The “Green Fairyâ€
You don’t hear a lot about absinthe in drinking circles. I would have thought it would have great appeal the many drinkers who seek a fast getaway, since it outdoes Carlsberg Special Brew by up to 20 to 1, being distilled up to 90%ABV, although most brands in the UK are 70%. The thing most people know about it is that it was banned.
One cogent reason in France was that too many people were “taking the Charenton omnibus†to the nearby madhouse but some seemed to be immune to the effect. One such was Alfred Jarry, an author whose daily routine began with two litres of wine, then three absinthes. Lunch was consumed with the aid of more wine and absinthe and the spirit filled in the space until aperitif time and at least two bottles of wine during the evening. (He would also hunt grasshoppers with revolvers, the sort of thing drunken planters would do). Another absintheur was Oscar Wilde, who described absinthe's effects thus:
"After the first glass you see things as you
wish they were. After the second, you see things
as they are not. Finally, you see things as they
really are, and that is the most horrible thing in the world..."
It has been found to contain thujone, a convulsant poison and stimulant also found in DDT (but then, so does vermouth) and the American Mickey Fin cocktail has gin and insecticide. It is a vermifuge so can legitimately be drunk on the excuse it is a medicinal. The herb wormwood is the main flavouring agent used, the most bitter herb in existence and detectable at one part in 70,000. The Russian word for the drink it is Chernobyl… It has not only been credited with intoxication but also hallucinogenic and aphrodisiac properties ("absinthe makes the tart grow fonder", observed one writer).
With so much going for it I simply had to try it, when Mrs. Ambo gave me a bottle as a joke birthday present. Part of the charm for an absintheur is “louchingâ€, the pretty "Green Fairy", the ectoplasmic swirl that appears in the traditional preparation method, when dilution water poured over a lump of sugar held in a strainer enters the glass. It emerged however, in the copy of Phil Baker’s “The Dedalus Book of Absinthe†that accompanied the gift, that there are two different manufacturing styles, French and Spanish. My Czech bottle conformed to the latter so no sissy louching but a fiercer treatment. I placed a shot in the bottom of a glass, used a little more to soak sugar in a spoon, before setting light to it. After the sugar had lightly caramelised, I plunged the spoon into the glass to douse the fire.
Commenting that the drink was said to lead to madness (“How will I know?†from Mrs. A) I took a moderate swig. The effect was immediate and literally stunning. I felt my brain shrink to half volume and retreat to the top of my skull. I drank some more and commented to Mrs. A – from the position I had taken up, on the floor behind the TV – that it was too strong for women. She asked me why I was shouting.
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I got some in Czech when we went there. Nice colour, but tended to give me a headache rather than any of the exciting effects alleged by others. So rather disappointing.
I've got a sweatshirt with a big logo for 'La Fée Absinth' on the front. Herself doesn't like me wearing it because she doesn't like logos on shirts. She's a hard taskmaster.
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"The Green Fairy"
I never knew washing up liquid was so potent.
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I've got some, but prefer gin. (At least 40% vol, none of this namby pamby 37.5% stuff for me).
Disadvantage of absinthe is you cut your ears off...
www.absinthe101.com/famous.html
added since the link does not explain that he cut his own ear off while under the influence of absinthe
Last edited by: Slidingpillar on Mon 8 Jun 15 at 19:43
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The "Green Fairy" - Armel Coussine
