Curious about Absinthe

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http://www.straightdope.com/columns/011026.html

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

The real reason absinthe is so strong is the 75% alcohol it contains, not the thujone, if any. There's a liquor store in Detroit where you can buy absinthe. Check around, there's probably a store near you that sells it. Anything sold in the US will probably not contain the thujone.

Wormwood extracts are available for possible addition to the absinthe, but the manufacturers won't tell you how much thujone is contained last I checked (milligrams per drop), and odds are that these extracts might not contain any.

If you are looking for a good buzz, buy a bottle of Rumpleminze and smoke a couple joints. I guarantee a buzz that's better than absinthe.

I'm growing a "wormwood plant" in my garden. Apparently one of the ingredients.....
my big plan was to make homemade absynthe....but I lost interest....(or got lazy - who really knows?)
it's a beautiful little plant...very soft to the touch....but it does not tolerate a lot of sun....I may have to transplant it into a shadier spot next year....after being in too much sun it starts to dry up and get crispy....

as for the drink: we tried a "copy" of the stuff....yukk!! !....but the design on the bottle was really and we got a fancy spoon with it....to put the sugar cube on...

but in all honesty the fake stuff....yuk!

Absinthe is definitely outlawed here. However, wormwood is a common weed in much of the U.S., and is efficacious when chewed like tobacco.

WORMWOOD

"It remedies the evils Choller can inflict on the Body of man by Sympathy.It clenseth the Body of Choller, it provokes Urine, helps Surfets, Swellings in the Belly; it causeth an Appetite to meat. The Sun never shone upon a better Herb for the yellow Jaundice than this is:"

Nicholas Culpeper, The English Physician Enlarged, 1669



and...this is my "wormwood" in my garden....(looks...pretty, I didn't know it was a weed! LOL...I actually bought it from the garden gallery....jokes on me! )

I believe it is still possible to purchase absinthe from eastern europe which i still brewed using the thujone from the original artemesia extracts but omitting the CuSO4 they used to use in the 19th century version as pigment (probably the reason it was banned).

I haven't tried that stuff but the high strength vermouth type stuff they call absinthe in most of the rest of the world is pretty potent. Don't ever mix with Stroff! I nearly killed myself and a good friend on a binge in Barcelona

i tried absinthe in my early 20's before it hit the market in north america. it tasted horrible, and after 3 shots i was sick. didn't feel drunk or otherwise, just ill.

Anyone else actually give it a try??