54 replies to this topic

[Wormwoad]

That is awesome that it met and exceeded your expectations!

I hope your friends have tried La Clandestine now. I'll admit I definitely wanted something green as a novelty my first time, but now that it's out of the way - I am so glad I've ventured into the Swiss marks.

[Viseguy]

About a year ago, Googled "absinthe", found this site, bought a bottle of Pacifique, and I was off and running. Currently working my way through a lovely bottle of Marteau. Always keep a bottle of La Clandestine on hand. Not an exciting tale, but I like it.

[Joe Legate]

Pffft.  That's the best story to hear! You didn't throw your money away on crap and you're drinking real, authentic absinthe. Beautiful.

[Viseguy]

Pffft.  That's the best story to hear! You didn't throw your money away on crap and you're drinking real, authentic absinthe. Beautiful.

 

Thanks! I've been privileged along the way to have some Ridge -- Vilya -- verte and blanche, and will be going back to them, for sure. Every glass of absinthe is my personal heure verte. I imagine myself in a Parisian sidewalk cafe on an early summer afternoon, having left work at a civilized hour, unwinding from the cares of the day. Some may call authentic absinthe an expensive bottle of liquor. I call it a cheap vacation -- with time travel, to boot.
 

[Wormwoad]

Aye. My enjoyment of it just stems from the fact that most of what I drink is from ancient recipes and, being that my big passion in life is history and previous cultures, it's not 'only' a 'good drink' to me. Being that I connect it with good times in my recent life, it also just means a lot by being something which has helped me by distracting me from any BS in life (that makes me sound lick a lush trying to drown my problems - if there's any truth to that, it's just a kernel  ).

And I guess that is what my experiences have led me to enjoy - finding similar recipes to that which predates us. It's just extremely neat that people out there - chemists and drinkers alike - put so much effort into that. If I could ever work for a distillery making this stuff, at this point, I'd take the chance. 

[deltapapatango]

Taboo is the first real experience I had.  Tastes fantastic.  Tried Pernod and way to strong for water alone.

[Joe Legate]

Usually, I would tell you that absinthe shouldn't be a strong drink and clearly you under-watered your beverage. Unfortunately, Pernod isn't a very good absinthe anymore and hasn't been for a half a century.  Damn shame that.

 

On the other hand, our Culinary Arts program produced some pretty kickass cookie filling with dark chocolate and Pernod last week.    The lesson is, cook with it but don't drink it!

[baubel]

That's a really good Culinary Arts program then. 

[Leichenwagen]

 I had read about it as a young man and again had my interest piqued in university where i was an English Lit major.  Having had bent my own realities not more than a few times in the past I was lured by the taboo tales of halucinogenic alcohols, and absinthe's connection to artists bending the fabric of their own realities. I had given up on the idea thinking that it was unattainable. Along came the internet and my first computer back in 1999 and later  ( 2005 maybe?) the realization that it may actually be acquired somewhere. I experimented with foul herbal macerations from envelopes bought on ebay to little extract bottles added to vodka resulting in bizarre neon louches. Finally, I found a German distributor who sent me my first real taste of absinthe which was a bottle of François Guy, A Serpis Red and an NS75. As the first drops of ice-cold water hit the glass and the anise aroma filled the room my soul was lost to the Fairy's wiles. It was not long after that I found similar lost souls here at the Wormwood Society. 50 or so absinthes later I'm still trying to capture the romance of that first taste. :-)

[ViridianGirl]

Greetings!

 

The first time I had it was several years ago at home. I decided to put in a French movie to add to the overall experience. While I drank my first glass, I wondered about the Green Fairy and what it would be like to "interview" her. So, I typed out a five page interview between me and Her and now it will be published in my latest book, Tales From A Goth Librarian II. Needless to say, my publisher read it and noted that the interview did not have any grammar or punctuation errors. Go figure. Anyway, that is my tale. Enjoy!

