If I ever see absinthe again I will pour it down the drain because I wouldn't want to consume any alcohol which you so passionately revere. Eat a major cock, you cock.

I love it when people turn into complete moronic cretins when they are proven wrong about something. Can't you just accept it and learn something new?

How was I proven wrong ? You surmised that I must have had a certain type of absinthe, and, similar to your assertion of my behaviour, refused to accept my beliefs based on my experience alone.

You concluded that I couldn't have drank 'real' absinthe simply because I did not experience a secondary effect. You have zero knowledge of where my absinthe was sourced, and made assumptions about a market of which you clearly have no understanding. I went to Gerry's today on Old Compton Road in London (look it up -- amazing liquor store), and saw over 30 types of Absinthe ranging from £10 to £300.

It is pretty obvious that you haven't done any real research on thujone because it is scientific fact that it has no psychoactive properties whatsoever. Frequenting a forum with other absinthe enthusiasts probably isn't the best place to learn objective information (which is where I assume you must have learned your rudimentary facts).

And by the way, you needn't italicize words for emphasis.

so whats the cheaoest bottle I can buy here that I can get this "secondary effect"? do you have to get really hammered to get it or what?

You are in luck, I saw authentic Absinthe at Duty-free store on the way back into canada at the Sumas border (abbotsford).

Its labeled " first legalized authentic Absinthe in North America". It is about $55 USD i think ( or $45)

it looks green in color. Alcohol content was very very high, i cant remember but at least over 70%. Ingredient list includes Wormwood.

You think price means anything? You fool. What brands did they carry? Which brand was the one you tried? Until you can answer that, you have been proven wrong.

Let's just go back to the basics:

1) I have been drinking absinthe for over 6 years, I have tried dozens of brands of varying qualities from all over Europe
2) You drank it "a few times" in UK, and have "no idea" what brand you tried
3) UK is famous for serving terrible quality "absinthe" - the same cheap fake crap that gets sold in BC
4) You are saying that you didn't experience a secondary effect
5) Somehow, this means you are an expert on absinthe, and telling everyone who knows better that they are wrong.

And finally, you're the one who brought up Thujone, not me. Whether that is the active ingredient that gives the secondary effect is unknown (it may just be the mixture of other herbal ingredients that do so). In any case, a good, proper distilled absinthe will give a secondary effect. Drinking cheap British coldmixed crap will give "intense drunkness" and nothing more.

And anyway, the "secondary effect" shouldn't be your main goal when choosing an absinthe to buy anyway. Like any other good spirit, you need to consider flavour, colour, and other subtle things that make a drink special. If you are looking to get 'high' or even experience some lucidity, you are better off huffing a can of paint or something.

EDIT: looking at the site for the store you went to, they do sell one good absinthe (Clandestine) but the rest is complete utter crap (yes, every single one of those 11 bottles is garbage). You can check the reviews here.

So I assume you are suddenly going to remember what brand you tried, and it was certainly Clandestine, right? If not, there is an 83% chance the stuff you bought was cheap coldmixed crap.

Hopefully you don't get all upset again, and can begin to accept facts.

One cannot create fact out of presumption.

No offense Skinny, but when you discuss things that you are passionate about, you come off as a complete asshole and dickwad.

You could be nicer with your words and your attitude.

That being said, I want to try some real stuff. Too bad you're all the way in HK.

As you can see from my blog, I got a taste of Hills...didn't really like it. Just felt like I was drinking licorice flavored 151.

I fully admit to being an asshole; I just have a very low patience and tolerance threshold for stupidity. Dickwad may be a bit strong, but I only get that way when dealing with stupid people. Others will be treated with the respect they deserve. Even ignorance I can accept, as being ignorant just means you haven't learned yet, but have the ability to do so. But when some idiot comes in and spouting nonsense like they know everything, it sort of becomes my mission to prove them wrong. And being stupid, they become even worse when they are proven wrong.. So that just irritates me even more, and you get the picture ;)

Yeah I have never tried Hill's, but I know its reputation. It's the first mainstream "absinthe" (I use that term loosely) to get popular in UK and subsequently BC, etc. There are so many shitty absinthes out there, that I wish more people would pay attention and spend some time learning the facts. Even I have bought my share of crappy absinthe (I still have a bottle of "NS" sitting on my liquor shelf that I bought long before I moved to Hong Kong.. We drank some of it, and it gave my sister an ulcer). People respect fine whisky and fine wine, but when it comes to Absinthe, for some reason it's treated as this whacky "fad" that people want to drink in an ignorant attempt to "get high" or feel "intense drunkness"

