[foodnfoto]

This past summer my husband and I experimented with making homemade absinthe. We got a kit of stuff from Green Devil which included two packages of herbs, a special filter, a fancy bottle, an absinthe glass, fancy sugar cubes and an absinthe spoon.
We soaked the first packet of herbs in vodka for 3 days, removed it, then soaked the other bag for an additional 2 days. Then we sent the whole batch through the filter 3 times and into the fancy bottle.
We then poured 1 ounce into the "Absinthe glass" (really just a footed beer glass), placed the absinthe spoon with a sugar cube on top, and slowly dripped 4 ounces ice water over the sugar cube and into the absinthe.
Didn't really get the "green fairy" effect and then upon drinking this potion, the results were decidedly......Nasty!

The drink was so bitter I could barely force it down. Hubby started drinking the stuff straight on rocks and proceded to get slightly drunk (probably from the vodka alone). I then tried mixing it with gingerale to soften the bitter taste-to no avail. I couldn't down enough to even get an alcohol buzz, much less the lyrical, poetic euphoria so popularized by the likes of Hemingway and other artists of the Belle Epoque. I started reading some Hem (To Have and Have Not) to hopefully jumpstart the effect. No such luck.

I'm bummed. What am I going to do with the stuff now?

[Harpua]

looks like you're going to have to make a trip to Barcelona, or Prague.

[ShoeMaker]

Originally Posted by foodnfoto

I'm bummed. What am I going to do with the stuff now?

Take up mead brewing.... MMMMMmmmmmmm I was a homebrewer for many years, and mead was one of the finest things I brewed - the "nectar of the gods," if ever there was one. can be made to be light and sparkling (like champagne) or heavier and still (like wine). My favorite was my habanero mead, using some 18 lbs or so of honey, wine yeast, maybe a dozen deveined/deseeded/roasted habaneros, and some toasted oak chips in the secondary fermenter (makes approx 5 gallons). It was the ultimate "winter warmer" - strong (VERY strong), sweet, and H-O-T !!! Nice to warm one's bones on a cold Detroit night Biggest drawback to mead brewing is that, like wine, it needs quite some time to mature after bottling, as opposed to beer, which is ready to go in a few weeks after bottling....but it's worth the wait, imho

[Luc_H]

Hi Foodnfoto,

If your drink/extract tastes extremely bitter, you are on the right track. REAL absinthe can only be drunk with copious amounts of sugar. The liqueur was poured on sugar cubes.
The said hallucinogen in absinthe is called thujone a mild toxic. Thujone is found in particularly high amount in a specific variety of wormwood called Grand wormwood or officially, Artemisia absinthium. That was the plant used to make the liqueur. If that was not the herb that came with the kit then probably you will not get the appropriate effect out of the product your making.
Thujone containing ingredients are regulated in many countries so I doubt it would be possible to legally buy any plant material with high enough thujone content in it to make an effect.
One inconspicuous herb that contains thujone is Sage. Too much sage can be toxic.
Historic factoid: one of the reasons prohibition was instigated in the US was to prevent absinthe taking a hold in the US particularly since alcoholism was already so rampant.

Luc H

[foodnfoto]

We researched absinthe for many days before our adventure in its legal home production.
While it's illegal to buy or sell absinthe in the US, it is not illegal to sell or use the blend of herbs used to make the stuff. Granted, the original absinthes were distilled from a mash of grain that included wormwood and the other flavoring herbs (angelica, hyssop, anise and others) and our method was only a maceration of said herbs in high-proof alcohol. History has shown that most of the addictive problems suffered from the use of absinthe came mostly from alcoholism, but also the toxic nature of cheap distillation processes that infused lead into the drink as well.
We were assured by the company selling the herb sachets that they did include the necessary wormwood containing thujone. I even threw in a few sprigs from my lovely wormwood plant that grows in my herb garden (it's really a very pretty plant).
Like I said though, even pouring the stuff over sugar cubes and mixing it with gingerale did not cut the overwhelming bitterness. Now I drink strong coffee black, and I like to eat unsweetened chocolate, but the bitterness of absinthe is in a whole other realm!

Maybe we'll just pull out the stuff at parties when the festivities devolve into challenges and dares.

But sadly, no lyricism or deep philosophy or artistic revelations are likely to come from the green fairy living in our liquor cabinet.

[Ramon]

I've heard about absinthe a lot, but I have never tried it before. Home brewing sounds interesting, but I don't see it working as good unless you have actual wormwood (what makes absinthe so special). Besides, wormwood is illegal in the United States, and the only version of it you can get is much milder and does not have the same effects.

I had a friend in college who ordered some online, and he actually received the shipment. He ordered a second time, and it got caught by customs. So, you have a few options. Or, you can just go to Eastern Europe and get the real deal.

