Absinthe

Yesterday was my birthday, and for a gift my wife bought me a bottle of Lucid Absinthe. I had expressed a desire to taste it now that it is legal in the US again, but never in my wildest dreams imagined myself the proud owner of a whole bottle. Wow!

This stuff is 62.5% alcohol with a very strong licorice flavor backed by an earthy, resonant wormwood. Given the amount of alcohol, one would think this would have a strong burn, but one would be wrong. The balance of flavors don't require developing a taste for it (unless you don't like licorice or the flavor of wormwood) which makes this a particularly dangerous drink.

I wanted to see what it tasted like, so my first shot was neat. It went down nearly as smoothly as water, but within five minutes I was getting toasty. By the time I finished my second drink, a mixture of absinthe, sugar and water described in another thread, I was in the zone, the one where fun is still fun and foolishness is just around the corner. This is amazing stuff!

I would recommend getting a bottle of this stuff if you can and give it a try. I would be interested in what others think of it.

Do any of you have experience with Absinthe?

now that it is legal in the US again

Seriously? Since when? And where in the states can you buy it?

This site has all the details. I live in North Texas and mine came from a new megaliquer store in The Colony.

I had some recently, on a cold night, in a tent, on an island in the British Isles. It was very warming.

The Green Fairy -- I can think of nothing more pleasant than a glass of absinthe, a Gauloises or Gitane (unfiltered of course) and sitting with Albert Camus in a Paris café.
Back to reality -- I enjoy absinthe and have some antique absinthe glasses and spoons as well as several books (see my catalogue). Oh, and a print of The Absinthe Drinkers by Degas.
The brands I have tried are Amer, F Guy, a Spanish brand (can’t recall the name on that one) and a few others. Have not drank any purchased in the States.
Geneg, does your bottle contain thujone?

According to the Lucid web-site it contains thujone in quantities that meet the US qualifications. If the qualification is zero, then no. If it is more then yes.

I picked up a bottle of Lucid the last time I visited NYC. While most of my friends are overcome by the anise flavor, I do enjoy a glass or two myself.

There isn't enough thujone in Lucid to poison yourself and/or cause hallucinations, but I was under the belief that the old stories of the Green Fairy were mostly romanticizations, after the governments of the UK and the rest of western Europe pulled a "Reefer Madness" as a means of controlling the bohemians. Whether that's real social history or simply another romantic fantasy, I have no idea...

I stole this from the Decadent's Group aka The Chapel of the Abyss. Who knows more about absinthe than true decadents? If you can get your hands on absinthe here's a few recipes. I've still not seen it in our local liquor store, but we are always dragging behind the times. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/10/11/absinthe-cocktails-recipes_n_758553.htm...

I just picked up a bottle of Le Torment Vert, another neo-absinthe. It's a little lower proof than traditional absinthe (ca. 100 v. 120), but it's pretty good. Not as sweet as Lucid, thank goodness. With a traditional drip it turns a sort of pearly turquoise, and it has a little bit of eucalyptus flavor to it.

I've never had absinthe but have been very tempted to try. It was on sale in our local Tesco for a time and if it reappears I will definitely go for it. #1 geneg says the product was 62.5% which is way above most spirits or liqueurs available in UK (for example "standard" gins such as Gordons are now around 37% whilst some superior brands are between 40% and 45%). Most whisky (I live in Inverness, Scotland) is below 45%. I'll be looking out for Lucid (or "Torment Vert" if that's less sweet) but shops round here are pretty conservative so I won't get my hopes up. But thanks for some helpful posts.