Slate.com video on the Absinthe experience

1. Ali S.
   July 13th, 2008 at 4:08 pm

   Knowing how the US frowns on drugs in any form it doesn’t surprise me if the absinthe they are drinking is devoid of the narcotic properties.

2. Mia
   July 13th, 2008 at 4:33 pm

   I love absinthe. You really have to have a strong affection for the flavor of anise to appreciate it, I think.

3. violet/riga
   July 13th, 2008 at 5:05 pm

   Ahh, my drink of choice. It’s possible to make your own and there are various recipes available on the web with varying qualities. I’ve tried some and must say that the results can be better than shop-bought products.

   Oh, and watch out for the black absinthes.

4. atanguay
   July 13th, 2008 at 6:06 pm

   A local distillery…Leopold Brothers…was serving and selling absinthe before recently closing and moving to Colorado. I actually really like the taste, it’s like nothing else I’ve ever had and I would describe the buzz as very lucid. You’re drunked up, but you are aware of what you’re doing and you feel like you have your wits about you. And the sugar cube and ice water ‘ritual’ is an interesting addition. Plus the idea of a green Kylie Minogue flying around your head, even just once is worth a try.

5. TwoDragons
   July 13th, 2008 at 6:51 pm

   I love absinthe, and I’ve had everything from Absente to the full-on real-deal Pernod. There’s even thujone mixers you could get online pre-ban-lift that turned your Absente into the high-octane type. The ban was lifted shortly after I found out I was pregnant, so I can’t enjoy the fruits of such libation liberation…otherwise I’d probably have a bottle in my cabinet right now.

   So far, the only thing I can report after having imbibed them, is that I end up with slight to moderate stomach cramps the next morning (with or without a hangover,) and a noticeably heightened appetite. Colors are brighter too. But I can’t really qualify that as a buzz per se, because 1. It isn’t during the actual drinking experience, it’s after the alcohol wears off, and 2.) it doesn’t “feel” like a buzz, you’re not dizzy or relaxed or wired or prone to hallucinating. The alcohol definitely gives you one heck of a buzz–three cocktails was my limit during my heavy-drinking days–and the anise would make your lips and tongue so numb that you started sounding like you were on novocaine. But other than that, I had no impulse to commit murder or cut off my ear, so I never understood what the big deal was about.

   I think the reason for the large number of pre-20th-century absinthe drinkers who supposedly went froot-loopy was because some of the less-reputable makers tended to adulterate the mix with such lovely stuff as opiates, to “heighten” the effects.

   –Twodragons

6. david2356
   July 13th, 2008 at 8:09 pm

   I’ve had absinthe before, it’s nothing special, and way over hyped for no reason.

7. Justin
   July 13th, 2008 at 8:45 pm

   I loved the ending. “Im samantha Hennig for slate V and I’m a little bit drunk.”

8. Chav-hate
   July 13th, 2008 at 8:50 pm

   Absinthe was somewhat refined, elegant and trendy before it was legal in the USA, and over popularized in pop culture (gee thanks Mulan Rouge, and Marilyn Manson). Hard to obtain in the states, it was fairly expensive to import, and more of a luxury. Average middle-lower class (aka hoy polloi ) really couldn’t afford it to be their drink of choice. Now its legalized and just the next thing since starbucks. Horrible lowly peon fad hoppers, there goes a somewhat refined indulgence. I expect to see it in a 40 can before long.

9. ohmy
   July 13th, 2008 at 10:02 pm

   Ha, years ago my dad brought home a bottle of the real stuff with wormwood and all (and a bottle of cannabis vodka) from Prague. I cracked open the absinthe and drank it without the sugaring process, which was just disgusting. I wanted to get past the regular drinking experience and the demons, and onto the euphoric point that Oscar Wilde described, so I pressed on. I didn’t see any fairies, but I DID scribble every thought that came into my head onto paper. When I woke up the next day, the page was covered in illegible ramblings. So that was pretty cool.

   This year, my dad served my boyfriend a GIANT glass from the same bottle. With sugar, this time. They got drunk, and it numbed their tongues, but that’s it. I’ve never tried the legal kind.

10. Oliver
    July 13th, 2008 at 11:27 pm

    To ohmy:

    The Czech stuff is not real absinthe. It’s a wormwood-pumped artificially colored swill.

    To chev-hate:

    That’s what happened the last time…

11. MightyCow
    July 13th, 2008 at 11:33 pm

    It was more fun when it was supposed to be dangerous and exotic. Now that I know it’s just funny-tasting alcohol with no magic properties, it’s nothing special.

12. Elahn
    July 14th, 2008 at 1:53 am

    Could you have a bunch of more conservative kids trying alcohol???
    Oh dear… I’ve inhaled your absynth fumes! I’m an alco!!! Watch out!

13. Øyvind
    July 14th, 2008 at 1:54 am

    I’ve drunk a lot of absinthe (mostly with a lower tujon content, though), and have to say the Czech one is the one I’ve tried that packs the biggest punch.

    I also made my own absinthe once, and I have to say it was just as good as any of the store-bought stuff.

14. HaricotVert
    July 14th, 2008 at 5:02 am

    Seeing her shirt reminded me of Maddox’s article, under the section entitled: “Hello, my head is coming out of a giant vagina.”

    http://www.thebestpageintheuniverse.net/c.cgi?u=fashion

15. Henk
    July 14th, 2008 at 5:07 am

    I’ve tried different makes : check out everything that is Spanish and has a 70 degree alcohol level. This stuff is guaranteed to give you that special absynthe feelign that cannot be compared to anything else. It’s like being drunk without the “bad feeling” of being drunk ( stomach upset, diziness, … ).

