Absinthe

Captain Mullocked · Post by **Captain Mullocked** » Mon Sep 22, 2003 3:16 pm

II really want to try absinthe but have not really been able to afford it. I looked it up on the internet and found a whole bunch of site that sell it for really cheap or sell abssinthe kits in the US. Most of these also sell mushroom kits and things of that sort. I'm more than a bit leary of trying this, has anyone ever tried these kits or know anything about them.

Palinka (RIP) · Post by **Palinka (RIP)** » Mon Sep 22, 2003 3:21 pm

I know a fair bit about Absinthe, as it is freely available in Hungary. Nothing about internet purchasing or magic mushroom growing lits, 'though. Sorry. I'm sure that one of the others will be able to help you out.

Enabler · Post by **Enabler** » Mon Sep 22, 2003 3:42 pm

http://www.alandia.de/
http://lafeeverte.de/
http://spiritscorner.com/
are good places to buy.

Also people really seem to like the Un Emile at
http://www.absintheonline.com/ but I haven't tried it yet.

Deva is good and is less than 20 bucks plus shipping from SpiritsCorner.

DrunkenJackFlask · Post by **DrunkenJackFlask** » Mon Sep 22, 2003 4:16 pm

Just yesterday I ordered from La Boheme some from the Czech Republic. In fact, it was a bottle strongly (okay, exactly) resembling the middle bottle of Palinka's "King Cockeyed" graphic - Absinthe Original. I also got a bottle of Absinthe Pilsner-Lor. All I know about Absinthe I learned from Frank's article in the Nov02 in MDM (http://www.moderndrunkardmagazine.com/i ... sinthe.htm, thank you Frank!) I'm actually pretty curious which one it was that he drank for that article (if you're reading, my man, please let us know).

The reason I bought from La Boheme was because of the full back-page ad they had on the March 2003 issue of MDM with the picture of the girl with the pretty green eyes.

So was my $150 for two bottles of Absinthe worth it? I'll hopefully know in a couple of weeks.

barkingspider · Post by **barkingspider** » Mon Sep 22, 2003 4:27 pm

I too have long been wanting to experience Absinthe. I was in Amsterdam in July and couldn't find it anywhere. Who knew the Dutch were so uptight?

DrunkenJackFlask · Post by **DrunkenJackFlask** » Mon Sep 22, 2003 4:46 pm

Yeah, but hey have Heineken...

Palinka (RIP) · Post by **Palinka (RIP)** » Mon Sep 22, 2003 6:02 pm

DrunkenJackFlask wrote:Yeah, but hey have Heineken...

Ohhhh, nasty!

DrunkenJackFlask wrote:...So was my $150 for two bottles of Absinthe worth it?...

Nope. In Budapest, US$15 will get you a decent bottle and US$30 will get you an excellent bottle.
Go to Bratislava or Prague and you can whittle the price down further.

Absinthe is a wonderful drink (and it makes for a wonderful drunk) but at those prices?!

Someone, somewhere is getting very rich. At rip off rates. And that ain't right!

Damnit, for not much more than they are charging for a case of six bottles, you could get an aeroplane ticket to the Czech Republic, Slovakia or Hungary, buy your absinthe at the normal price, have a holiday (and a very cheap piss-up can be had in any of those countries), pick up some extra bottles, take them home, sell them at the internet price (but with guaranteed delivery - by hand) and have your holiday paid for. And probably make some change into the bargain.

DrunkenJackFlask · Post by **DrunkenJackFlask** » Mon Sep 22, 2003 6:26 pm

Alas, I am bound to my geography for yet another season, and have but the Internet to experience travel. The wonders of Europe continue to exceed my grasp whilst my job keeps me a domestic drunk. If I could ever get more than three days off in a row, it could be a reality. I'll have to settle for being mail-order traveller.

Palinka, can you recommend a better Absinthe-by-mail than La Boheme? I heard it is better in Spain or France.

deadpuppiesandwhores · Mon Sep 22, 2003 6:29 pm

Captain Mullocked wrote:II really want to try absinthe but have not really been able to afford it. I looked it up on the internet and found a whole bunch of site that sell it for really cheap or sell abssinthe kits in the US. Most of these also sell mushroom kits and things of that sort. I'm more than a bit leary of trying this, has anyone ever tried these kits or know anything about them.

i did the mushroom thing wheni was nineteen. hard as hell. you would thing a fungus that grows naturally in cow dung it would be a bit more robust. very easy to screw up. just order your absinthe. only undrunk people have the motivation to make their own shit properly.

Palinka (RIP) · Post by **Palinka (RIP)** » Mon Sep 22, 2003 7:11 pm

DrunkenJackFlask wrote:Palinka, can you recommend a better Absinthe-by-mail than La Boheme? I heard it is better in Spain or France.

For sure. I can recommend several. However, they all appeal to my jaded palate. Regular drinking friends of mine can't stand them. So I will limit myself to the middle-of-the-road varieties.

