Absinthe: It's the alcohol, stupid

[shivers]

I told you so!

Absinthe's Mind-Altering Mystery Solved

An analysis of century-old bottles of absinthe — the kind once quaffed by the likes of van Gogh and Picasso to enhance their creativity — may end the controversy over what ingredient caused the green liqueur's supposed mind-altering effects .

The culprit seems plain and simple: The century-old absinthe contained about 70 percent alcohol, giving it a 140-proof kick. In comparison, most gins, vodkas and whiskeys are just 80- to 100-proof.

[Woodsman]

I had a shot of Mezcal the other night with some friends and this place I was at (a local truly good Mexican restaurant) dug in an extra bottle and extracted a second Agave worm so two of us could have one each in our shot.

So my friend drank the worm and I chewed it up in front of people for a little shock factor (not a big deal to me, but others freak out).

There isn't shit in that worm other than Ethanol, but of course, just like Absinthe, it's bragged all out of proportion to something more magical than second rate Vodka or Gin...which reminds me of two other really ridiculous things - Single malt Scotches and Cognac. The only thing I can say is that a fool and his money spent on alcohol part quickly. :-)

You want something better than Absinthe - go to Galencia (or is that GaleTHIA...:-)...) Spain and get some aqua diente. Of course, Americans don't have to go that far to get some good old fashion moonshine (white liquor) made properly not from a radiator, but rather with copper tubing.

Either way, it's easily 140 proof (even after being cut with water some) and will kick your ass 7 ways from the curb - but I used to love the stuff as for some reason I didn't get very bad hangovers from it.

Oh yeah, and in 97' good moonshine was $12/qt. ball jar proper. Moderately decent Cognac was probably $12 to coat the bottom of a fancy glass.

[OneLungMcClung]

I still don't think it's the booze. You should be able to drink Everclear and your choice of mixer in the proper ratio and get the same results.

I firmly believe that it was bad science and even worse distilling technique in the 1800's through to the early 1900's that lead to these problems - additives or impurities in the Absinthe were likely hallucinogenic in nature.. We'll never know now. :(

[Woodsman]

I still don't think it's the booze. You should be able to drink Everclear and your choice of mixer in the proper ratio and get the same results.

I firmly believe that it was bad science and even worse distilling technique in the 1800's through to the early 1900's that lead to these problems - additives or impurities in the Absinthe were likely hallucinogenic in nature.. We'll never know now. :(

Dilute Everclear until it's 140 proof, drink 12 oz. worth as quick as you would drink a beer and see if you don't get double vision, room spinning, etc.

I do not like the taste of Everclear. It's just laboratory grade ethanol (which of course can also be drank if you've got the guts). I drank a few shots of that shit one time (uncut - cold kept in the freezer), went out in the woods and kept falling on an electrified fence. Nasty lines going across my back like I was whipped, but really, it beats stepping on a hornets nest.

[kilroy]

I still don't think it's the booze. You should be able to drink Everclear and your choice of mixer in the proper ratio and get the same results.

I firmly believe that it was bad science and even worse distilling technique in the 1800's through to the early 1900's that lead to these problems - additives or impurities in the Absinthe were likely hallucinogenic in nature.. We'll never know now. :(

Dilute Everclear until it's 140 proof, drink 12 oz. worth as quick as you would drink a beer and see if you don't get double vision, room spinning, etc.

I do not like the taste of Everclear. It's just laboratory grade ethanol (which of course can also be drank if you've got the guts). I drank a few shots of that shit one time (uncut - cold kept in the freezer), went out in the woods and kept falling on an electrified fence. Nasty lines going across my back like I was whipped, but really, it beats stepping on a hornets nest.

dude, back in my kansas days everclear was mine and my brothers' drink of choice (it was a budgetary rather than flavor concern) and no, there is no hallucination from it. same as when i'm downing shot after shot of 151 these days.

i've never had proper absinthe, but if there is any truly hallucinagenic quality to it, it's definitely not from alcohol. alcohol may make you dizzy, have blurry vision, vomit, but it doesn't make you hallucinate.

[Stiv]

There is a different buzz from absinthe but the premis is correct, in order to really enjoy the buzz you simply can't drink much before the ETOH totally blots it out.

~Stiv

[michelle in alaska]

:)

[Lwilliams]

I was just reading these posts about absinthe so for more information I googled and I found these guys so I thought I'd share ......... check them out ........... Bottoms UP!!! .............. absinthe

[BlackVelvet]

Alcohol is a GABA agonist. It stimulates the production of this neurotransmitter which causes drowsiness and sleep. Thujone is a GABA antagonist. It prohibits alcohol from performing that part of it's function. Absinthe is therefore a type of 'speedball', it's chemical constituents at once promote the production of GABA and opens its receptors, while also closing those receptors off. This explains the ' green fairy" effect that absinthe has, as oppossed to just normal drunkenness, which is associated with drowsiness.

If you wish to compare try a high thujone absinthe like Century Absinthe (100mg thujone) with one of those <10ppm thujone that are now freely sold in the US.

[mateoran76]

There is a different buzz from absinthe

Not to mention a different kind of hangover! I was in Haifa in 2004 for St Patty's day and proceeded to get sloshed at the local pub. They gave me absinthe that night and prepared it a few different ways each time to try. Frigging hangover the next day was the worse I have ever had in my whole life. I sure as hell didn't see any green faerie's like your supposed to be able to see! Also it was the only drink I ever had that made my tongue go numb.

[Lwilliams]

hey everyone,
well mateoran76, it doesn't sound like you had a very good experience. you didn't even get tot see any green ferries.
so question ... would you every use it again? and what would you say to someone who wanted to use it?
absinthe alcohol was invented in 1797

[Dark11Crusader]

I tried it twice when I lived abroad last summer, (once the real wormwood deal, and once the stuff that they are allowed to sell in bars over in Italy). I had a similar experience, where I did not hallucinate or anything like that. The stuff did, however, on both times knock me straight on my ass. If you have it while you are drinking other alcoholic beverages, or if you drink it after you've already had something to drink, it really just gets you really drunk pretty fast. It was a lot of fun, and yes I would do it again, even without hallucinations, which I probably would not have welcomed much anyways. Just don't plan on being able to get up bright and early the next morning haha