Absinthe

I searched for this topic, but found only bits and pieces of this discussion-

I have heard mixed things about absinthe being legalized int he US. Can anyone clarify? Are there good varieties available here? Also, any information about people cooking with the stuff?

Slightly on topic. This was in the CJ the other day.

http://www.courier-journal.com/apps/pbc ... /806010368

I searched for this topic, but found only bits and pieces of this discussion-

I have heard mixed things about absinthe being legalized int he US. Can anyone clarify? Are there good varieties available here? Also, any information about people cooking with the stuff?

I saw a sign outside Cox's Smokers Outlet advertising Absinthe for sale.

http://www.drinklucid.com

Lucid and Kubler Absinthe are now available in the Kentucky area.

I tried the Lucid last weekend...not bad...no one flipped out and talked to the wall or anything or tried to kill anyone...tasted like a licorice jelly bean.

Worth a shot if you've never had it.

We have two versions of Absinthe available in Indiana, the Lucid and Absente. There is also a Grand Absente due soon which is supposed to have all of the good stuff in the wormwood, like the Lucid does.

I searched for this topic, but found only bits and pieces of this discussion-

I have heard mixed things about absinthe being legalized int he US. Can anyone clarify? Are there good varieties available here? Also, any information about people cooking with the stuff?

I saw a sign outside Cox's Smokers Outlet advertising Absinthe for sale.

Yeah.....right by the Gordita Wagon!

I have some bought here at least a year ago. The closest thing to a company name is "Saveurs Traditions". It is much better than the other liquors I had to use to make a Sazerac. On the back of the Sazerac Rye bottle I have is a web site http://www.sazerac.com (I don't know to make it a hyperlink)

I now know how to make it a hyperlink!!

There is a marked difference in the quality and style of Absinthes...

In America, we are currently getting a dumbed- down version of the stuff. The green product is inferior to the tawny. The real- deal, so to speak, is aged, thus the color.

Don't get me wrong, though, I am falling upon this ingredient with much gusto. The flavor is decidedly anise, with some herbal backtones. I keep thinking about Peking Duck, for some reason. On the liquid side, doesn't a grasshopper variation seem interesting?

Grand Absinthe is now available...138 proof.......worm wood.......the real deal......I know Party Mart and State liquors have it.

So if I drink this stuff will I go blind or lose my mind?

Real Absinthe isn't the hallucinogen it's traditionally been made out to be. At least, no more than any other high proof alcohol. There isn't enough thujone (the ingredient from Grand Wormwood thought to have mind altering effects) to really do anything. Years ago ,during the time that a blight infected most of the grape vines in France (Robin will know more about that than me) many sub-par absinthes were made cheaply in order to get them to a demanding public that had been deprived of their favorite wines. Those absinthes were made hastily and cheaply and often used copper maganease to give it a bright green color. That WILL make you crazy.
Stephen D is right; real absinthe is a faintly pale celery color (sometimes it is clear) and fades a bit with age after the bottle has been opened. Beware the bright green garbage! Nothing more than food coloring and grain alcohol. Coloring of real absinthe may come from aging but usually it's from the botanicals that are added late in the distilling process.
Absinthe is now legal in the US. If you're interested, google Jade Liqueurs and have a bottle shipped from France. Theirs' come from the original absinthe recipes and are distilled in bain marie alembics that were acquired directly from the Pernod Fils distillery that once, originally made absinthe before the ban. This stuff is like drinking ... well... the green fairy!

Yeah.....right by the Gordita Wagon!

Busted! Made the long trip from Crescent Hill Saturday evening. Excellent fare indeed.

[Robin Garr]

Made the long trip from Crescent Hill Saturday evening.

You just can't get there from here! Just out of curiosity, how do you go? We generally sneak through Seneca Park to Taylorsville Road by the Air Devils Inn, then out to Breckinridge at Hikes Point and straight out from there. I guess Frankfort to Breckinridge and Breckinridge all the way out would be more direct, but it just seems like a lot more traffic and lights that way.