Tomorrow is the day, Whos coppin' absinthe?

[maza4ever14]

It's official, I'm gettin' uufffed up tomorrow.

My pops is going to pick up a bottle when he gets on lunch at work tomorrow.

http://www.contracostatimes.com/ci_7767620?nclick_check=1

Infamous drink finds area home

ALAMEDA --Absinthe can make the heart grow fonder -- at least that's what Alameda's St. George Spirits Inc. hopes customers will think Friday when they release 3,600 bottles of St. George Absinthe Verte for sale.
St. George Spirits Inc. is the first American distillery to sell absinthe since it was banned in 1912. Their first production run officially goes on sale Friday at the distillery's tasting room and other Bay Area locations. Of the 1,800 bottles sent to distributors, about 2,300 have been claimed, master distiller Lance Winters said with a slight smile. That means 500 bottles already are backordered.

Absinthe, the drink of moody artists and writers, has been legal in the United States since March, but St. George Spirits Inc. is the first American distillery making a foray into the absinthe arena.

The Alameda distillery in a former U.S. Navy airplane hangar sold a token bottle Dec. 3 so it would be the first American distillery to make absinthe in almost a century.

"We wanted to legally record it in case someone else snuck in there," said Winters, 42.

Served straight, absinthe tastes like an anise explosion that gains heat and momentum as it heads to the gullet. With added water that "makes it more approachable," Winters said, the green liquid turns milky, and the drink is smoother, the anise softer, all with a hint of sweetness and a finish of mint.

But the absinthe aftermath has consequences. "Your palate is shot afterwards," said assistant distiller Dave Smith. "It leaves a coating. ... It' s a mouthful of sensation."

The old hangar-turned-warehouse is empty except for stills and a small bottling operation. Gothic music reverberates to the high ceilings, making it an appropriate score while labeling the 120-proof green liquor.

The label, featuring a monkey holding a cowbell and a femur, was a compromise. Seven designs were rejected by the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau for various reasons, including suggesting hallucinogenic use, Winters said. It was the drink of poets and artists, but not because of any psychoactive effects, Winters said.

"It had to do with the distillers creating this drink as an art form," he said. "That drink served as inspiration."

The drink was reputed to inspire Charles Baudelaire, Oscar Wilde, Vincent Van Gogh, Edgar Degas, Pablo Picasso and Ernest Hemingway.

American T.A. Breaux, creator of the Lucid Absinthe Superieure, an absinthe developed and distilled in France, was the first distiller to break into the American market, in March.

"There has been a real resurgence of interest since the 1990s," said Breaux, also an absinthe historian and editor of "Absinthe: Sip of Seduction." "It started in Europe, but it did spread in the United States in the subculture. Now it's popular because it's the most controversial drink ever made."

Absinthe has a checkered history. According to a report by Richard Olsen from UCLA's School of Medicine Department in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States, absinthe was "widely regarded" as stimulating the imagination, as an aphrodisiac and as producing hallucinations. Reasons for its ban included "inducing insane and criminal acts."

Olsen said that despite the hype, "there is little research or evidence supporting this view."

However, controversy still revolves around the emerald liquor, including the nature of thujone, an ingredient in wormwood, the cornerstone of absinthe. The ingredient naturally occurs in other plants such as nutmeg and juniper, which was used to create gin, Olsen wrote. Thujone is considered a mood elevator, but when mixed with alcohol, a depressant, it's unclear what the effect is.

Breaux said that thujone levels in today's absinthe are no different than those in the Belle Epoque. "If tequila production stopped today, about 100 years from now, after looking at all the literature on tequila, our descendants might come to the conclusion it was hallucinogenic," he said.

Tom Dalldorf, editor and publisher of the Hayward-based "Celebrator Beer News," which also covers spirits, said that absinthe's notoriety will make it popular in the American market.

"People who drink Bailey's Irish Cream are not suddenly going to become absinthe aficionados," he said. "But those who shop for unusual spirits are going to want to have a bottle simply because it hasn't been available and it has a notorious reputation."

