Absinthe?

[Yoder]

Has anyone tried Absinthe made with wormwood? For years I thought the stuff was illegal, but then saw it in the local liquor store. I went cheap and bought about 3 oz for $10. The guy said he just pours a bit on some ice. So I pour an ounce onto ice. It was great for the first few sips, but then got a bit intense. Not wanting to waste the stuff, I finished my glass. It took awhile to hit me, but when sleeping I feel into a very strange state of consciousness. I was semi-awake but dreaming like crazy. This lasted for about three hours. The next day I was beat due to a lack of sleep and decided to looked up "wormwood." It is a psychoactive component. Hmm, that explains the weird dream state. The irony is that this brand of Absinthe is made in France, but illegal to buy there.

I am curious, anyone experience the same psychological state with this stuff?

[debk]

Never tried it but saw it in the liquor store and almost bought some.  Not sure now if I want to try it.  Curious about other experience

[corndog71]

My first time was on a camping trip several years ago before they legalized it here in the states.  A friend of a friend brought a bottle of Lucid but knew very little about how to drink it. 

Sugar is a common accompaniment.  One way to drink it is to use a special absinthe spoon which has holes in it.  You place the spoon over a tumbler with ice in it.  Place a sugar cube or 2 on the holey part of the spoon and then pour 3oz or so over the sugar.  It has a very strong black licorice flavor to it so if you don't like that then definitely use the sugar.  Even still that's how it tastes and there's no getting around it.

So since we were camping we didn't have tumblers or ice cubes.  The guy who brought the absinthe brought a bag of sugar. 
I grabbed a 12oz red solo cup filled it about halfway with crushed ice and before I could stop him the guy filled it to the brim. 
I managed to mix in several tablesoons of sugar to make it palatable, then sat down by the campfire.  It took me an hour or so to drink it all.  When I started feeling it I basically got perma-grin.  I couldn't stop smiling and feeling really happy.  I went through a walk in the woods and the 70' trees swaying around had a semi-psychedelic effect in front of a sky full of stars.  I remember having a rough time getting to sleep that night and when I did I too had some weird dreams.  Still, not a bad overall experience.

Lucid is legal now but pricey.  Once in a while I like to break some out for fun.  Still not really a fan of black licorice but this stuff comes with a nice kick.

[tuffy_puppy]

do you guys realize that the adults might be listening?   good nite, johnboy!!

[Aural Robert]

I believe there is a ritual surrounding the preparation with the spoon and the sugar. My son actually showed it to me, you put the sugar on the spoon, dip it slightly into the liquid to wet the sugar, and then light it on fire. The alcohol burns, and the sugar melts into the drink. That's how I remember it.

I still have half a bottle in my liquor cabinet, have to try it out again.

Aural Robert
... Don't call for help...no one will heed you ...

[Yoder]

Yea, the big almost $50 bottle of the stuff had a fancy "holy spoon" on it and included some instructions. Definitely not the kind of spoon you want to use for soup, but after 3oz of the stuff who knows?

Maybe there is a reason why the likes of  Ernest Hemingway, Picasso, Vincent van Gogh, Oscar Wilde, Aleister Crowley, and many others liked the stuff. I liked the taste, but I don't see how you (Corndog) could put down 3 oz of it. Nice to know that my experience was not unusual, nor was it frightful, just a little unexpected. It may be the designated beverage to take on my next overnight excursion into the Rocky Mountains. Hopefully the return flight from the stars will be a smooth one!

[Karl5150]

There are various versions of the ritual..
The large, "double bubble" decanter on my barcart is used to house ice cubes in the lower portion and cold water in the upper. An ounce or so of the green (or clear in the case of Kubel) fairy juice is in the glass below the spiggot, with the spoon supporting a sugar cube positioned to allow a slow drizzel of water to disolve the sugar into the spirit to approx. 1:3 or 1:4.

[corndog71]

There are various versions of the ritual..
The large, "double bubble" decanter on my barcart is used to house ice cubes in the lower portion and cold water in the upper. An ounce or so of the green (or clear in the case of Kubel) fairy juice is in the glass below the spiggot, with the spoon supporting a sugar cube positioned to allow a slow drizzel of water to disolve the sugar into the spirit to approx. 1:3 or 1:4.

That's right.  I forgot about the 1:3 proportion.

[howardnair]

having tried all the rituals --just pour it over ice and drink it-it is quite strong --i have tried all the different brands i find lucid to be the best --the ritual is pleasant but after ritualing for a while i decided to just get on with things--there is a excellent documentary on netflix about the mystery of absinthe-it is not a hallucigenic nor will it make you any crazier than you already are-if you are crazy and no one knows it --its just not as much fun