Culture

Absinthe: The American Remix

by babblingdweeb | May 1, 2007 at 05:08 pm

1426 views | 2 Recommendations | 4 comments

Finally, it will be possible to legally obtain and consume absinthe in the US after a nearly 100 year ban. My only opportunity to taste Absinthe was quelled when a US customs agent made a friend dump out his bottle upon returning to the US from Germany.

Oscar Wilde once posed the rhetorical question, “What difference is there between a glass of absinthe and a sunset?”

The issue with the fabled hallucinogenic drink has revolved around thujone, a potentially toxic chemical. This legal version of Absinthe lacks thujone after much research and development on the history of Absinthe and American palates Lucid, a product from Viridian Spirits will be available next month.

Several Lucid prototypes were ready by last July; Mr. Gurfein and his staff at Viridian used an office taste test to select the formula they would take to market. That formula was then sent to the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau, a division of the Treasury Department, which checked the absinthe for traces of thujone and other impurities and approved it. The bureau also reviewed Lucid’s bottle, paying close attention to the words on the back.

“They wanted to make sure that we were going to market this responsibly, that we didn’t intend to piggyback on some of the myths,” Mr. Gurfein said. Absinthe’s fabled reputation for causing hallucinations and madness has since been debunked.

I'll give you an update after I polish off a bottle...or two.

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Brian A Kennedy

flagged this story as Good Stuff

at 03:49 on May 2nd, 2007

babblingdweeb, good stuff. But if it ain't got the wormwood, what's the point of even drinking the vile liquid?

TheArgus

at 15:34 on May 2nd, 2007

I agree with Brain, seems like it would be like drinking alchol free beer.

brock

at 19:29 on May 4th, 2007

But of course you can order Absinthe online and have it shipped to you and drink it in the states when and where you want. Several years ago I had the pleasure of having a writing partner who loved to order exotic liquors online and have them shipped to our newsroom. We had our own office and so, when a particularly trying was winding down, we'd shut the door and break out the good stuff. At one time we had five different kinds of Absinthe; we just drank it straight, at room temperature, none of this drizzle water over a sugar cube crap.

Some of it tasted so nasty you could barely get it down; like you were chewing on wet wormwood. Others went down smooth and tasted like that black whip licorice of my youth.

A few shots could put you on your ass, I can testify to that.

babblingdweeb

at 10:19 on May 5th, 2007

This brand of Absinthe is being made with wormwood, the only thing being omitted is a cehnical called thujone. That chemical was thought to be a major part of Absinthe, however, it has been proved to be extremely minor (less than 5 parts per million), so this is Absinthe in every sense.

As for getting Absinthe shipping into the states, you are correct you can get it shipped into the U.S.; however, that is illegal. It is illegal for Absinthe to enter or be consumed in the U.S. if it contains thujone. The ability for this brand to be consumed and distributed in the U.S. is stricktly based on the lack of the chemical and not the U.S. over turning and almost 100 year law.

I'm looking forward to giving this brad a shot, hopefully it is as smooth as they claim and as good as 19th centuery recipis!