DOSE:

1.5 oz

oral

Absinthe

(liquid)

I am of the opinion that you cannot atain the desired effect of absinthe by adding extract of wormwood to Pernod. I have no scientific basis for this only my assumption that something changes during the distillation process. Also, true absinthe has other plants in it and these are not found in modern Pernod. I think that the homemade stuff just kind of takes all the beauty out of the ritual of drinking absinthe.

When you add cold water or ice to the real stuff it goes from pale clear chartreuse to a milky opaque white with a green tinge. This is called the louche. I have found several places on the web to get the real thing, only still produced primarily in Spain, Ibiza, and the Czech Republic. Personally I think the Spanish are the best. 140 proof and so smooth it doesn't even need sugar. This is my description of Deva, one of Spain's premier products also reportedly the highest thujone content of any brand produced.

The experience is not specifically hallucinatory however, it is difficult for me to tell what a hallucination is since the late 80's. It brings one to a more clear concise focal point of the concious mind, while leaving open a sort of pet door to the subconscious if you will, for thoughts and ideas to come in and at the first sip after going through the ritual preparations of the coctail, all the world is poetry.

I recommend reading The Green Goddess by Alesteir Crowley, this is an excellent piece with regards to the consumption of absinthe and the escape that it gave the bourgoisie from the mundane reality to the heart of truth. I highly recommend the absinthe pages at La fee Verte they are truly informative and well put together, also quite pretty for a web site. Also the links to online spirits purchases have worked well for me and I have been able to maintain a supply of the real stuff. I hope that the tradition of absinthe will stay alive, and for all of your benefits spend the 30-40 bucks to get a real bottle, the homemade crap needs to stay in the anarchist's cookbook with the nutmeg and the banana peels.

Exp Year: 2000	ExpID: 678
Gender: Female
Age at time of experience: Not Given
Published: Jul 15, 2000	Views: 25,061
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Absinthe (4) : Retrospective / Summary (11), Unknown Context (20)