Breaux said that a quality product introduced into the U.S. market will help absinthe's longevity. Previous incarnations of Eastern European absinthe, created from industrial oils and colored neon green, killed some of its market in the womb.

"It was artificially colored and flavored," he said.

"It became a hooligan drink -- a flaming shot."

Breaux said that now that it's legal, some hucksters may push substandard product onto the market.

"Hopefully once the American public have ... tasted the garbage, they are not going to be interested," he said.

Winters, a self-described "moonshiner," was first a brewer and worked on the absinthe recipe for 11 years, culled from a back issue of "Scientific American" and trial and error.

The Absinthe Verte starts with a brandy base consisting of star anise, mint, wormwood, lemon balm and hyssop. Winters said the olive green color is left by the "finishing herbs," or its mint, meadowsweet, basil, fennel, tarragon and stinging nettle that give the liquor a "greater depth and complexity."

The $75 price could be considered high, but not for the work that goes into it, Winters said.

"Absinthe is a hand-crafted product," he said. "A little of this goes a long, long way."

Absinthe Verte's competition, French Lucid Absinthe Superieure, is available for $65.99, and the Swiss 3 Kubler Absinthe sells for $53.99 at BevMo.

Dalldorf agreed, saying $75 isn't unusual for a high-quality liquor.

"When it comes to having a party ... with the latest, hippest, groovy thing, then having a bottle of absinthe, especially made in the Bay Area -- how cool is that?"

 

[trueshotaura]

Wasn't this the stuff in Eurotrip?

 

[bgl2687]

Aside from the higher % of alcohol in this drink I dont see whats so great about it. I prefer henny.

 

[suburbanknight83]

2 words "Be Warned"

 

[mr fizzy womack]

That crap tastes like black jelly beans; I HATE black jelly beans.

 

[oo206oo]

I had an Absinthe Martini in Aruba a few years back.

Its strong and tastes like black licorice, kinda like the candy Good N Plenty.

I dont see myself drinking it frequently though.

 

[DonRafa]

I might have to drive up to Alameda and pick up a bottle.

 

[nyelectric]

Once was enough.

 

[an dee 51o]

I might talk to my legal friends and camp out for a bottle tomorrow.

I live like a five minute drive away from the naval base, so we'll see howit goes. Maza, make a thread tomorrow if I forget!

 

[cabron james 23]

rip

 

[tmay407]

watch out for the damn green fairy.

 

[zoom air panda]

okay, so how do you drink this stuff?

 

[maza4ever14]

Originally Posted by an dee 51o

I might talk to my legal friends and camp out for a bottle tomorrow.

I live like a five minute drive away from the naval base, so we'll see how it goes. Maza, make a thread tomorrow if I forget!

I'll bump it tomorrow for you.

 

[free the chief]

I'd try it...but I ain't coppin. Just give me the Henny please.

 

[gottagitdemjs]

You're all gonna be making out with your sisters!

 

[goldnboi7]

Copped. Need that slotted spoon and sum sugar cubes...yall know what it is

...

 

[supmyhats2big]

that stuff is so lame do some real drugs if you wanna get messed up

 

[jj1223]

funny thing is most people think theyre gonna drink some and start hallucinating....
nope
do some research if you want the full effect

 

[bjamez20]

i think i'll try and pick up a bottle before i head back to school.

i'll try and get one of those spoon deals too

 

[killaotaku]

Originally Posted by JJ1223

funny thing is most people think theyre gonna drink some and start hallucinating....
nope
do some research if you want the full effect

any info on full effct?

 

[the kicktionare]

Originally Posted by killaotaku

Originally Posted by JJ1223

funny thing is most people think theyre gonna drink some and start hallucinating....
nope
do some research if you want the full effect

any info on full effct?

So there more than hallucinations??

info?

 

[nyelectric]

You won't really hallucinate. It's just a strange version of drunk; very, very drunk.

 

[the kicktionare]

is it like smoking weed?

 

[mangudai954]

kinda like the candy Good N Plenty.

No phrase can describe how disgusting I think that candy taste.

 

[oh come on 120]

Hahaha i didn't know this would be on NT

I went by today and it was pretty packed... ALOT of college kids... $75 a bottle.