Long time lurker, first time poster.
It's really refreshing for a change to come onto another forum and find that some people have actually done their absinthe homework. There is some very good information here and there in some of the threads—albeit interspersed with many of the usual misconceptions. I run the Wormwood Society, and spend entirely too much of my time crusading against all the myth and superstition around absinthe.
I was going to post in any number of the threads about absinthe here, but most of them were fairly old, so I took the advice of the big red letters and decided to post a new one.
Just to bring everyone up to speed on some of the finer points:
• Neither absinthe, wormwood or thujone are "drugs" in the commonly accepted sense of the word as a recreational or federally scheduled and controlled substance (and yes, everyone points out that alcohol is a drug, but we're talking about wormwood). Thujone, a neuro-toxin, has no "effects" which would render it of any recreational use. Thujone is present only in small quantities in authentic absinthe—either pre-ban or modern. Thujone has essentially been undeservedly fetishized by those seeking new forms of consciousness alteration. The truth is, absinthe is little more than ordinary herbal liquor that tastes predominantly of anise. Turkish raki, Lebanese arak, and Greek ouzo are all incredibly similar.
• Absinthe—or any thujone-containing beverage or finished food—is still illegal to manufacture or import for sale for human consumption in the US. It is also prohibited from importation by the same regulations—the FDA enforces the former, while the CBP (Customs and Border Protection) enforces the latter. This notwithstanding, it is readily imported by hundreds of people everyday, with very little interference. It is not a punishable criminal offense, and is subject only to confiscation. This is extremely rare unless the US mail is used—USPS prohibits any alcohol, even wine, in the mail.
• Absinthe is a distilled liquor. It cannot be made by maceration alone. As most of you are aware, wormwood is insanely bitter even in very small amounts. This bitterness is left behind during distillation. Wormwood can be used (non-commercially) in ales and other beverages for it's bitter qualities, but so little is used that toxicity is hardly an issue. The flavor of un-distilled wormwood is absolutely different from distilled wormwood; after distillation it has a fresh, very mildly minty, herbal taste.
• It is a federal offense to distill any quantity of any kind of alcohol for beverage purposes—even those cute, lab-glass desktop distillers sold by Wine Enthusiast are legal to own, but illegal to operate. It is a federal offense to own any unregistered still with over a one-gallon capacity. As mentioned in an earlier thread, however, there are very few instances of hobbyist level home distillers being prosecuted. While general home distilling is wide-spread (maybe in the thousands, certainly in the hundreds) and openly discussed at homedistillers.org, there is a tiny (maybe a couple dozen), very secretive and tight-knit cadre of hobbyist absinthe distillers. It's a specialized craft and they guard their secrets jealously. They also make absinthe that far surpasses even the best premium commercial absinthe on the market. I know of none crazy enough to try to sell it. While the revenuers tend to turn a blind eye to the self-providing hobbyist, they pounce with the full force of the law on entrepreneurial bootleggers.
• The vast majority of absinthe being sold today is fake crap marketed at the gullible. Czech and German varieties, usually labeled "absinth," are not distilled but made from adding essential oils to NGS (neutral grain spirits). Very few of them come anywhere close to approximating the flavor of authentic absinthe, and in fact many of them are intentionally far more bitter than absinthe would ever be. This is from a complete misunderstanding and ignorance of what absinthe actually is. Additionally, the "Czech method" of lighting an absinth-soaked sugar cube, and variants thereof, are completely spurious inventions of the late 1990's. Fire has no place in absinthe preparation.
• Stick with French and Swiss brands and you can't go too far wrong. Most Spanish varieties taste like nothing more than a mouth full of Good & Plentys. A well-made absinthe is primarily anise flavored, but also has a much more complex, subtle and interesting flavor and fragrance. Avoid anything spelled "absinth."
For much more complete information, read the FAQ and other sections at the Wormwood Society, and if you have further interest, feel free to join our discussion forum.
Me and mead:
I may know a lot about absinthe, but I hope I can catch up in the mead department! Mead was the first drink I ever brewed, back in the late 70's—mostly metheglin. I pretty much stuck with that for a few years and then in the mid to late 80's started making beer, mostly brown ales and stout. Then a decade and a half of urban apartment-living with no space intervened and I'm way behind the times—I missed the explosion.
I tried to do a mead last year and for the first time ever, it got completely stuck. I also found out that honey prices have gone way up. Used to be cheap to make mead.
Anyway, thanks for the wonderful forum, it's good to be here.
Cheers!
