By Greg Gaudio
VIRGINIA BEACH
For 95 years, Americans wanting a taste of absinthe had to sneak it in from Europe or Mexico – and risk getting the high-proof herbal liquor confiscated by U.S. Customs.
In May 2007, government officials lifted the ban on the drink once blamed for causing hallucinations and psychosis. A year later, Virginia’s Alcoholic Beverage Control Board approved one brand for sale in the state.
Since June, Kubler Swiss Absinthe Superieure has been appearing on shelves at select ABC stores, including 13 in Hampton Roads. A 1 -liter bottle, the only size available, costs $59.95.
ABC spokesman Philip Bogenberger said Kubler was presented to the agency ’s board earlier this year .
Absinthe is made from alcohol and distilled herbs, primarily grand wormwood and anise. While the French variety tends to be a pale green color, Swiss absinthe is typically made without the final coloring.
“It can have mild bitter notes, but generally speaking, it’s a sweet drink ,” said Al Markowitz, an absinthe enthusiast who lives in Norfolk.
“It just gives a mild alcohol buzz with more clarity and less physical impairment – at least in small doses.”
Absinthe hasn’t always been portrayed that way. In the late 19th century, pseudoscientists painted it as a highly toxic psychoactive drug. Temperance supporters succeeded in getting it outlawed.
By 1915, absinthe had been banned in a number of countries, including France, Switzerland and the United States . It remained legal in other places, such as Britain and Spain.
The current revival began in earnest in 1988, when the European Union relaxed its standards on thujone – the active chemical in wormwood. The United States followed in 2007 .
Today, thujone still is thought to produce secondary effects similar to marijuana or opium. Dr. Chris Holstege, a medical toxicologist with University of Virginia Health System, called that a myth. “My concern over the thujone is minimal,” he said. “The only thing I worry about with the public is that they’re not going to understand the high content of ethanol in it.”
Because most absinthes are 45 to 72 percent alcohol (Kubler is 53 percent), water usually is added before drinking.
The traditional ritual involves adding three parts iced water – drop by drop – to one part absinthe. This brings out the essential oils dissolved in the alcohol and causes the drink to louche – or turn a cloudy, opalescent white. The water is sometimes dripped over a sugar cube, which rests on a slotted spoon above the glass.
Though Holstege said absinthes for sale in the United States are safe, he cautioned against smuggling in brands that don’t meet U.S. standards. A n Internet buyer’s guide also warns against any brand using thujone levels as a selling point; it’s usually the mark of an inferior product.
Greg Gaudio, (757) 222-5125, greg.gaudio@pilotonline.com
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Can't you disagree without making personal attacks? What have you been drinking?
FROM B. ALEX OF OBSELLO ABSINTHE VERTE
Afton
My name is B. Alex. Master distiller at Obsello absinthe located in Lleida, Spain.
I do not appreciate you quoting one sentence of mine out of context and making your post appear as if it were written by me, by signing my name to the bottom.
This is yet more offensive due to the fact that your posting is factually wrong and your quotes are all out of context and misleading. I am familiar with the scholarly texts you are sighting and will for a moment set the record straight.
Absinthe in the US is limited to 10mg of thujone per liter. Absinthe in Spain is also limited to 10mg per liter.
Yes many people here drink it solely for the effect but that is because of limited access to quality products. We are working hard to change that.
No where in the EU is absinthe permitted with 100mg of thujone per liter. This would be toxic. There are some brands of very poor absinthe that advertise this. However it is so
Right . . .
Oh come on Dave, you do that all the time. Anyway Sebor isn't absinthe, just wormwood soaked in bad alcohol.
Hmmmm I beg to differ
I drank the real deal Sebor Absinthe at an underground club in Tromso, Norway and it caused me to crap my pants.
Could be a record
I think absinthe could be a the longest running marketing gimmick ever.
It's allright...
Eh, I've had it in the UK; a Van Gogh self-portrait was on the bottle (the name currently escapes me, sorry). It wasn't bad, we drizzled the water over a sugar cube in an absinthe spoon into the glass. It tasted pretty good, but nothing really strange happened, in terms of hallucinations. In fact, nothing happened at all. This may be because it's a weakened EU version, but we had a few of them, and still nothing strange happened. That is to say, no Green Fairies. But it did taste good. I'd recommend it. And if you're one of those people who think that absinthe is evil because it puts you into an altered state, well, so does any other kind of alcohol, so try it; you might like it. Just do it right with a proper glass and spoon.
About time!
I only wish we in the states would get a larger selection. Kubler is pretty good, but Clandestine is better. I hope this isn't the typical thing like drug makers have to "grease" the FDA to get something on the market, as many of the great absinthe brands are made in small quantities and will not have the resources to play along with US law. This will force most of us who enjoy absinthe to continue ordering overseas.
I always thought...
I always thought that Al M was hallucinating but now it has been confirmed.
Jeez
If you don't like it, don't drink it.
P.S. Not everybody that enjoys a drink gets behind the wheel.
Legions of fanatics prove
Legions of fanatics prove that "Absinthe makes the heart grow fonder."
They are playing pretend
But the biggest controversy surrounding the liquor--once dubbed "one of the worst enemies of man"--is about not its resurgence but rather its authenticity. Enthusiasts claim the thujone-free brands, which contain less than 10 parts per million (p.p.m.) of the chemical, are made with the same relatively small amounts of thujone as the old brews. But scientists wrote in the British Medical Journal that absinthe bottled before 1900 packed up to 260 p.p.m. of thujone--which may not sound like much, but consider that only 15 parts per billion of lead in drinking water is enough to scare regulators. "They are playing pretend," study co-author Wilfred Arnold(i) says of the liquor's new cheerleaders. "It is nothing like the old stuff.
Thursday, Nov. 29, 2007 Time Magazine
(i) Professor Arnold, Biochemist, University of Kansas.
Finally...
Now that Absinthe is legal, we can start fighting off all these Vampires...
Mythbuster
"In conclusion, there is no evidence that absinthe ever contained the high concentrations of thujone that would have led to detrimental effects or that it has hallucinogenic or mind altering properties. The health problems experienced by chronic users were likely to have been caused by adulterants in inferior brands and by the high levels of alcohol present. Claims for beneficial effects must also be treated with some scepticism as again, the detrimental effects of the alcohol would presumably outweigh any benefits. It seems likely that the phenomenal success of absinthe during the 19th century was due to one factor, the French love of aniseed drinks. The modern equivalent of absinthe, pastis, is by far the most popular distilled spirit in France with 125 million litres being consumed annually. Perhaps the reason that so much absinthe was consumed, and absintheurs waxed so lyric
Absinthe
Why is only Kubler Swiss Absinthe Superieure sold in state stores???? Can't we have a choice or does Kubler Swiss Absinthe Superieure pay bigger kickbacks to Virginia ABC officials?
Myth and Reality
You can get weird visions from drinking any alcohol in excess. If anything absinthe is less debilitating than Scotch, Gin or Tequila. If you want to spout ignorance that's your right. If you want to learn something about it, go to http://www.feeverte.net/faq.html and read good information.
As for me, I like it as an appertif on occasion and as a cooking flavor as well. I'd feel much drunker off the same amount of Scotch.
YeaH
WE NEED MORE OF :
the europeans think its OK
weird "flashbacks" , visions etc.
maybe swedish sex laws while we're at it.
AS if
As if people don't already drink too much, get way to drunk and get behind the wheel of a car.