Just Bought a bottle of Absinthe!!!

[ShipitFMA]

You know the absinthe you buy in places like america, australia etc is different to the absinthe you buy in the actuall european countries..

The weak watered down (western version) was all over my friends houses when we were liek 14

[luckyjimm]

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the stuff you have is pisswater

real absinthe is 70%+

you will not hallucinate, you will just get slightly more drunk than normal, and really not enjoy getting there

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This is correct. You cannot buy "real" absinthe in London.

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Sure you can. I looked two weeks ago in the shop window here and you can get 70%+ types:

http://www.urbanpath.com/london/spir...hol/gerrys.htm

If it's for sale in Europe you can get it in this shop.

[luckyjimm]

However, I've seen absinthe available over the Internet with a stronger thujone content than they had in this London shop.

The "drug" effect of absinthe, as I've experienced, has been a speedy kind of rush together with a sensation a bit like having eaten hash cakes.

[luckyjimm]

This forum looks good - includes reviews of different brands:

http://wormwoodsociety.org/forums/index.php?showforum=3


This is interesting, for example, about King of Spirits:

King of Spirits (KOS) and King of Spirits Gold (KOSG)

These “absinthes” deserve a special entry, because they’re very aggressively marketed online as “the ultimate”, "the original as drunk by Toulouse Lautrec and Hemingway”, the “only authentic absinthes”. They’re none of these things – on the contrary, they are, in the near unanimous opinion of the hundreds of regular posters both here and in the other independent online absinthe forums, precisely two of the most notorious ersatz products in the entire industry.

To put this in plain language: these absinthes, amongst the most expensive on the market, and certainly the most heavily promoted online, are in reality almost undrinkable, and bear little if any relation to the taste of real absinthe.

KOS and KOSG give the appearance of being widely recommended - dozens of websites and countless blogs mention them, and even supply links to purchase them, giving the impression of a broad consensus as to their quality. It’s not usually clear to the casual viewer that these references are almost always linked to the affiliate programs run by the vendors of KOS and KOSG.

Neither at this, nor at any other well-known, independent absinthe discussion-and-review website are you likely to find even one positive review for these products (this includes sites in France, Sweden and Germany). There are arguments for and against many different brands, and people who strongly favor brands that are otherwise unpopular. But there are no positive reviews for KOS or KOSG on any of these sites. There are no stubborn fans who defend them there, yet many tasters of all stripes who revile them. Why is the consensus here at Fee Verte, and at the other leading absinthe forums that KOS and especially KOSG are to be avoided?

1. The contain little or no anise, which is the primary flavour in absinthe. Absinthe without anise isn’t absinthe, or at least not absinthe as it was ever understood in France or Switzerland.

2. KOS and KOSG are arguably even less authentic than most other Czech absinthes, almost all of which are totally inauthentic. At no time during the Belle Epoque did any absinthe, whether distilled or mixed from essences, naturally or artificially colored, cheap or expensive, contain wormwood leaves or other herbal matter floating in the bottle, as do KOS and KOSG. The best distillers of the time knew better than to refine a bitter plant into a soft, palatable drink, only to ruin the drink by dumping the unrefined plant back into the finished bottle. The less-reputable producers also knew better – gimmicks to sell a product were often seen, but vegetable debris in the bottle would have been so obvious a hallmark of low quality that not even the most disreputable dared attempt such a thing.

3. The proof of the pudding is in the eating. KOS and KOSG are not merely bland, or dull, or a little too bitter – they are frightfully bitter, weird-tasting stuff, to the point of being undrinkable. They’re much easier to spit out than to swallow.

4. King of Spirits Gold appears to be the same foul tasting stuff as KOS, but with the thujone boosted to levels that make it illegal to sell in the EU. It’s sold at nearly twice the price of the finest genuine absinthes. There is no historical precedent for the addition of extra thujone to absinthe, and the most scrupulous recent scientific research has confirmed that vintage absinthe had very little thujone, typically less than 10mg/l. thujone won’t, even in high doses, make you trip, hallucinate, or have any significant drug-like experience. In short, to buy an absinthe with expectation of getting high is to be sure of wasting your money. As the most aggressive online promoter of the bogus thujone myth, KOSG deserves special censure. Read our FAQ for lots more on thujone. See also “What’s wrong with Czech Absinthe” (http://www.wormwoodsociety.org/czech.html) by our friends at the Wormwood Society.

We’d have no problem with KOS and KOSG if they were truthfully marketed for what they are: rather eccentric Eastern European bitters. But to claim, as they do, that they are authentic absinthes, and indeed the ne plus ultra of their type, is a travesty. Avoid them.

[luckyjimm]

What's Wrong With Czech "Style" Absinth?

Written by Hiram

Czech Absinth (generally without the "e" at the end) gets a lot of bad press from absinthe enthusiasts. Primarily, that's because it's not really absinthe in the traditional sense, but can only be considered a very distant cousin. We say "Czech" absinth because this product was first widely marketed from the Czech Republic in the late 1990s and the majority of Czech-style brands are produced there, although we include products from all over Eastern and Central Europe in the genre. The nomenclature has nothing to do with nationalistic sentiment, only the practical facts of provenance.

With very, very few exceptions, this spirit is a misnamed and misrepresented product. Nearly all Czech-style absinths are oil mixes, or compounded spirits, and while there are a number of medium-quality compounded absinthes on the market, the makers of these make an effort to reproduce the authentic, Belle Époque absinthe flavor profile; Czech-style absinth makers do not. Czechs intentionally tend to minimize the anise flavor, which is among the definitive qualities of authentic absinthe. This may possibly be an aversion stemming from the use of anise to disguise the unpleasant flavors of children's medicines.

