Off: Absinthe

[Bill & Cynthia]

Thanks Doug

I think I'll stick to beer.

Bill
----- Original Message -----
From: "Doug Pearson" <jasret at MINDSPRING.COM>
To: <BOC-L at LISTSERV.SPC.EDU>
Sent: Saturday, July 13, 2002 3:19 AM
Subject: Re: Off: Absinthe


> 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
>