The Green Fairy

[aceinyerface]

I first had absinthe at the Pirate's Alley Bar in New Orleans (the site of a jail which once held the pirate, Jean Lafitte). New Orleans has a history with absinthe, several bars in the French Quarter were devoted to the drink.

Pirate's Alley had a absinthe fountain to perform the bloom properly. For the life of me, I can't remember the two kinds I tried. But I did not get any weird visions etc... that myth appears to come from the old days and be more a consequence of drinking low end stuff with sketchy impurities.

I bought a bottle, Mythe (138 proof), and went searching for the accoutrements for the proper enjoyment. I could only find a gift set that included a bottle of Absente (110 proof), so armed with $90 worth of absinthe I go to chase the green fairy.

With no fountain, I improvise the syringe from a cajun injector to deliver the ice water on target to the sugar cubes (hard to find in themselves) on the absinthe spoon. The drink is cut by 50% with the water, but at such high proof it is still like doing a straight shot of whiskey. Oddly, the water brings out the herbal flavors so you get more than just alcohol burn.

Provided one likes the flavor of anise (think black jellybeans), it is a pleasurable drink to sip. A welcome change to sipping whiskey.

And 2nd day in, no weird effects, no Cheshire Cats, no ears cut off or anything else. But then, I never saw visions from eating worms out of Mezcal either.

 

[The Count of Merkur Cristo]

aceinyerface:
I wonder if there any truth to the legend of 'Meeting the Green Fairy' (used to describe the curious effects of the green liquor) in Absinthe?

The only thing I know about Absinthe is what I learned from Wikipedia.

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

Check out this Thread "Absintheurs".

http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php/197675-Absintheurs?highlight=

Christopher

"What difference is there between a glass of absinthe and a sunset?" Oscar Wilde

Attached Images - Preparing absinthe the traditional way & 'The Green Fairy'.

​

 

[narativesoul]

i saw on tv a thing that said the green fairy was a hallucination caused by poor quality absinth. that had alot of bad stuff in it including lead

 

[johnnyxxl]

Nost absinthe isn't made if worm wood like the old. It's also got to do with wierd stuff in it.

 

[Coda_]

...I recall hearing that a lot of the bad press came from the Wine makers in France around the turn of the century. Absinthe was selling like crazy, and the Wine makers were afraid it would ruin them...so they used their power and weight to start a negative ad campaign...

 

[paco664]

the hallucinations came from the oil of wormwood.......

 

[Go West Young Man]

Absinthe was the drink of the artists and late-night crowd, so it got a bad reputation.... which in turn made it more attractive to the artists and late-night crowds, much like most illegal drugs today.

 

[aceinyerface]

Nost absinthe isn't made if worm wood like the old. It's also got to do with wierd stuff in it.

Both of the ones I bought have wormwood.

 

[Go West Young Man]

The consensus is that you'd have to drink your bodyweight in absinthe before the wormwood would cause hallucinations.
And by then the wormwood would be the least of your problems!

I had an amazing absinthe "Russian Style" last week - they heated it up in and captured the fumes in an upside down brandy glass. You sucked a mouthful of the fumes then did a sip of absinthe, it literally light my whole head up like a Christmas tree. Warm, intense flavors started coming out my ears!

 

[paco664]

then again the hallucinations could have something to do with the fact that they would put laudanum or morphine on the sugar cubes......

 

[franz]

Yeah. The ingredient in wormwood that was supposed to create the hallucinations is thujone. Unfortunately a lot of the old science that established this belief was shoddy and its claims have since been discredited.

Absinthe is hard to beat if presented well. Truly beautiful, and kind of mesmerizing.

Chris I have never heard of Russian style. That sounds cool.

 

[Legion]

...I recall hearing that a lot of the bad press came from the Wine makers in France around the turn of the century. Absinthe was selling like crazy, and the Wine makers were afraid it would ruin them...so they used their power and weight to start a negative ad campaign...