Some marketers have claimed that this is a traditional Czech style of absinthe, but since there is no historic evidence of a Czech absinth(e) tradition, this is unlikely. Also there is no mention in marketing materials of any Czech absinth traditions, but connections are frequently made with 19th French absinthe traditions and personalities.

History is full of drinks and medicines which contain wormwood, but it is the specific drink of 19th century France that has captured the imagination, and that drink is historically attested to be an anise spirit flavored with wormwood.
It is inappropriate to call any highly-bitter, non-anise spirit "absinthe," regardless of its provenance. Trying to make a non-anise absinthe is like making a non-anise ouzo. Anyone will tell you, it's just not ouzo anymore. Absinthe, like ouzo, is an anise spirit.

The flavor profiles and manufacturing processes of Czech absinth have nothing in common with those of authentic absinthe and are only nominally "absinth" because of the incidental inclusion of wormwood which, for the uninformed, is all that matters. However, it takes more than simply the presence of wormwood to make a spirit be absinthe.

The wormwood-essence spirits made in the Czech Republic and elsewhere should probably be simply called Wormwood Vodka—just like the Cannabis Vodka, Mandrake Vodka and the Bison Grass Vodkas produced by the same distilleries, or perhaps Wormwood Bitters.

Czech absinths are lacking in every quality that one looks for in an authentic absinthe: fresh herbal flavor; traditional ingredients; good, natural color; a good louche and proper manufacture - i.e. distillation of whole, natural botanicals.

Isn't this just a matter of taste or opinion? Not entirely. It's also a matter of historical fact. In spite of marketing claims to the contrary, there is no evidence that absinth(e) of any kind was made in the Czech Republic prior to 1998, except possibly for part of 1947, but even for that there is no evidence.

In a world full of absinthe-related art and antiques from all over France and Switzerland—paintings depicting absinthe drinkers and absinthe itself, glasses, spoons, advertising posters, menus, catalogs, books and distillation manuals, antique absinthe bottles (sometimes with the intact and drinkable product still inside)—there is nothing from the Czech Republic or the former Czechoslovakia and not one hint of the now-popular and equally spurious "Czech Fire Method" of preparing absinthe.

Like fabled Atlantis, every piece of evidence of Czech absinth from before 1998 seemingly sank into the sea.

Why are these absinths considered by many to be so inferior? The earliest Czech products were developed at a time when very few people knew what real absinthe tasted like or how it was made—only a handful, in fact.

It is very possible that the originators of Czech-style absinth, in all good faith, believed that wormwood was all it took to qualify a spirit as absinthe, and accordingly undertook to resurrect the Green Fairy—although she had always been alive and moderately well in Spain and the rural areas of Switzerland.

Most absinths are simply a weird-tasting, often terribly bitter, liquor that has been artificially colored green. Since its flavor is mostly unidentifiable and entirely unlike any other liquor they've ever tasted—and green—those new to absinthe cannot know any better and assume that this must be what absinthe is like. Because of this, many have sworn off of absinthe forever without having tasted the real thing.

Things have changed in the realm of authentic absinthe, however. Hobbyists and collectors have uncovered turn-of-the-century distillation manuals including detailed absinthe recipes and distillation protocols. Several old French distilleries such as Emile Pernot, Armand Guy, and Paul Devoilles, as well as the new Jade Liqueurs, have begun making absinthe again by the old methods and formulas. Also, the products of clandestine distillers in Switzerland (who have been making authentic absinthe all along) have become more widely available with the lifting of the ban on absinthe there. More people now have a basis for comparison with authentic style absinthe. Czech absinths do not compare favorably and are a completely different product.

Why are they still so popular? Ignorance primarily, and clever marketing. The marketing is so flashy and alluring, especially to curious, exploring young people, that it is common to find people who believe that absinthe actually originated in the Czech Republic and that all the best "real" old style absinthes are made there. Others insist that Czechs are the "strongest" absinthes - those that will allegedly make you hallucinate. This is of course completely false, as there are no hallucinogenic properties to any absinthe beyond those of extreme alcoholic intoxication. The thujone levels of these absinths are often exaggerated in order to encourage sales.

In short, the marketers of these products are banking on the romance and history of one spirit while producing something entirely different. As one consumer put it, this is a product "where ignorance is seen as a valued commodity amongst producers."

Is this a political or cultural bias? Definitely not. In fact, many absinthe connoisseurs who despise Czech absinth also happen appreciate Czech beers.

While there's no guarantee that any drink labeled "Absinthe" is reliably a premium, authentic absinthe, for the time being it's a safe bet that anything labeled "Absinth" is best avoided if one is after the authentic Belle Époque experience.

[netstorm]

Hmmm, the bottle I have is from Tunel. Cant seem to find any review of it over there. Damn, did I drank some [censored] stuff then ? :P

[luckyjimm]

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Hmmm, the bottle I have is from Tunel. Cant seem to find any review of it over there. Damn, did I drank some [censored] stuff then ? :P

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Probably:

http://www.google.co.uk/search?hl=en&amp...tunel&meta=

Still, doubt ANYONE gets it right first time. These guys are real absinthe snobs.
Seems a good place to educate yourself for future purchases though - that's what I'll be doing.

[BowToYourSensei]

absinthe is such overrated [censored]

[liamm1987]

When on holiday my friend sunk back a 35cl bottle of absinthe in a funnel. Needless to say he was mangled, [censored] hilarious though.

[Horneris]

I saw some 80% Absinthe at a Party a few years ago. Me and my friend took it in turns to do shots. I didnt hallucinate but got drunk quicker than usual. (in the UK)