[bentleye]

I was in France a couple of years ago doing the tourist thing.   We were at the gift shop at the catacombs where I saw a bottle of something called Absinthe.  Pandor was the brand.  The bottle had a really cool skull on the label.  It brought out memories of things I'd heard and read back in the 70s when I was a teenager.  Those things were mythology of course.  I bought the bottle and "smuggled" it back to the US.  Then I looked up information about Absinthe on line.  I quickly found out that what I had was high proof distilled Alcohol much closer to vodka then Absinthe.  The happy ending was that I ended up buying a bottle of La Clandestine and Berthe de Joux.  That was a revelation.  From that day to this, I've been enjoying Absinthe.

[SethP]

Back in the -80's, as a teenager, I got introduced to Pernod (the pastis) together with Raspberry soda and I thought it tasted excellent.. Then many years later (in 2010) I found out that I could actually buy the legendary drink Absinthe, but before buying I did a little research and found out that Pernod (!) was actually absinthe (back in the day)... Well, well. That's it then, I thought. But I also found out, through WS and absinthe.se, that Pernod Absinthe wasn't really somehing to strive for. So I got two small bottles (20cl) of Mercier Abisinthe and Verte de Fougerolles "instead" and I simply loved it.

 

I've never been a real fan of Whisky, Vodka or Cognac for instance, but I found out that proper absinthe... Well.. That's really my kind of poison!

Edited by SethP, 30 March 2014 - 09:50 AM.

[Ghostorm]

I posted this back in 2007 in my introduction post, so I'll just copy and paste:

 

"The first time I’ve heard the name Absinthe was when I read “For Whom the Bells Toll” by Ernest Hemingway. But back then I just thought that it’s probably some kind of Spanish spirit and forgot about it. The next time I came across absinthe was when I watched “From Hell”. That’s when I took notice. I thought, that must be a cool drink with a cool way to drink it . And then I saw that our local ASDA is selling Apsinthion Polski Absinthe. The next minute I was already paying for it. As I didn’t know much about absinthe at that time I was drinking it the way Johnny Depp drank it in the movie – using fire ritual . I didn’t have a slightest doubt that it was an original absinthe ritual, especially as “Metal Hammer” – the magazine I read also suggested fire ritual, when drinking absinthe. Nevertheless I loved the drink. So when I finished the first bottle, I bought the second one, when I finished the second bottle, I bought the third one.
Not, so long ago I thought I must try some other absinthes as I was already finishing my third bottle of Absinthion. That’s when I started looking for absinthe reviews and other information about absinthe on the internet. And oh boy was I surprised, when I saw that there’s no fire involved in the original absinthe ritual . I read all the reviews carefully and it led me to buying sample bottles (0.2 l) of Jade 1901, Jade Edouard, Jade NO and Duplais. When I took my first sip of Jade 1901 (I prepared it using the correct ritual ) I understood that I’ll never buy a bottle of Absinthion again."

 

I can confirm that I kept my promise and never bought a bottle of Absinthion again.

[Emerald]

My first Absinthe, after much research into how to distinguish a properly distilled, traditional absinthe from the fauxsinthe they try and pass off as 'Absinth' in the bottle shops here, was Lemercier absinthe amer 72. It came in a gift pack with a pair of replica Pontarlier glasses, along with two replica Flèches design spoons. My next foray into the world of Absinthe was a bottle of Jade L'Esprit d'Edouard (still my favourite Absinthe thus far), followed by the Jade 1901, L'Entete , and Vieux Pontarlier. Next on my tasting list will be the Jade Nouvelle Orleans and the Jade VS 1898 (along with another bottle each of the Edouard and the 1901).

[MASTERPC]

This: http://www.nicks.com...-absinthe-700ml

[muggle]

I blame Trent. 

 

The ritual in the Perfect Drug video sparked my curious absinthe obsession - 

 

It was years before I could find authentic absinthe unfortunately. Instead, I thought that soaking wormwood in Everclear would suffice...oops. I apologize to all my friends that drank my acrid maceration. 

 

The first real absinthe I tried was Kübler, and my first verte was Pacifique. 

 

d.

[Absomphe]

Still my all-time favorite musical absinthe homage.  

[SethP]

+ 1  

 

Exactly the same for me as the clown of the rising sun said.

NIN (and Trent Reznor) is also one of my absolute favourite musical.. projects.