16. Scotchdrnkr
    July 14th, 2008 at 6:36 am

    I tried many different brands with many different levels of tujon content, before it was considered legal in the USA.
    Isn’t the internet wonderful, you can buy just about anything from anywhere.
    But other than the high alcohol content it never seemed to really do anything. I never really got used to the taste of the stuff but some of my friends enjoy it. And its just like any other alcohol available. There are what are considered better brands and each brand has its own taste.
    I’ve seen some of the stuff they sell in the US now. Before you buy it make sure it is not just Absinthe flavored.
    Oh and to prepare it in what is considered the proper manner with the spoon, the pure water SLOWLY DRIPPED over the sugar cube. Is much more time consuming that I want in making a drink. I can’t see a bar actually doing it this way. Its not meant to be a bar shot like they show in the video.
    Its meant to be a Relaxing take your time to savor the flavor drink.

17. Joseph e ryan
    July 14th, 2008 at 7:00 am

    haven’t you labeled this wrong,

    there website is http://www.slateV.com

    not:

    http://www.Slate.com

    nice video

18. nskms
    July 14th, 2008 at 9:36 am

    the best partydrink - absinthe+champaign+energy-drink.

19. gtron
    July 14th, 2008 at 10:46 am

    whoever told the dude above that the “czech stuff isn’t real” was wrong -
    there are several types made in Czech, and many use wormwood - I lived there a while and tried it several times, with other “enquiring minds” - drinking it like tequila is not correct, you should take your time - also, very few people trip on it, it’s just an odd sort of drunkeness - and intheory you shouldn’t have too much - I once watched an artist friend from LA pound a half bottle (with shots of tabasco in between drinks) - he got looped, but wasn’t transformed…
    one has to remember that before all the drugs that are readily available today, absynthe was a unique experience, hence its reputation -

20. Danno-23354
    July 14th, 2008 at 12:35 pm

    Unfortunately most who try absinthe get the “real stuff” from Prague etc. While true it is Absinthe it is the equivalent of boxed wine vs. a fine Bordeaux. The Absinthe from Czech etc. is mixed and macerated absinthe, not near the same as purely distilled Absinthe from France or Switzerland (where the drink was invented) Anyone wanting to try a real, quality Absinthe need look no further than Jade Liqueurs. Distilled from original 19th century recipes in the original 19th century ways.
    - Secondly Absinthe is not “psycoactive” by nature. It gained that mystique in the early 20th century when most Absinthe drinkers also used Opium, etc. along with the drink. Have you ever tried smoking opium while pounding Vodka? It would probably make you see things as well!
    - Check out http://www.absintheonline.com and click on Jade Liqueurs on the left side of the page. get a “real” quality Absinthe, make it in the proper way, (with a water drip) before you pass any judgments on the drink itself.

21. foosnark
    July 14th, 2008 at 2:54 pm

    I had a bit of a friend’s Lucid absinthe, sadly already pre-ritualed by the restaurant.

    It was tasty I thought, like liquid licorice.

    I was having a margarita myself, and only had a couple sips of absinthe, so I can’t vouch for the effects.

22. Billy
    July 14th, 2008 at 3:40 pm

    It doesn’t have any tujone form wormwood, the one in europe with 100mg tujone is Century Absinthe

23. mercutio stencil
    July 14th, 2008 at 5:25 pm

    I’m surprised no one else has mentioned that the ‘real’ pre-ban absinthe doesn’t have much (If any) Thujone. Scientists for the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry did a survey of surviving pre-ban absinthe and found that the had 33 mg/l on average. This is on par with new brews prepared according to traditional recipes. To achieve the even the ‘No Observed Effect Level’, The dossage at which there is no clinical signs of symptoms, of Thujone would require the consumption of almost a liter of ethanol. Absinthe gets you drunk, that’s it.

    J. Agric. Food Chem. 2008, 56, 3073–3081
    Crit. ReV. Food Sci. Nutr. 2006, 46, 365–377.
    Clinical and experimental study. Clin. Toxicol. 1981, 18, 1485–1498.

    Remember, always cite your sources

24. LH
    July 14th, 2008 at 6:57 pm

    I´ve never tried it, but it seems like a product with a marketing campaign already done.

25. ken j
    July 14th, 2008 at 10:49 pm

    Ooohhh…Absinthe! Blah, blah, blah…Say,that Nine Inch Nails video was awesome!

    Where’s my vodka?

26. Piltdownman
    July 15th, 2008 at 12:16 am

    Is that woman Gilbert Gottfried’s daughter or what?

    I absolutely detest videos made like this - jerky camera movements, jump cuts, arbitrary zooming. Ick. They’re trying to make something really lame, moderately interesting - at least visually.

    French new wave was cool. This sucks.

27. Piltdownman
    July 15th, 2008 at 12:23 am

    Oh yeah. I have a bottle of Verte Suisse I’ve been sitting on (ouch!) for some time. Here’s hoping for a visit from the Green Fairy.

28. ted
    July 15th, 2008 at 6:31 am

    Hyped.
    Really strong alcohol - yay. Why do we need to numb our senses to have a good time, anyways? Ooh, Oscar Wilde did it.

    Sounds like drug-culture wannabes.

29. supaswag
    July 15th, 2008 at 9:10 am

    supaswags favorite cocktail: The TA [Territorial Army] >> contains one half of Absinthe, one half of Tequila, served in a long-drink glass with an umbrella.

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