absinthe and art

[jimboloco]

http://dubiousprofundity.com/article.ph ... 2055738286

some artists absinthe paintings:
http://www.absinthe.se/default.asp?load ... he.se/art/

anybody has some experience with this stuff?

http://www.mcs.csuhayward.edu/~malek/Pe ... aelli.html


http://web.syr.edu/~alderosa/page%203.html

[Glorious Amok]

in the czech republic, i drank a lot of it. some of the girls, they wanted to wait, for one special night to get ripped on the stuff. but not me, i wanted an absinth habit, i drank it every night.

they say it makes a genius out of an average man, and an average man out of a genius. man, did i write some SHIT poetry on that stuff. just silliness. it's here somewhere, i'll find it and post it. so aparently, this makes me a genius! (ha)

it tastes, by the way, of some combination of listerine and gasoline. i drank the absinth "king of spirits" which is clear and has the twigs and sprigs of herbs sunk to the bottom of the glass. brought home the spoon with the eye cut out of it, that's what you burn the sugar in. i shot the green stuff, with sugar and without, and a sprite chaser. i even drank red absinth, 6 shots of it at the goth bar one night because they were out of green, spent all night hiding in an antique wardrobe, watching the party thru the slats of wood. i even made a pot of hot absinth tea, heaps of sugar, and this was by far the easiest way to get the stuff down, altho after a couple of shots in any fashion, it doesn't matter much anymore the way it tastes.

[Glorious Amok]

this here is my first shot of it, the 'king of spirits' style. it's one picture with the flash on, and one with the flash off. the bar was lit red inside, a place called Café Bohème.








it was for sale everywhere, in grocery stores, in tourist shops, in smoke shops. you buy it anywhere you can buy cigarettes, which were about $2.50 in canadian dollars, by the way. at home, cigarettes are about $7 or $8 a pack. that big bottle there says 395 krona ... that's less than $20 canadian, and the medium size there for 270 krona must be around $13 and that bottle is enough to get two people completely obliterated in one night.

you can research the shipment, flavour, and quaity of the stuff in depth at a place called http://www.feeverte.net they're conneisseurs over there. HILLS is supposed to be the best stuff, if you ever see that name around.

[Doreen Peri]

I always wanted to try it.

Never saw it before.

What did it do to you? How did you feel?

Was it like getting drunk on alcohol?

[Glorious Amok]

it's probably a bit more comparable to something like a tequila drunk, you know how they say it doesn't get you drunk, it gets you high? but sweeter. maybe a cross between a tequila high and a sweet red wine drunk.

ever drink mushroom tea? it's a little bit like that. it's a different kind of drunk.

i walked into a room of people just sitting at a long table, drinking beers, and i instantly felt that i was at a different party than they were. sort of like being the only one on coke at a party, or something. i just felt different than they did.

no, i'd say it's different from simply being drunk. the same, but different. and with all my experimenting, i still didn't get one really clear perspective on it, because it's sort of an art form, the personalization of the ritual. so i tried many different things, and i still didn't quite get it right - for me. but i have a good sense of it now. it's just like taking up any other new habit, you start to prefer certain places to do it, certain people to do it with.

but i can tell you this ... it makes you see sparkles. katherine saw the green fairy. i saw what i've been referring to as the precursor to the green fairy .... she was just a little green glow, up in the northwest hemisphere of my mind's eye, and she simply told me that i was on the right path, and that if i continued to try to focus in the way that i had been, that i WOULD eventually, see the green fairy.

it's a trippy drunk. like a little liquid LSD maybe, if you drank enough of it. but it's not scary, it's definitely fun. rather than sit in a bar all night, i'd like to buy a bottle and just go play in the park at night. hang off the swings, roll in the tall grasses, hide between the trees ... that's the way i would try it next.

[jimboloco]

Lordy, I forgot you went to Bohemia, did not mention the absinthe. I woud like to see your notes and please don't edit too much.....
I found some web sites that tell how to make your own absinthe, but they all state to filter out the herbs, solid ingredients, yet you said they had some solid matter in the bottom of the bottle, the recipe calls for Everclear and soaking the mixture in a dark room for two to four weeks, plus the sweeting techniques.

I think I am gonna try to get some of the ingredients.
What would happen if one ordered some absinthe from the Czechs?

Have to say, am proud of you, Glorious, no doubt. Thanks for the pics.

[Doreen Peri]

Aha! Like tequila.... I do know that substance and indeed, it's a totally different high than other alcoholic beverages.