[foodnfoto]

It's not illegal to grow wormwood or even buy the dried herb in the US-I have a lovely wormwood plant in my herb garden. It is illegal to buy or import distilled absinthe in the US, but buying the mixture of herbs, and infusing your own with vodka is not.
My problem is we now have two bottles of this nasty tasting stuff and I don't know what to do with it.

[stir it up]

In Ontario Canada, we can buy Absinthe in our liquor stores, made by the original company. However, it has the wormwood missing. But has all the other flavors, color, etc...

Soaking a pack of dried herbs in grain alcohol sounds like a far cry. You could consider starting with the original, add your wormwood from your garden (or not). I noticed you're from NY, perhaps a little cross border shopping is in order. You may want to order it in advance from the LCBO or check that whatever store you're going to has it in stock, as it's not like we swill huge amounts of it here or anything. Depending on how fancy and extensive that branch of the liquor store is they may or may not have it in. (In case you don't know, all our liquor stores in Ontario are operated by the government. (those crazy pinko Canadians! ) They're really nice stores, well done, publish an excellent food magazine for free too called Food & Drink so pick one up while you're there).

However this is definitely a "kids, don't try this at home". Really can't say I advise getting that toxic to be blasto, though if you have any internal parasites the wormwood will take care of them too. You could also just drink it without the wormwood. BTW, there are quite a few varieties of wormwood, so make sure you have the right one.

Absinthe is sort of this color. I wouldn't describe it as nasty as Luc described, if you're used to drinking other spirits, you might like it.

I think you're right about the lead being the problem.

Does vermouth still have the wormwood? My understanding is that that is where the word vermouth comes from -- worm wood.

[MikeLM]

I thought Pernod was the modern version of absinthe without the wormwood.

My high school Frence teacher reflected with great regret that the pre-WW II absinthe was no longer avalable. He referred to it as the "nectar of the Gods." His brain didn't seem rotted at the time.

Mike

[Lana]

Wormwood has several varieties. I worked at a garden center for 3 years that specialized in rare and unusual plants and herbs...never saw the Absinthe variety ya'll are speaking of???

Artemisia vulgaris (most commonly sold)

Other common varieties include:

Artemisia pontica
Artemisia douglasiana
Artemisia glacialis
Artemisia norvegica
Artemisia stelleriana
Artemisia verlotiorum

You would probably have to get it (absinthe variety) frrom a mail order place -or- smuggle it back from country of origin!

[BonViveur]

Artemisia absinthium or Grande Wormwood is the active ingredient in real absinthe. Some copies use Southern Wormwood because of restrictions on thujone levels as it is said to be hallucinogenic. Interesting fact is that wormwood is used as a stuffing for goose..I also use it sparingly in sauces. There is a great recipe for chicken absinthe that I have somewhere...and it can also be used in fish sauces.

You need to hunt around to get the real stuff made in the European forests using fresh wormwood plants. The best that I have ever found is Century Absinthe which is a verte and has a dizzy thujone level of 100mg. As I have read the levels in old absinthe were about 260mg according to Dr Niels Arnold, although the market is now flooded with low thujone modern copies. There is a kind of absinthe which seems to be legal in the USA but most people who know import it from Europe.

Drink it with ice and sparinglyit is rather strong but has a lovely herbal flavour. Some of the other ingredients are anise, fennel, mint, calamus, hysoop, angelica and corriander. The simplest absinthes are blanches - they are clear white spirits that have not been steeped post distillation. As I say I prefer the European vertes (green) absinthe.

[foodnfoto]

We ended up with a concoction that is a lovely green and had a nice pungent aroma of sprightly hyssop, anise and other herbs--but the taste!

Bleacchh! Bitter! Bitter! Bitter!

Like I described, I mixed it with sugar, gingerale and 7-up and still gagged everytime I took a sip.

What to do now other than introduce the stuff to the big white throne?

[BonViveur]

I heard that Polish farmers make absinthe using this method and it's called.... ...something beginning with P (i'll check). The trick is to use very high proof liquor like Everclear or Spiritus ref and obviously high quality herbs. Anyway, the bitterness should be complex and not gag inducing. Three days seems a short time...do you have their brochure handy still? I thought that it needed to be aged for about six months??? preferably in a barn

Did you try any of the commercial brands of absinthe? There is one called Absente but that is made with Southern Wormwood as the FDA ban thujone in alcoholic beverages.
Strangely it is not illegal to own or drink absinthe and you can import it from Europe without any problem.

[BonViveur]

Piołunówka is the Polish name for wormwood and also the name of the drink. It is made by steeping wormwood in high proof liquor. Here is the recipe:

500 ml of water, 168g of sugar boil and add 7.91g of young wormwood (mainly flowertops). When cooled, add to it 500ml of Polish rectified spirit (98% vol or 196 proof) and filter it.

[Nasika]

I know it is forbidden in some countries. Do you know where exactly?