lot of opium in it for a really bad G.I. bug that I got as a teen. It was fun stuff.
Title: Re: Any Absinthe Drinkers
Post by: PTK on September 17, 2009, 02:17:48 PM
Indeed it was... mine was from a pain doc that was told by the DEA he couldn't prescribe Oxycodone-containing products to those under 35 years old. He had fun figuring out the most exotic things to prescribe.  =D

I'm starting to think that the alcohol I had was simply a home-made brew, but served at the bar on a "who you know" basis.
Title: Re: Any Absinthe Drinkers
Post by: Viking on September 17, 2009, 03:09:11 PM
Indeed it was... mine was from a pain doc that was told by the DEA he couldn't prescribe Oxycodone-containing products to those under 35 years old. He had fun figuring out the most exotic things to prescribe.  =D

I'm starting to think that the alcohol I had was simply a home-made brew, but served at the bar on a "who you know" basis.
Where was this bar? :angel:
Title: Re: Any Absinthe Drinkers
Post by: wuluf on September 17, 2009, 08:16:35 PM
My wife is fond of " Le Tourment Vert"  mostly because the bottle is so pretty.  Smells and tastes vile to me, but then, i hate licorice...
Title: Re: Any Absinthe Drinkers
Post by: French G. on September 17, 2009, 08:24:45 PM
Tastes like anise huh? Well, I'll keep my understanding of absinthe limited to what I got out of Eurotrip then.

After Raki in Turkey, Ouzo in Greece, and jackass compatiriots who feel obligated to give you drinks containing Jaeger, I will say this about anise liquor. I taste it, I puke. From a dead sober start. Bleeehhh! Must go clean out mind with bourbon!
Title: Re: Any Absinthe Drinkers
Post by: PTK on September 17, 2009, 10:28:48 PM
My wife is fond of " Le Tourment Vert"  mostly because the bottle is so pretty.  Smells and tastes vile to me, but then, i hate licorice...

That's not real absinthe.  =)
Title: Re: Any Absinthe Drinkers
Post by: wuluf on September 18, 2009, 07:25:38 PM
Quote
That's not real absinthe
.

The snobs have arrived..... =D
Title: Re: Any Absinthe Drinkers
Post by: 280plus on September 18, 2009, 08:48:59 PM
No, they've been here a while now...  :laugh:
Title: Re: Any Absinthe Drinkers
Post by: PTK on September 18, 2009, 09:00:50 PM
No, I mean it - it's not absinthe by any stretch. It's FDA-approved food dyed ouzo.
Title: Re: Any Absinthe Drinkers
Post by: Ron on September 19, 2009, 10:14:35 AM
There is a site that reviews absinthes called the Wormwood Society.
Title: Re: Any Absinthe Drinkers
Post by: Chuck Dye on September 19, 2009, 05:04:42 PM
i have tried both the genuine article overseas and the pseudostuff, Absente.  NOt a huge fan of licorice, I can do without both.  Now I occasionally the slightest dose in a more or less genuine Sazerac and cannot say I would miss it if it were left out.
Title: Re: Any Absinthe Drinkers
Post by: Wildalaska on September 24, 2009, 12:06:33 AM
Well I bought a bottle of Vieux Pontarlier for $71 bloody bucks I may add...quite yummy, but its hard to judge the louche (oo look Im a connieswa) when you drink it out of a Hello Kitty Jelly glass =D
Title: Re: Any Absinthe Drinkers
Post by: Devonai on September 24, 2009, 07:10:52 AM
If your glass is going to start talking to you, I suppose Hello Kitty is a good choice.