I don't like liquers much (don't know if I spelled that right... you know the sweet drinks like ameretto... don't know if I spelled that right, either... )

Liquid acid .... not scary... hmmm... sounds sort of interesting.

Is it bitter? Or sweet?

I was looking it up on google but I saw the word liquer used which to me indicates sweet, yet I also read something about bitter.

Can you mix it with seltzer water and add a lime?

Maybe I'll order some online.

I'm highly skeptical about ordering things online which aren't available in the states, though.

Did you bring any back with you, oGloriousOne? If so, could you mail me a taste? I'll pay the postage.

[Doreen Peri]

I've heard that absynthe makes the heart grow fonder.

No wait.

Maybe that was abstinence.

[Glorious Amok]

i wouldn't recommend making it yourself, herbal concoctions are tricky if mixed incorrectly. as i said, any czech grocery store sells a variety of the stuff. you might try to order some out of Prague, there'd be more english spoken there. the language barrier will be significant.

king of spirits - this is the only kind that has herbs still floating in it. and MAN do they make the taste bitter!! katherine's glass had only a few twigs, and mine had spoonfuls. she finished hers and i could barely get mine down. i started scooping out the herbs and found this helped significantly. but we only tried that one drink that night, so the effects were barely noticable.

i didn't try seltzer water and a lime, but almost - i sipped it out of the bottle one night on our patio, and chased it with lime flavoured mineral water, and that did help to get it down. i don't care what anyone says, the trick is to cover up the flavour. the buzz is delightful but the flavour is frightful.

absinth - no "e" at the end. that's the stuff you want. rumours abound, but presumably the "e" at the end is a telltale sign of a scam or low quality. but without the "e" there are still many varieties - it's a very bitter liquere. there are even absinth cocktails, like martinis, they come in many flavours. i had one with compari and strawberry juice!

Hills - i'd recommend looking for this brand, it has the best reputation historically. if you shop around, you may not even have to resort to europe, there's a bar right here in Halifax with a new sign out front saying they're serving it so you may find it in the States if you look hard enough.

in fact, i just found this ... http://hillsabsinth.com/index.htm

[mtmynd]

Back in the late 60's I had some in a Japanese bar. The bartender just poured me a liquer glass full and I sipped away... the licorice taste was strong. I could not just shoot it down... a bit too strong. When I finished the glass I asked for another shot. By the time I got about half-way thru, I felt fucking loaded... in a weird way.

I'll never forget getting down from the barstool and feeling like a head, my own head of course, but that was all - from the neck down I had no feeling at all. I floated down the street like a balloon on a string. I did not create anything, but enjoyed the pure spacial feeling which was unlike an alcohol high for me.

[panta rhei]

i drink it in pubs and bars occasionally because i like the taste (often anise flavoured, but i prefer the versions with the more bitter herbal taste), but have never experienced any special effects other than the one of the alcohol.

it's a herbal liqueur (though "liqueur" sounds a lot more thick and sweet than absinth is) distilled with wormwood and usually anise, though there are brands with other predominant herbal flavours, such as hyssop, angelica root, fennel, coriander, lemon balm and so on.

which brand to use is usually a matter of taste - the thujone concentration, to my experience, is less important than one may think... i haven't felt any significant differences between an absinth with 5 mg thujone per kilogramm and one with 35 mg/kg.

i especially like the austrian brand mata hari, the french absinth abisinthe and the german ulex's. hills and king of spirits, as kari says, are very good, too.

but as i said, it's the taste i like, not the effects, for which i probably simply haven't drunk enough at a time of it yet.

is it illegal in the states? am i getting this right?
?

[stilltrucking]

Is Absinth legal in the USA?

The law is cloudy to say the least, but as we understand it, Absinthe is illegal for resale in the USA, but not illegal for personal consumption. So, the way we get round it is to process your transaction in the UK and post the Absinth to you which usually takes about 5 working days. The Sebor Absinth we ship to the USA is the same recipe that we sell in Europe, so it has the maximum wormwood permissible..

