Off: Absinthe

[Doug Pearson]

On Fri, 12 Jul 2002 15:58:18 +0800, Bill & Cynthia <freeaqua at IINET.NET.AU>
wrote:
>What is it?  LOL Never heard of the stuff.
>
>Bill

As has been noted, it's a strong liquor whose primary ingredient is
Wormwood (just as it's Juniper Berries for gin, for instance), along with
other herbs (somewhat along the lines of Jagermeister).  The name derives
from the French word for "absent", which described the permanent mental
condition of people who drank too much of the stuff (in other words, "like,
totally gone, dude").  It was very much a staple of 19th century Parisian
Bohemians (the type who would write poetry or paint or sculpt in a tiny
unheated garret and eventually die of comsumption [aka tuberculosis]).  It
was eventually banned because of its strong effects (sort of a precursor to
the "war on drugs", I guess), supposedly getting to near-hallucinatory
experiences if you drink enough (I've tried the stuff, but not enough of it
to test that theory!), although it's now legal in many countries.

    -Doug (font of alcoholic knowledge)
     jasret at mindspring.com