Has anyone here tried "Absinthe"

Hello All,
I was wondering if anyone here has tried the drink absinthe???
apparently it's effects are like a mix between
vodka, ecstasy, weed, caffine and some other shite!!!!!
can anyone support or make false this claim?
or any info would be cool , thanks
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"enemies becoming friends , when bitterness ends"

This stuff is awesome...had it in Prague - it's illegal everywhere else and it is made with opiates (apparently) and has fantastic hallucinagenic properties:
*vision goes hazy as the Wookie reminsces back to the European winter of '98* Having sunk 3 shooters in a row in a dingy bar in Prague (keeping up the aussie tradition) the locals decide to inform me that usually people have one shot the whole nite. So i sit and wait for the effect whilst sipping on a local ale - it was happy hour and i was going to get my monies worth! Suddenly the volume in the kidneys was too much and the seal had to be broken. With a sigh of relief, Wookie stood at the urinal with a slight smile on his face wondering where else in the world he would rather be. Suddenly, hands started coming out of the wall, the floor and the urinal and tried to grab the Wookie.....*yelp* Wookie freaks and runs out the bar with his pants around his ankles and across the famous Kromlov(?sp)bridge. Other backpackers thought it was a great time for a nudie run in the middle of winter and joined in this much loved tradition........*Wookie snaps back to reality*
umm, where can you apparently, possibly, potential obtain this liquid of the gods, the elixa of life, the nectar from the heavans?
(long weekend - no sleep and still at work...endulge me!)
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It's not what the disco can do for you, it's what YOU can do for the disco!

Its also legal in England...
my favourite magazine, Bizarre *shameless plug* gives away free bottles with subscriptions (UK only )
is it true that van gough was on absinthe when he cut his ear off?

Absolutely not true that bit about Absinthe made from opiates. I believe the active ingredient comes from the root of some foul european tree bark.
According to my mate who had it on a recent trip to the UK, it's effects were no different than drinking really strong spirit. He had it the standard soaked in sugar, set on fire etc way.

Absinthe is made of wormwood, and inspired the French spirit Pernod
Here's some more info...
http://www.webcom.com/~gumbo/food/misc/beverages/absinthe.html
http://www.obscure.org/~vlad/gothic/absinthe.html
Sounds fun!

WHAT IS ABSINTHE?
Absinthe is an alcoholic drink made with an extract from wormwood (Artemisia absinthium). It is an emerald green drink which is very bitter (due to the presence of absinthin) and is therefore traditionally poured over a perforated spoonful of sugar into a glass of water. The drink then turns into an opaque white as the essential oils precipitate out of the alcoholic solution. Absinthe was once popular among artists and writers and was used by Van Gogh, Baudelaire, and Verlaine, to name a few. It appears to have been believed to stimulate creativity. However, in the 1850's, there began to be concern about the results of chronic use. Chronic use of absinthe was believed to produce a syndrome, called absinthism, which was characterized by addiction, hyperexcitability, and hallucinations. This concern over the health effects of absinthe was amplified by the prevailing belief in Lamarckian theories of heredity. In other words, it was believed that any traits acquired by absinthists would be passed on to their children (1). Absinthe's association with the bohemian
lifestyle also worked to compound fears about its effects, much as has happened with marijuana in America. Absinthe was subsequently banned in many countries in the beginning of the 1900's.
http://www.erowid.org/chemicals/absinthe/absinthe_faq.shtml

Click to expand...

i think spain is the only country where it is still legal to make and buy absinthe... there half a bottle at my bar modern Pernod is pretty much just absinthe without the wormwood... Henri-Louis Pernod began distilling absinthe in Switzerlad in 1797...
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"i think i'll stick to drugs to get me thru the long, dark night of late-capitalism..."
Irvine Welsh
[This message has been edited by johnboy (edited 18 July 2000).]

good work JB , and others
sounds fun !!
but alas, like all fun things there is a downside(well not all fun things)
hehe cyas
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"enemies becoming friends , when bitterness ends"

One of the main psycoactive chemicals in the wormwood is thujone, which is closly related to pot. It has been proven that it causes brain damage from excessive use and in very few can set of a failure in the brain which is fatal. I recommened you dont try making it at home.
Here are some links if you interested.
http://www.phc.vcu.edu/feature/thuj/thujone.html
http://www.shaman-australis.com/Website/Artemisiaabsinthum.htm

Mr Be
[This message has been edited by Mr Be (edited 18 July 2000).]

Bought a bottle of Absinthe in Spain a few weeks ago, and decided to try it last weekend.
After 5-6 shots i was pretty drunk, but there was something in addition to the alcohol. Went to a party and made a complete fool of myself on the dancefloor, something I never do when I'm just drunk (ok well, sometimes, but not to that extent).
Then we went outside to smoke a joint, and WHAM it hit me like a bus! Almost as intense as acid. This may well be an acid flashback, but I'm pretty sure it was because of the wormwood/pot/alcohol combination.
Went inside again and danced my ass of for about 4 hours.
The comedown was much like a regular hangover, maybe a little worse.
But anyway, I still have more than half a bottle left, and will try it again this weekend. (along with some pot.)

he he absenta
i must agree with all above. I am told that the profussion of aniseed drinks are 'rooted' ( ) in the banning of wormword for its effects. Producers were forced to make a drink which tasted similar and happened upon aniseed. I guess it is a similar tale as that of cocaine and coca-cola.
JB forgets to mention that absinthe costs about three onions and a carrot in Spain. It does give you a HUGE hangover...or was that all the vodkas on top? But if you are there or near abouts try La Marseille in Barcelona...it is a specialist Absinthe bar which serves the stuff with a jug of water, spoon and sugar cube. Don't ask me why...they're all mad in there!!!
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"i'm a cool young brother who just looks kinda old"

my cousin in england was telling me that there was a big craze for absinth there a while back, he likened the effects to a pint of lager and a quater of a tab... which is cheaper anyway. During the depression of the war a lot of europeans turned to absinthe as a way to escape, there is a famous painting that came out of the weimar period (I think)
called 'the absinthe drinkers' and boy do these guys look fucked....I think if you drink too much you go nuts.
Absinthe makes the heart grow fonder ed.