Hallucinations from Absinthe

Hi maleficent, the world of absinthe is full of varieties and the ones that you mention come from a artisnal tradition. Here are some that you can try if you have deep pockets:

1. Roquette 1797 from the masterminds of "reverse engineered" absinthe - Peter Schaf and Oxygenee.
2. Century Absinthe - a strange artisnal verte that is a wormwood bomb. Anise light and floral.
3. Duvallon - a Swiss blanche that is IMHO superior to La Clandestine

Those three are a good cross section and not mass market crap.

Reply 44

Asclepius

12

Kater Murr

Yeah, sorry about that :redface:

. What I was trying to say, was that levels of the drug thujone in absinthe will differ brand to brand, and country to country - Czech absinthe is supposed to have higher levels, but this isn't always the case. Thujone is reportedly one of the causes of psychoactive effects, but it's hard to prove.

Also, about cutting your ear off or going crazy - it's not like it used to be in Van Gogh's day, because they do have regulations on the levels of thujone and other drugs. It won't make you crazy or ill.

No need to be, I was pretty pissed when I read it, so it kinds made sense, and made me laugh nonetheless :biggrin:

Reply 45

Thujone is reportedly one of the causes of psychoactive effects, but it's hard to prove

.

You can try it out cheaply by making a maceration. The thujone content will be rather high :biggrin:

This is not illegal - as long as you do not then distill it. It is based upon a Polish farmers infusion called Piołunówka. That word means wormwood in Polish - wormwood in French is absinthe. The taste is somewhat bitter of course and you can balance with sugars and other herbs. Works out very cheap as well and tastes a lot better than some of those supermarket absinthes. In any case many of them are not fresh but just oils and colours as I said already. If you want the recipe...shout.

Reply 46

Are you some kind of absinthe connoseiur? You certainly know your stuff. Can I have that recipe?

Reply 47

watermelon sugar

i drank some from an asian shop when iw as fifteen and i hallucinated so bad :/ i scared the crap out of my friends, opening the door and talking to people who weren't there and thinking there was a girl in the room being naughty :/ i didn't remember anythinggg

Reply 48

Hi Reflexive, I am just a drunk :wink:

I'll translate the recipe tonight - it is really easy. What kind of wormwood can you get? and also what kind of liquor? You need a high proof grain alcohol like a vodka or better still is Everclear which is a US brand. They use a a spirit called spirytus rektyfikowany in Poland but they are not allowed to export it for some reason :wink:

You can use a good neutral high proof vodka, but you do need quality wormood, so I am not sure if you can get that in Tesco! :smile:

Growing it and drying it is a bit long winded.

I can't work out how to upload a picture or I'd show you a glass :confused:

Reply 49

Yes me too, hence wanting to make my own alcohol :smile:

It looks like you can buy wormwood online, I'm not sure what the quality would be like though. Isn't it just a plant? Would there be a great difference in quality between different plants then?

I'm not you can upload pics via this site unfortunately

Reply 50

200428

3

hehe this is all a little Moulin Rouge!
cue little green Kylie fairy...

Reply 51

It looks like you can buy wormwood online, I'm not sure what the quality would be like though. Isn't it just a plant?

Yes, but there are plants and there are plants :smile:

It depends on the growing conditions (air quality, soil, sunlight + the parts of the plant...flower heads and certain other secret sections are naturally abundant in what we are after..+ the drying. There is a lot of rubbish wormwood grown in Turkey. I just wrote to ask someone who buys wormwood from some herbalist and I'll wait and see he says. You can grow it..I have a load in the garden but I don't live in the mountains so it is not high grade. It is a very temperamental plant and the craft of growing/ harvesting/drying it has been largely lost since absinthe production was stopped in the early part of the 20th century.

One of the reasons why these premium artisnal absinthes cost so much is that they grow, harvest and dry it at the distillery and the batch quality varies. Then at the other end of the scale you have the mass market brands who buy worwmood essence from a company in Sweden and mix it with alcohol in a great big metal tanks.

Reply 52

Sorry for the delay in reply....the week got in the way. :woo:

Here is the definitive recipe for Piołunówka (it is slightly different to the one I have, but I am told it is the best by my friend)

for 500 ml of water get 168g of sugar boil and add 7.91g of young wormwood (mainly flowertops). When cooled, add to it 500ml of Polish rectified spirit (98% vol or 196 proof) and filter it. If you wish, you can add some water

As far as wormwood goes I have been recommended to try these folks who grow their own wormwood and also sell a ready to go herbal blend for making steeped absinthe. This will include fennel, anise and the other herbs as well I guess.

I also found this from the 19th century:

The Independent Liquorist: OR, The Art of Manufacturing and Preparing All Kinds Of Cordials, Syrups, Bitters, Wines, Champagne, Beer, Punches, Tinctures, Extracts, Essences, Flavorings, Colorings, Worcestershire Sauce, Club Sauce, Catsups, Pickles, Preserves, Jams, Jellies, Etc, Etc. by L. Monzert, Practical Liquorist and Chemist, Published by Dick & Fitzgerald, 18 Ann Street, New York, 1866:

151.- Absinthe

Take 26 ounces of fennel seed.
5 ounces anise-seed.
13 ounces liquorice root.
8 gallons alcohol 95 per cent.
6 do. water
4 ounces peppermint.
12 ounces wormwood.

Let the whole infuse ten days. Press it in a fruit-press, and filter through a paper pre-pared filter. (See filter No. 1.)

Reply 53

Thanks squire do you know where you get tyhe rectified spirit from? And have you tried this yourself? Is it likely to be 'rough' and unrefined and give youa banging headache or will this recipe make fairly decent stuff? The first recipe is easier...

Reply 54

High proof neutral grain spirit like vodka will be OK. Yes I have made Piołunówka. It is easy, but the taste isn't balanced with anise, fennel etc. Those other herbs are partners of wormwood and take away the bitter edge. I would also not advise getting seriously drunk on this, it is a relaxing drink but you may have the mother of all hangovers if you over indulge.

Oops I forgot...you need to store it for a few days as well in a cool dark place and avoid contact with sunlight.

Reply 55