I brought half a case of Absinthe back from my last TDY to Europe. It was dirt cheap, and made a few friends VERY happy. That kit looks cool... if I were more of a drinker, I'd buy one!

IMO Absinthe is not to be consumed alone. It's a social beverage for sure and turns everyone into a philosopher.:D I've had discussions go to the wee hours without noticing.;)

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Kefir_making?v=1&t=search&ch=web&pub=groups&sec=group&slk=2

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Good_Kefir_Grains?v=1&t=search&ch=web&pub=groups&sec=group&slk=8

You just made my day, gonna order some ASAP but is this absinthe the real stuff considering the law in US?

Thanks for the links, I'll be perusing them today.:)


This is a quote from their front page. I assume it's OK and the stuff I got is definitely the real deal. My shipment wasn't delayed in any way and wasn't tampered with going through customs either.

I know nothing about Absinthe except for what I saw in Euro Trip but I pulled this from the Wikipedia article on it:


Absinthe kits

[Note: Absinthe kits should not be confused with hausgemacht absinthe.]

Numerous recipes for homemade “absinthe” are available on the Internet. Many of these center around mixing a kit that contains store-bought herbs or wormwood extract with high-proof liquor such as vodka or Everclear. However, it is simply not possible to make proper absinthe without distillation.

Besides being unpleasant to drink[11] and not authentic absinthe, these homemade concoctions contain uncontrolled amounts of thujone and may be poisonous—especially if they contain wormwood extract.[12] Many such recipes call for the use of a large amount of wormwood extract (essence of wormwood) with the intent of increasing alleged psychoactive effects. Consuming essence of wormwood is very dangerous. It can cause kidney failure and death from excessive thujone, which in large quantities is a convulsive neurotoxin. Thujone is also a powerful heart stimulant; it is present in authentic absinthe only in extremely small amounts.

Essence of wormwood should never be drunk.

This is clipped from their website:
It seems to me to be worth trying.

I will pass on the kit aand order the bottle directly to be safe.

It seems that this kit in conjunction with distillation would produce the real deal. The distillation would remove the water soluble absinthin (the bitter stuff) which is the only difference.

Would it really be illegal to distill a small personal batch at home? In 8th grade a friend and I used simple items from the science lab and distilled a bottle of marigold wine from his parents cellar. We used the same techniques we learned in class to make distillates and it took less than 30 minutes to condense a whole bottle.

Is this a hold over from prohibition or is there some other reason? After all it was legal to make other distillates right in the school classroom.:confused:

Well I know what I'm bringing to the next GTG! Carleton needs to chime in on this one.

You are bringing what is in your Avatar? Like my new one? :D

Welcome Home Green Fairy!
 

Forget the kit I posted about earlier. The Absinthe Ban has been lifted!!

Here's an article about the Absinthe I just bought tonight. It's made here in Philly and the article mentions that the ban has been lifted. It's the "real deal".

http://www.phoodie.info/2008/12/05/newest-philadelphia-fairy-is-green-and-drinkable/

Another "ban lifted" article:
http://www.guyville.com/2007/12/absinthe_ban_lifted_in_us.html


http://i204.photobucket.com/albums/b.../Absinthe2.jpg
http://i204.photobucket.com/albums/b.../Absinthe1.jpg
http://www.vieuxcarreabsinthe.com/

Out in Utah of all places, if you can believe it, there was a liquor store had a whole aisle dedicated to absinthe. My mom lives there, and got a couple bottles which are OK. But after two bottles from a German company, one containing another well known "herb" thrown in for effect? that was 80%, they were kinda weak sauce. I don't know if it were the brands or the lack of thujone, but I'm still sticking with the European stuff.
There was even a variant with a kind of coffee flavor and some weird red kind I got my friend that resembled cough syrup, good for mixing though. I think it was brewed with some kind of flowers and whatnot. Absinthe is definitely more fun than dirty martinis.