Absinthe

[Beanbean]

A friend's birthday is coming up and she will be ordering absinthe online to drink at her party. I've been asked to bartend and prepare the absinthe. While I have nothing against drinking, I do oppose drunkenness and there is no doubt that the guests will become very inebriated. Should I boycott this get together or go and bartend so that I can keep an eye on my friends?

[YLTYLT]

I thought absinthe was illegal. Is this not true?

Edit: Oh it did not origianlly occurr to me that you may be in a country where it is legal.

Thats a tough question. I might try to talk her out of it first.

[bizzt]

According to Wiki
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Absinthe

Seriously though is this uplifting to the Lord. One Drink has a cause of putting you into inebriated land and quick. That is a tough one and you need to ask God whether this is really uplifting to him. Personally I would condone the act and wish your friend a Happy Birthday but politely say you will not be attending.

God Bless

[Beanbean]

I would prefer not to go so that my friends would understand very clearly how I felt about these sorts of activities. However, I would likely be the only sober and responsible one there if I were to attend. My friends are not alcoholics and rarely drink, but when they do they cannot seem to stop before they're puking and falling over. Unfortunatly they need one or two sober people around to cut them off before they get to that point or to nurse them when they do. I have a niggling feeling that I ought to go and make sure they don't hurt themselves. My main concern about them is that absinthe contains a higher alcohol content than anything they're used to drinking.

Thats a tough question. I might try to talk her out of it first.

We're all in our late teens and for the most part, if someone wants to do something, they'll do it (finances permitting).

I thought absinthe was illegal. Is this not true?

I'm in Canada, and I thought absinthe was illegal also. But I've looked it up and there does not seem to be any ban on absinthe, but there are limits as to how much liquor can be imported. All the websites that sell absinthe that I've looked up however make no garuntee that their product can be delivered safely to Canada. So perhaps I've missed something about it being a banned substance?

[bizzt]

Canadian Law

In Canada, liquor laws are the domain of the provincial governments. British Columbia has no limits on thujone content; Alberta, Ontario and Nova Scotia allow 10 mg/kg thujone,Québec allows 15 mg per kg (according to the SAQ) and all other provinces do not allow the sale of absinthe containing thujone (although, in Saskatchewan, one can purchase any liquor available in the world upon the purchase of a minimum of one case, usually 12 bottles x 750ml or 8 x 1L). The individual liquor boards must approve each product before it may be sold on shelves, and currently, only Hill's Absinth, Elie-Arnaud Denoix, Pernod, Absente, Versinthe and, in limited release, La Fée Absinthe are approved. Other brands may appear in the future.

[ageofknowledge]

Once you're into alcohol it's hard to get out of. It's up to you. I wouldn't do it.

A friend's birthday is coming up and she will be ordering absinthe online to drink at her party. I've been asked to bartend and prepare the absinthe. While I have nothing against drinking, I do oppose drunkenness and there is no doubt that the guests will become very inebriated. Should I boycott this get together or go and bartend so that I can keep an eye on my friends?

[Daniel]

I know that this is an old thread and that it deals with Canada, but in the US, it's legal as long as thujone isn't present. I have a friend who snuk absinthe with thujone into the nation, and it apparently turned out to be very strong.

[Furstentum Liechtenstein]

I bought a bottle of Absinthe with thujone while in Switzerland in 2006. (Switzerland is where the stuff was originally made.)

Big deal. The stuff tastes like Pernod and the only way you'll get high on it (I think...) is if you drink it like a fish.

Absinthe is legal in Quebec - where I live - (with & w/out thujone) and can be purchased in the liquor stores. My opinion: For the same price, buy a Scotch you normally can't afford.

I have a friend who snuk absinthe with thujone into the nation [USA], and it apparently turned out to be very strong.

Anything «illegal» is - by magic - «very strong.»

[Tofueater]

A friend's birthday is coming up and she will be ordering absinthe online to drink at her party. I've been asked to bartend and prepare the absinthe. While I have nothing against drinking, I do oppose drunkenness and there is no doubt that the guests will become very inebriated. Should I boycott this get together or go and bartend so that I can keep an eye on my friends?

Absinthe should not be drunk to excess. A few glasses as an aperitif are sufficient, and there may be unhappiness if this beverage is taken like a normal drink.

Perhaps you should enquire as to the thujone content. Alcohol is a GABA agonist. It stimulates the production of this neurotransmitter which causes drowsiness and sleep. Thujone is a GABA antagonist. It prohibits alcohol from performing that part of it's function. Absinthe is therefore a type of 'speedball', it's chemical constituents at once promote the production of GABA and opens its receptors, while also closing those receptors off. This explains the 'green fairy' effect that absinthe has, as oppossed to just normal drunkenness. Many modern copies of absinthe have little or no thujone, but there are others that have 100mg thujone eg http://www.centuryabsinthe.com

Absinthe started life as an herbal elixir and then became fashionable as an aperitif during the Belle Epoque. It should be enjoyed in moderation and always by adding iced water at a ratio of approx 1:5. This releases the herbal oils and creates a clouding called a louche (mainly due to the anise content). If you drink a lot of absinthe you will have problems as you will not feel drunk due to the contary effects of the thujone and the alcohol. This can lead to mischief. I suggest that you tell your friend to serve some absinthe when guests arrive, but then to move on to beer or wine. One of the other issues is that absinthe is very refreshing and you can easily forget that it is high proof and thujone laden.

[He has risen]

Well i think you should tred carefully because, on a recent trip to Prague I indulged in the local spirit (absynth). I had a revelation or could it be a mirage. A roaring came from the vicinity of the bar, to my sursprise then noise was being emmited from the one and only ASLAN (yes thats right0 the lion from the chronicles of narnia, it shocked me too... it happens, only on absynth.

[Canuckster1127]

Is it really true that ansynthe makes the heart grow fonder?

[zoegirl]

d'oh!!

[Furstentum Liechtenstein]

Well i think you should tred carefully because, on a recent trip to Prague I indulged in the local spirit (absynth). I had a revelation or could it be a mirage. A roaring came from the vicinity of the bar, to my sursprise then noise was being emmited from the one and only ASLAN (yes thats right0 the lion from the chronicles of narnia, it shocked me too... it happens, only on absynth.

Me thinks thou doth drink too much o' the fyre-water, boy!

[Swamper]

I had a little bit when I was in Poland back in March. I don't know if it had thujone in it. It tasted a bit like licorice. Also, I didn't hallucinate.

Yes I know this thread is getting old, but I figured I'd throw my two cents in.

[Furstentum Liechtenstein]

It tasted a bit like licorice. Also, I didn't hallucinate.

I´m in the Netherlands right now. I bought a bottle of absinthe in Amsterdam...70% alcohol and 10% thujone. If I drink an once and a half on the rocks, I don´t go crazy and start beating my wife.

If you drink too much of anything - even CocaCola - you´ll start acting like an idiot.

FL