I just spoke to Hef's dad, he is on the street where they filmed the chainsaw scene in Scarface! Very Cool! We love Scarface. I told him to take pictures for me to share with everybun!
Our good friend BL (Bunny Lady) from A Houseful of Rabbits, has been asking us about Absinthe, because we very much like it here at The Bunny Lounge. Ok, well... I like it, Hef's dad hates it and the furries don't drink, but BL asked about and then in searching for a classic pic I found this:
Here is what I told BL about it,
Absinthe was banned in America for about 80 years. I wrote a paper about it for school once, focusing on the hysteria of banning it! The traditional reason for banning was a man in France, I belive, went to work came home and drank a couple glasses of Absinthe and killed his family. What that leaves out is he had a bunch of other drinks through out the day and was a regular drunk, but Absinthe got blamed. It used to be very popular in France, and the Czech Republic, mostly among artists, writes, poets, etc. The rumor is that Grande Wormwood a main ingredient in Absinthe (kinda like potaotes in vodka or juniper in gin) is supposed to cause hallucinations. Now I've gone through two bottles in the past and have a third in the liquor cabinet (see above photo), no hallucinations. My theory is when some people drink liquor that is 74% alcohol they get drunk and see stuff anyhow. I happen to like Absinthe as a beverage on occasion, it has an anise flavor. I have never cooked with it but would try it. I drink it in the traditonal way, using a slotted spoon, water and a sugar cube.
I forgot to mention the coolest things about Absinthe, when prepared traditonally with water and sugar, Absinthe does something called louching. Absinsthe starts out as a clear green liquid, but then as the water is added it turns a milky opaque green, very neat to watch. Only real absinthe will do it, I've had the fake stuff, it doesn't louche. If you want to check it out there are videos on youtube. Or try it yourself, now that absinthe has been legal again for a while there are a lot of brands out there, I got the above bottle for only $25, before I've payed 60 in canada and a friend payed 60 for a bottle as a gift to me. Give it a shot!
6 comments:
Never heard of the stuff! What a cool history lesson on it though! Not sure if I will try it as I don't like anise much.
I know of absinthe, but never had the chance to try it. Since I cannot drink anymore due to the medications I take, I probably never will, which disappoints me to no end, but such is life.
There was a show called "The Thirsty Traveler" that used to be on HGTV (and you might find it in reruns there or on one of their other channels) that did a whole show on absinthe; the history, the ritual involved in drinking it, etc. It was utterly fascinating.
Thank you, Hef's Mom, for sharing BL's interest in Absinthe. I hope it doesn't tarnish my image at all.
Your write-up was fascinating! You forgot to mention "Madame X" however. I mean ... that's part of the whole story, no? There's enough info here for a column. I'm thinking that after writing about Chico's penis, I think Absinthe just might be the next logical topic.
Ooh ... I am, after all, a Czech writer, so all the pieces fit. Must get some soon.
By the way, I'm going to Wenatchee to help my daughter; leaving Thurs; no Internet; so you must keep RG on the straight and narrow.
Absinthe. Never had any myself, although would like to try it. My daughter got some last year, but it was gone before I got any.
I've had absinthe several times, but I really only think it takes yummy when you do it the way you're supposed to with the caramelized sugar cube which you light up yourself. I only had it that way once, at an actual Absinthe bar in Berlin. I don't remember much after that.
The stuff they were doing in the Moulin Rouge days, when they were all tripping out, had the wormwood I believe. The Wormwood absinthe is still illegal in the US and a large portion of Europe and probably other places, the other stuff is just strong alcohol is OK. I know people who grew up in Europe and spent large amounts of time in Holland, and said that the real thing really does make you trip.
Cilantro and parsley does the trick for us!!!
Post a Comment