This is what happened. Absinthe, a lot of which was imported from Switzerland, was seriously impacting on the wine industry. A lot of people in power owned vineyards. They used that power to create a scare campaign and have the drink band to protect their own profits. Very simple. The drink has no magical properties, and in moderation is no worse for you than any other spirit. Probably better, because it is always mixed with water and slow sipping brings out the flavours of the botanicals.

Most "absinthe" you at the liquor store buy is little more than cheap green vodka with aniseed flavouring and maybe wormwood to make it bitter. But if you find the real stuff it is actually a very pleasant drink.

My favourite is the Lemercier 72%. It is too pricey for me to drink regularly, though. Unfortunately.

 

[aceinyerface]

The consensus is that you'd have to drink your bodyweight in absinthe before the wormwood would cause hallucinations.
And by then the wormwood would be the least of your problems!

I had an amazing absinthe "Russian Style" last week - they heated it up in and captured the fumes in an upside down brandy glass. You sucked a mouthful of the fumes then did a sip of absinthe, it literally light my whole head up like a Christmas tree. Warm, intense flavors started coming out my ears!

That is wild, I've never heard of that, next time I make it to N.O. I'll see if the Pirate's Alley knows how to do it.

 

[aceinyerface]

Absinthe is hard to beat if presented well. Truly beautiful, and kind of mesmerizing.

It has that old school vibe to it, before cocktails got sickly sweet. Then, there is the ritual of the bloom, like it is supposed to be savoured slowly. Not like slamming well whiskey and cokes.

On top of that, anything that was once banned has it's own niche appeal.

 

[Ethan.Bassist.]

Some absinthe back in the day was coloured with copper sulfate if I'm remembering correctly. Gives it that green colour. And effs with you majorly.

I still need to try absinthe....

 

[The Nid Hog]

I found a bottle of absinthe on a back shelf in a liquor store in Okinawa about twenty years ago. The owner couldn't remember how or why he wound up with it. I had to improvise the spoon, but it was excellent. About five years after that, I picked up a spoon and a couple of different bottles imported from Europe. They were a real mixed bag. One was great; two were horrific. I've heard that Absente has been reformulated to be a true absinthe now. How is it? What are the best varieties available domestically now?

 

[aceinyerface]

I've heard that Absente has been reformulated to be a true absinthe now. How is it? What are the best varieties available domestically now?

It has a label "Now with wormwood", what that means, I don't know. Much of the information available on the net is outdated. Snobbery in reviews appears to be rampant, about like the whiskey and scotch crowd (to hear them tell it, one shouldn't bother drinking anything unless it costs a C-note or is so obscure as to be unobtainable).

You can't honestly review one without tasting dozens, which I haven't. I enjoyed drinking it, it wasn't harsh. I've had many liquors in my time and can tell garbage pretty easily. I didn't get that impression from either.

Best? I can only say that of what was available, Mythe, Absente, LaFee, Vieu Pontablier??, Mansinthe, the last two had stickers stating they were winners in some tasting. They were also $140 and $80.

 

[Legion]

It sounds weird, but the Mansinthe, Marilyn Mansons brand, gets good reviews. Ignoring the "celebrity endorsement" It is supposed to be a solid Swiss absinthe.

But as I said, if you can get the Lemercier 72%, that would be my choice.

If it is from Switzerland or France (it will have a spelling variation if from France. Still banned there, as far as I know) then it is probably safe. If it is from Czechoslovakia avoid it like the plague. There was someone in Australia that I read about who was making it to traditional recipes, but I haven't tried it myself, and I can't remember the name.

 

[The Nid Hog]

The nasty ones that I had were Czech. Urk! I'd like to try some of the newer ones, but I don't want to drop a hundred bucks to see how they are. I guess I'll see what my local ABC store has.

 

[Slash McCoy]

To see the green fairy, I think you need to walk up to around Bourbon and St Ann late at night. They don't hang out at Pirate's Alley.