[Bluewolf Pete]

Back in 2006 one of my best friends introduced me to absinthe (La Clandestine).  I remember thinking, "Isn't this stuff supposed to be bad for you?"  Then I looked at the proof and realized just how and why you can get into such trouble. Anyway, I liked the flavor, and then I was introduced to the Wormwood Society.  So I was spared those newby tales of woe.  Over the years I've had the pleasure of trying a number of fine absinthes and meeting quite a few wonderful folks, I have fond memories of special pilgrimages to Montana and upstate New York. Best of all, I know that there are many more wonderful experiences to come. 

[Amy Lewis]

My first experience with absinthe turned out to not be absinthe at all. It was Absente, which I bought quite unadvisedly at a nearby liquor store. So, being it was not real absinthe I guess it was not my first experience with absinthe. That came after I had a fountain and several bottles of the real thing. I was quite determined to do this right, in the traditional way. In that light my first experience was with Jade PF 1901, louched under my treasured #2 traditional fountain in a classic Pontarlier glass with a Lautrec spoon over it with sugar cube on it. It was delightful! 

 

I finally got the fountain after several bottles of the real stuff had arrived, and immediately launched into an absinthe sampling orgy... of 3 glasses. After that I was pretty much louched myself. I'm on my 3rd glass right now, and cannot type muychc lnger

[belewfripp]

Getting ready to have mine right now.  I've got stuff en route from online retailers, but I ended up having to put my cat down today (he was very sick, and the diagnosis was advanced stage lung cancer).  So, I said screw it - there has to be somewhere around here that sells decent absinthe, because I'm having some tonight.  Turns out the PA Liquor Control Board has a lovely online search directory, and I found a store 15 minutes away that sells Vieux Carré.  Just got back from buying it and preparing my first drink.

 

The smell is amazing - I could detect the aroma even without opening the decanter-style bottle.  I've got the finished drink in front of me, but I did take a little sip halfway through the louche.  I think with the right variety I'm someone who's going to trend towards 3:1 type ratios over 5:1 because it was delicious right there.  But, I want to try it different ways just to see.

 

So anyway, here goes.

[PapaScout]

I'm a little late to the party and resurrecting a year old thread - well, at least once my first posts are (hopefully) approved and my content will be shown.

 

I've been going to New Orleans at least once a year since 2004. Several friends and I seek out good food and drink inspired by this fun city and given New Orleans' love affair with absinthe its no surprise that we'd be led to trying it at some point.  I first tried Lucid in 2007 with a couple of these buddies in a Cajun restaurant called Zydeco's in Mooresville, Indiana.  My first taste was neat and obviously incredibly overwhelming.  I'd wanted to taste the "raw product" first instead of watering it down   I had a lot to learn about what makes an absinthe and why diluting it releases the herbaceous oils and aromas.  My second absinthe that same night was prepared with sugar and water and I still had enough of a palate left to taste it.  I guess I was hooked.

 

Over the last 10 years I've tried around twenty various absinthes but still have so many to experience.  Most of you are miles in front of me but I'm running to catch up.  

[DeRoutleche]

My first bottle was "Absente" about 3 years ago, and I thought I really had something special.  There's no worse feeling than realizing you've been fooled.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

[absinthiac]

Aside from my introduction, my first experience with Absinthe was when I saw it in a liquor store, took it home and ordered proper Absinthe serving utensils and waited for them to arrive, when they did, I had my first taste and realized there was much more to Absinthe than getting drunk, after reading about Absinthe, I can say I was drawn by the subtleties of flavor, nuances of color, I was fascinated how the louche colors and taste would vary with differing amounts of water and sugar, each drink was its own creation, I enjoy the differences between brands and styles the history and romance and of course the collectibles! 

To me, Absinthe has become a hobby I look forward to after dinner.

[dillon]

Huh I cannot believe I never posted in this thread...

My first absinthe experience. I met a French air crew at a USAF sponsored air lift competition. As the festivities were being held at my home station it basically meant I got to walk around drunk for an entire week, it was great. Anyway so I meet up with the French and one of them offers me a drink, I knock it back as soon as I get it, yup straight absinthe.The French guys laugh at me and tell me I need to wait for the water, Americans always rushing into things and all. Anyway I end up drinking with them for a number of hours, it was great fun.