~ Hiram
It's really refreshing for a change to come onto another forum and find that some people have actually done their absinthe homework. There is some very good information here and there in some of the threads—albeit interspersed with many of the usual misconceptions. I run the Wormwood Society, and spend entirely too much of my time crusading against all the myth and superstition around absinthe.
I was going to post in any number of the threads about absinthe here, but most of them were fairly old, so I took the advice of the big red letters and decided to post a new one.
Just to bring everyone up to speed on some of the finer points:
• Neither absinthe, wormwood or thujone are "drugs" in the commonly accepted sense of the word as a recreational or federally scheduled and controlled substance (and yes, everyone points out that alcohol is a drug, but we're talking about wormwood). Thujone, a neuro-toxin, has no "effects" which would render it of any recreational use. Thujone is present only in small quantities in authentic absinthe—either pre-ban or modern. Thujone has essentially been undeservedly fetishized by those seeking new forms of consciousness alteration. The truth is, absinthe is little more than ordinary herbal liquor that tastes predominantly of anise. Turkish raki, Lebanese arak, and Greek ouzo are all incredibly similar.
• Absinthe—or any thujone-containing beverage or finished food—is still illegal to manufacture or import for sale for human consumption in the US. It is also prohibited from importation by the same regulations—the FDA enforces the former, while the CBP (Customs and Border Protection) enforces the latter. This notwithstanding, it is readily imported by hundreds of people everyday, with very little interference. It is not a punishable criminal offense, and is subject only to confiscation. This is extremely rare unless the US mail is used—USPS prohibits any alcohol, even wine, in the mail.
• Absinthe is a distilled liquor. It cannot be made by maceration alone. As most of you are aware, wormwood is insanely bitter even in very small amounts. This bitterness is left behind during distillation. Wormwood can be used (non-commercially) in ales and other beverages for it's bitter qualities, but so little is used that toxicity is hardly an issue. The flavor of un-distilled wormwood is absolutely different from distilled wormwood; after distillation it has a fresh, very mildly minty, herbal taste.
• It is a federal offense to distill any quantity of any kind of alcohol for beverage purposes—even those cute, lab-glass desktop distillers sold by Wine Enthusiast are legal to own, but illegal to operate. It is a federal offense to own any unregistered still with over a one-gallon capacity. As mentioned in an earlier thread, however, there are very few instances of hobbyist level home distillers being prosecuted. While general home distilling is wide-spread (maybe in the thousands, certainly in the hundreds) and openly discussed at homedistillers.org, there is a tiny (maybe a couple dozen), very secretive and tight-knit cadre of hobbyist absinthe distillers. It's a specialized craft and they guard their secrets jealously. They also make absinthe that far surpasses even the best premium commercial absinthe on the market. I know of none crazy enough to try to sell it. While the revenuers tend to turn a blind eye to the self-providing hobbyist, they pounce with the full force of the law on entrepreneurial bootleggers.
• The vast majority of absinthe being sold today is fake crap marketed at the gullible. Czech and German varieties, usually labeled "absinth," are not distilled but made from adding essential oils to NGS (neutral grain spirits). Very few of them come anywhere close to approximating the flavor of authentic absinthe, and in fact many of them are intentionally far more bitter than absinthe would ever be. This is from a complete misunderstanding and ignorance of what absinthe actually is. Additionally, the "Czech method" of lighting an absinth-soaked sugar cube, and variants thereof, are completely spurious inventions of the late 1990's. Fire has no place in absinthe preparation.
• Stick with French and Swiss brands and you can't go too far wrong. Most Spanish varieties taste like nothing more than a mouth full of Good & Plentys. A well-made absinthe is primarily anise flavored, but also has a much more complex, subtle and interesting flavor and fragrance. Avoid anything spelled "absinth."
For much more complete information, read the FAQ and other sections at the Wormwood Society, and if you have further interest, feel free to join our discussion forum.
Me and mead:
I may know a lot about absinthe, but I hope I can catch up in the mead department! Mead was the first drink I ever brewed, back in the late 70's—mostly metheglin. I pretty much stuck with that for a few years and then in the mid to late 80's started making beer, mostly brown ales and stout. Then a decade and a half of urban apartment-living with no space intervened and I'm way behind the times—I missed the explosion.
I tried to do a mead last year and for the first time ever, it got completely stuck. I also found out that honey prices have gone way up. Used to be cheap to make mead.
Anyway, thanks for the wonderful forum, it's good to be here.
Cheers!
~ Hiram
