A Few Night Stands with the Green Fairy (absinthe)

I am sure the majority of you have already heard about absinthe, for those uninformed; it is an alcohol based drink which uses wormwood as one of the main ingredients. It has been widely romanced by the artists of the old, they claimed it enhanced their thought flow and creative abilities and certainly Van Gogh's art is impressive.

It has been theorized that the chemical thujone which is found in wormwood, causes the subtle and not so subtle effects of the drink. For many years thujone was thought to act on the cannabinoid receptors similar to THC. This based on studies that only looked at the molecules' shapes. It is not known really what causes the effects of absinthe

I had first tired to make my own absinthe by soaking some dried wormwood, aniseed and other herbs in vodka for about a week. The resulting liquid was beautifully green and smelled enticing, the taste was horribly bitter and I couldn't bring myself to drink anymore than a sip.

Here is a recipe if you wish to experiment yourself (you can modify to suit):

• 3 lbs Wormwood
• 2 1/2 lbs long fennel
• 2 1/2 lbs star anise
• 2 1/2 lbs green anise
• 6 oz coriander
• 1 lb hyssop

Moisten with a little water, allow it to swell, add 12 gals. 95% alcohol, steep for 3 days.
add 10 gals. water, steep another day. Distill.

This will produce 15 gals absinthe at 65-70%.
Change the receiver when the distillate turns reddish color. That part has off flavors.
Color distilled product by steeping 10 or 15 days in

• 1/2 lb mint
• 1/4 lb Melissa
• 1/2 lb (A. pontica)
• 2 oz citron peel
• 1/2 lb bruised liquorice root.

Strain and filter.

So now for a while that was the end of that, until I managed to get my hands on a real bottle of the stuff (received as a gift). So one quiet evening at home I cracked the seal and poured myself a drink, It was very strong but was not as horrible as my magic potion, the taste was pleasant and somewhat like fennel and black licorice. After 3 glasses I felt the normal alcohol buzz but as the minutes passed by I began to feel some different effects, there was slight pleasant buzz in my ears, I felt extremely warm, sociable a general good happy feeling.

This was very pleasant, I didn't expect anything from it really (except the normal alcohol high) As more time passed by, my perspective of things changed, there was illusory subtle changes in my environment, it just simply felt different or rather more like I was seeing everything here for the first time, The place was new and each crevice filled with wonder and excitement.

I loved the feeling. I recommended it to all my friends, the problem now was getting a stock of more. As you probably figured its pretty hard to get a bottle of absinthe in the U.S, I found that the places to get real quality absinthe isin Spain, Ibiza, and the Czech Republic as they still use old recipes and traditional methods.

I found a few places online that sell and from one specific website I found two brands that matched my previous experience and expectations.

(Here are the two, with descriptions taken from the website)

Absinth King of Spirits

For the lightweight of the absinthe crowd, with 70% alcohol by volume yet one tenth of the psychoactive Thujone content, this is the absinthe Picasso and Earnest Hemmingway acclaimed.

Absinthe X Zele 75.5%

Zele contains 75.5% alcohol (151 proof), 111mg of the psychoactive thujone and offers a taste that'll definitely get your attention.
This classic absinthe is made from the original Swiss recipe and contains no artificial colors or preservatives.
Naturally green in color, AbsintheX uses a blend of 13 herbs the most important of which are wormwood, mint, aniseed and chamomile which distill inside the bottle and enhance the taste and thujone content.

Zele is great for veteran Absinthe drinkers and the adventurous alike.

My personal preference is the Zele, the orginal one I had received as a gift was named Deva and I think it is Spanish produced.

This is the website (here) I use to get my supply; there is a cheap sampler pack they sell which is good if you want to test the waters or find a taste you like.

If you do decide to try it out, I hope you have a great experience! J