EDIT: I see on your blog that Morton's has an "absinthe" tasting, and are using Hill's. That saddens me deeply, as people will go there and probably pretend to like the stuff, thinking that it is the way asbinthe is supposed to taste. Poor them :(

Your photography is good, and demonstrates just what is wrong with Hill's (besides the taste and the fact that is it not absinthe, and is essentially cheap vodka mixed with herbal extracts). When the water is added, the asbinthe should "louche" which turns it a milky white. I have seen various levels of this effect, and it is part of what makes absinthe so enjoyable to drink. Sometimes you get a louche that is as white as milk. Really good absinthe will have different characteristics with the louche; the lowers part of the glass will appear thicker and almost oily, while there will be light whisps of cloudiness at the top, and gradients in between. Sometimes, I will just drop a few icecubes in some pure absinthe, and let them melt as I watch the streaks of white clouds emanate from them. It's these nuances that makes absinthe so wonderful. You will get none of that with the garbage that is commonly sold and mass marketed, which is really, really sad.

Fully understood, I also don't tolerate stupidity, but I seem to have a better threshold compared to you. ;)

Yea, the owner answered questions, and one of them was why they did the ritual of sugar cube + dripping water, and he said that it's so the drink turns milky white, aka louching like you said.

He even said that Muslims [or whatever religion/middle easterns that cant drink alcohol] louche their absinthe on purpose so as to fool the Allah, cause it looks like milk. Now that I don't know, but seems possible.

After I got home (I didn't drink too much, not enough to feel drunk, but just a slight buzz) I did some of my own reading and research. Really got confused as to why the Hills drink didn't louche...

Is real absinthe supposed to taste so strongly of anise/licorice? I really don't like the taste of it.. never liked the candies as a kid. :(

The "holy trinity" of absinthe is green anise (not star anise, although many use that since the louche is much stronger), fennel, and wormwood. Every brand is different though, and can add various herbs (including licorice). Depending on your tastes, you might not like the flavour of anise. To me, it does have similar characteristics, but you should try others before writing absinthe off. Don't let Hill's ruin your opinion of this wonderful drink ;)

I am enjoying a glass of Duplais Verte right now, and I made a video of the louche. I'll post it on Youtube and put it up here so you can check it out. Duplais doesn't have an intense milky louche, but it is enjoyable. My favourite characteristic is when the water/sugar first hits the absinthe, and forms tiny crystals that seem to dance around in the liquid. It is also enjoyable to observe the small chunks of undiluted sugar as they drop down. As they hit the absinthe, they leave trails behind in the liquid, almost like a shooting star.

My video is up - be sure to watch in HQ mode. I am currently enjoying my second glass. I am almost out of Duplais :(

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FEnXwuypR6A

Hopefully your reference to stupidity wasn't in reference to me!
You insert emphasis where it isn't necessary.

haha..my prof. was just talking about absinthe today in my plant biochem. class.

she showed us a table where the most potent ones are made before and after the ban in N.America. I remember the prof. saying the ones with the highest content of Jugone, which is the molecule that makes u hallucinate is made in Turkey..but its illegal to import here.

I'll find the table somewhere and post it..but yeah..other places that have high concentration of the drug are in Switzerland and somewhere else..

nice video, but you should have made the subtitles in black!

It was killing my eyes trying to read it with the white table!

Your prof is just perpetuating the myth that high thujone = good absinthe. Pre-ban absinthe had barely any thujone in it at all. Unless you just misunderstood the lesson ;)

Absinthe is pretty nice

I prefer the Swiss one though ... Well its the only one I tried lol

When I was in swiss I saw a bottle from the 1800's in a museum I wanted to jack it :haha:


I like the taste of anise ....... mmmm I also like ricard a lot

Theres a locally made bottle of Absinthe called "taboo". Go to the BC liq store on hastings and willingdon. 60% alcohol content. It DOES have wormwood in it. And its made locally!

750ml bottle sells for $60 bucks. Tastes like poison. Enjoy.