need advice...

[FearNoBeer]

[quote="Absinthe Of Malice"][quote="FearNoBeer"]
Yes yes, I think they left out the wacko stuff out of it long time ago...I can buy some at my local liquor store...the main point is: how should we drink it? straight up? sounds good...answers please...[/quote]

The stuff sold domestically has no Artemesia Absinthium and frequently a lower proof. And it's not as good as some of the stuff from abroad you can order online.

The "wacko stuff" is thujone, which is the regulated substance in absinthe. And it doesn't have much if anything to do with the effects of absinthe. Think about Jaegermeister and the buzz that comes with all that herbalicious goodness; there's no Artemesia in that (and therefore no thujone) yet it makes one do some strange things sometimes....so TJ content is irrelevant.

If you are going to have any but a few (Clandestine, Jade's Edouard) you need to drip cold water into them slowly until the entire drink takes on a milky cloudiness. Clandestine and Edouard can be sipped neat. My standpoint on it has always been that if you are looking for some hallucininogenic effect, look elsewhere. If you are looking for a unique buzz and a lovely clear lucidity in your buzz, then this is the stuff.

It's analagous to sippin' whiskey versus moonshine: both will get you there, but the rides are different. So absinthe is not a "pound it 'til you can't see straight" sort of drink, although perfectly pleasant in huge quantities.

As for preparation, if you go with one of the really nice ones, the ratio works out to about 1:2 or 1:3 and I don't tend to add sugar. If you are drinking something with a bitter note and don't care for it, drizzle your ice water over a sugar cube or two. The whole room will fill up with a lovely floral anise and fennel smell when you get it right.

Don't do the Czech fire ritual: it's bullshit, it's dangerous, it's not traditional and the slightly bitter burnt taste of the sugar doesn't actually bring anything to the party.

You don't need a special glass or spoon or fountaine or water pitcher; they are nicities but not necessities. When I first started out, I perched a slotted spoon or the tines of a fork over an IKEA wine goblet to prepare my green juice. Now I usually use a speed pour in a winebottle full of ice water to drizzle my water. Sometimes I will take a shaker full of crushed ice, add a few ounces of absinthe, shake, strain and pour into a glass (I'm still using the ones from IKEA). As the absinthe warms the scent and taste blossoms and opens into herbaliciousness.

Sorry for going on so long and wazing poetic, but it's really my thing.[/quote]

Thank yyyyeeeeoooowwwwww!!!!