My favourite, and certainly a good one in terms of bang-for buck, is Staroplzenecky. Although Hills is a good one at a reasonable price. Sebor's make a variety of different absinthes and they are all safely palatable. Logan Fils are the hippy types, making only "organic" absinthe. No added chemicals (just the natural ones). An out there choice (and one of the freakiest) is Swiss La Bleue, which claims to be made exactly according to the original recipe. It looks nothing like the absinthe that I'm used to, being as it is clear, but it certainly does the trick!

However, I would always be wary about ordering over the internet. Who knows what you will get? And who can you complain to if you get sold shite?

In France, absinthe is still unlawful. So, don't bother with that one.

In Spain they do sell it, but they tax the shit out of it. Not quite as badly as the British government do, but it is still woefully expensive there.

To be perfectly honest, as with buying most things with which you are unfamiliar, it's a crap shoot. You would do far better saving your cash, waiting until you have the necessary time, and then heading off to Prague, Bratislava or Budapest (or all three, they are not so very far apart) and trying as many different types as you can.

As a parable, I would suggest whisky. Imagine if you lived in a country where whisky was outlawed. Through the internet you ordered a bottle and received something vile like Claymore (ugh). You would wonder why everyone was making such a fuss. Years later, if you were lucky, you might finally get to try a single malt. Then you would kick yourself for the wasted years.

Do look up the other (by now numerous) absinthe threads on the forum. Absinthe is a topic that has been discussed quite frequently here. I'm sure you will find a lot more information on those threads. Especially regarding the fake absinthes that you should avoid!

Like say, 'though, you should wait until you have the time and money to visit a country in which absinthe is widely, and cheaply, available. In the long run, the trip will be worth it. There is no substitute for experience.

Circling over Shannon · Mon Sep 22, 2003 7:58 pm

Palinka wrote:
DrunkenJackFlask wrote:Yeah, but hey have Heineken...
Ohhhh, nasty!
DrunkenJackFlask wrote:...So was my $150 for two bottles of Absinthe worth it?...
Nope. In Budapest, US$15 will get you a decent bottle and US$30 will get you an excellent bottle.
Go to Bratislava or Prague and you can whittle the price down further.

Absinthe is a wonderful drink (and it makes for a wonderful drunk) but at those prices?!

Someone, somewhere is getting very rich. At rip off rates. And that ain't right!

Damnit, for not much more than they are charging for a case of six bottles, you could get an aeroplane ticket to the Czech Republic, Slovakia or Hungary, buy your absinthe at the normal price, have a holiday (and a very cheap piss-up can be had in any of those countries), pick up some extra bottles, take them home, sell them at the internet price (but with guaranteed delivery - by hand) and have your holiday paid for. And probably make some change into the bargain.

Hey P. you should start buying absi at your cheap home prices and selling it to people in the US--you'd probably make a shit load of money (or you can sell it to us drunkards at cheaper prices :D )

DrunkenJackFlask · Post by **DrunkenJackFlask** » Mon Sep 22, 2003 7:59 pm

Palinka wrote:For sure. I can recommend several...

Thanks for your time and thoughts on this. It is appreciated. As a first-timer with Absinthe, my palate will be most certainly be unsophisticated. But I have a tendency to learn from everything (sometimes it takes a few repetitions), so I expect I'll investigate your recommendations in the weeks following my friend and I hunkering down for our first night with the green faerie.

Cheers, and I look forward to writing about it!

Palinka (RIP) · Post by **Palinka (RIP)** » Mon Sep 22, 2003 9:04 pm

Circling over Shannon wrote:Hey P. you should start buying absi at your cheap home prices and selling it to people in the US--you'd probably make a shit load of money (or you can sell it to us drunkards at cheaper prices :D )

Well. "C.", I would but I have no way of accepting credit cards or banking dollar cheques. And since no-one is going to post cash in advance, it is very unlikely to work.

Also, I imagine that most people would be fair annoyed if they ordered absinthe and only received "absi."

Palinka (RIP) · Post by **Palinka (RIP)** » Mon Sep 22, 2003 9:09 pm

DrunkenJackFlask wrote:Thanks for your time and thoughts on this. It is appreciated.

Nae bother.

DrunkenJackFlask wrote:As a first-timer with Absinthe, my palate will be most certainly be unsophisticated.

Practice with pastis.

DrunkenJackFlask wrote:But I have a tendency to learn from everything (sometimes it takes a few repetitions), so I expect I'll investigate your recommendations in the weeks following my friend and I hunkering down for our first night with the green faerie.

Good for you.

DrunkenJackFlask wrote:Cheers, and I look forward to writing about it!

I look forward to reading about it.

LuckyStrikes · Post by **LuckyStrikes** » Mon Sep 22, 2003 9:27 pm

Hey Pee, I'll settle for the 'absi'. Ssss and me, we are well acquainted with getting thrown half a bone. Pee, maybe you can send the 'nthe' another time. Peace out.

Absinthe

Absinthe

Re: Absinthe