http://www.seborabsinth.com/faqs/legal_us.asp


What about the modern absinthes?
Although absinthe continued to be made on a small scale in Spain, its modern revival really has its origins in the collapse of the Iron Curtain, and Czechoslavakia’s 1987 "Velvet Revolution". A Czech entrepreneur, Radomil Hill, having inherited a small family distillery dating from the 1920’s, decided, with the return of a free market economy, to start producing absinthe again as his grandfather had done before him. Sales took off, especially in the UK, where an innovative publicity campaign soon made absinthe a must-have drink in trendy nightclubs and bars. Other manufacturers in Czechoslovakia and elsewhere soon followed suite, and today absinthe is made again not only in Spain, Czechoslovakia and Germany, but also, on a very small scale, in France and Switzerland. Unfortunately almost all modern absinthes, including, disgracefully, the newly released Pernod absinthe, are artificially coloured oil-mixes, of dubious quality. Most Czech and German brands in particular, are a travesty of what true absinthe should be, with almost no traditional herbal and floral character. Genuine absinthe may be obtained from clandestine production in Switzerland, or from Liqueurs de France, whose Un Emile 68%, made by the old firm of Emile Pernot in Pontarlier, up until recently was the only commercially available full-strength distilled absinthe. Since absinthe have become more and more popular, more distilleries have actually taken up absinthe production once again. There are now a better selection of distilled absinthes commercially available, such as the range of the Jade Liqueurs absinthe, the Un Emiles, the Verte and Blanche de Fougerolles 72, Lemerciers Abisinthe, Francois Guy, White Fairy, Kübler and a few others. All produced in France and Switzerland. There is also the Spanish absenta - Segarra, by Julian Segarra, available in both 45% and 68% versions distilled using only wormwood and anise. Un Emile 68%



Conclusion...

Absinthe will not make you crazy. Absinthe is not a drug, no more than any other drink containing alcohol. However, I can agree to the fact that one WANT all the myths to be true, and while sitting there, preparing your absinthe, the mind wonders of to those old days at the parisian cafés.



Sources and references for the information found here, come from; Oxygenees Absinthiana and the book "Absinthe" written by Barnaby Conrad III
http://www.absinthe.se/default.asp?load ... he.se/art/

[jimboloco]

I am gonna try and get the ingredients, then, if it oz ok for personal consumption, as it does not have to be distilled. I once saw this ex-con in Santa Cruz, California, put a big glass jar loaded with yeast and sugar and grape juice under a rock outdoors to ferment and he had a perfectly decent buzz from that.....I found a green website about absinthe, will look it up, also will try to order it as well.
Better yet, have Gloroius run Amok and get it for us. I want to read her stuff.

We could all get some absinthe and do an absinth induced jam.

Absinth maketh the heart grow fonder Sounds like something Mousey would say.

I am sinning this morning. My slacker step-son has to go get his employee ID at the Don Cesar Hotel this morning, so I loaned him my car in exchange for a pipe of Mary Jane. Lordy.

He eventually wants to move up to Chicago. They (Loes Hotels) own the Hard Rock Hotel up there. I will then intro him to my sweet pseudo-God daughter, Izveryboyin Kayla herself. Who knows? Maybe there will be a connection.

Kayla, can you hear me?

[jimboloco]

I searched for "How to make absinthe" and found a lot of sites,
also the "Newspeak dictionary" which has all the herbal ingredients defined, I spoze I will be able to find them.

http://search.yahoo.com/search?p=how+to ... fl=0&x=wrt



Yes here is the website, also the origin of the above photograph
http://www.newspeakdictionary.com/pf-absinthe.html

This is best viewed not cut and pasted as it is all in a Glorious Amok green, reminds me of the City of Oz, all emerald, my favorite, green glass, green clear liquor. Oh yeah! Absinthe HERE I COME!!!!

Notes on the Psychopharmacology of Absinthe

I get email asking me about the effects of my absinthe. It contains the same active ingredients as distilled absinthe and has the same effects. Now, what are these effects? I describe them as a cross between pot, ecstasy, cocaine, strong coffee, and vodka. Thujone is discussed elsewhere in the Absinthe Ring, but I think there may be more to the effects of absinthe than thujone, namely the highly-complex synergistic effect of a psychoactive cocktail. Other ingredients in the recipe have their own reputations. Angelica root is crewed as a drug in Lapland. Anise and fennel seed both contain potentially psychoactive anethole. Caraway seeds are reputed aphrodisiacs and the basis of the German liqueur kummel. Coriander is mentioned as an aphrodisiac in the Arabic One Thousand and One Nights, and is said to conjure up the devil when used in combination with fennel in the same text. Other recipes call for hops, a sedative and hypnotic, and calamus root, which contain psychoactive asarones, used as an inebriant by Native Americans. And then there is the hyssop, a nervine. Add it all up; the sum may be greater than the whole.

[jimboloco]

http://sorrel.humboldt.edu/~rwj1/van/e110.JPG
110. Table with Absinthe April-June 1887