590229 Fri Jan 23 12:45:24 -0800 2009 34 2 Los Angeles Area 0 4351636 Does anyone know which bars sell this alcohol....and suggestions of how to drink it (straight and/or mixed) - Give me some cocktail ideas for this drink! Fri Jan 23 12:45:24 -0800 2009 246043 liltamby5 1 4351663 Mortons steakhouse is doing a special where you learn about, drink a little of it, and have a steak. http://www.mortons.com/absinthe/ Fri Jan 23 12:52:44 -0800 2009 4351636 18267 samtron608 1 4351685 Hi liltamby5, Anisette Brasserie sells a variety of Absinthe Cocktails. You might get some ideas from their bartenders. Enjoy~ Fri Jan 23 12:57:42 -0800 2009 4351636 113442 exilekiss 1 4351746 Johnny's in highland park has it. Fri Jan 23 13:21:14 -0800 2009 4351636 106704 Clyde 1 4351851 I've had it once. You have this special spoon where you place a small sugar cube on it and slowly pour cold water over it until the cube dissolves completely into the glass of absinthe. Fri Jan 23 13:59:52 -0800 2009 4351636 258723 LBeater 1 4351957 Coles downtown has it. They make "Death in the Afternoon" which was Ernest Hemingway's signature drink. http://colesfrenchdip.com/ Fri Jan 23 14:37:36 -0800 2009 4351636 155115 elle driver 1 4351976 Absinthe in America is sold legally, but without the potent compound thujone, which gives classic absinthe its hallucinatory properties. Having had both versions (in London), I'd say the classic version is my preferred form, tastewise. It is reminiscent of black licorice. There are many website with great info on "The Green Fairy"... Just google them. I am not aware of any place in L.A. which serves classic absinthe (with thujone). Let me know if you find one. Fri Jan 23 14:45:21 -0800 2009 4351636 11933 J.L. 2 4352194 >the potent compound thujone, which gives classic absinthe its hallucinatory properties This is a myth. I don't know of restaurants or bars that serve genuine absinthe (though there's now no legal reason they can't, and I'm only unaware of them because I don't make it to many bars and seldom order hard liquor in restaurants) but you can buy the real thing (now distilled in America, by St. George Spirits, and I believe others) at better-stocked liquor stores. (I've seen St. George Absinthe Verte at Beverage Warehouse in Culver City. Look for the monkey on the label.) Fri Jan 23 16:07:17 -0800 2009 4351976 17195 PlonkMan 3 4352306 PlonkMan is right. Here is an article about the study: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080429120905.htm And the study itself: http://pubs.acs.org/doi/full/10.1021/jf703568f?cookieSet=1 Also, I think a lot of bars are being a little cautious in ordering bottles of absinthe. The drink is expensive and a lot of bars don't want to deal with the cost in case their customers aren't interested. However, some bars are starting to order bottles and take chances, often offering "tasting" nights to see how strong the interest is. Fri Jan 23 16:42:25 -0800 2009 4352194 257304 Ranjit13 3 4352343 Stand corrected. Thanks for the education. Fri Jan 23 16:56:05 -0800 2009 4352194 11933 J.L. 4 4352468 Well, don't be too disappointed. It's still strong drink, which has been successfully driving people batshit for thousands of years. Try to search out the New Yorker article on T.A. Breaux, the New Orleans chemist turned obsessive absinthe enthusiast. (Published the year before last, I think.) I bought one of his absinthes back when you had to order it through Liqueurs de France in the UK. Good stuff. Fri Jan 23 17:45:25 -0800 2009 4352343 17195 PlonkMan 5 4355924 This Salon article is another good introduction: http://www.salon.com/mwt/food/eat_drink/2007/12/21/absinthe/index.html Breaux's company is Jade Liqueurs: http://www.bestabsinthe.com/ Unfortunately their FAQ claims that their absinthes are not available in the US. The article mentions that Breaux collaberated on the import of another absinthe called Lucid. Does anyone know whether it's available at any bars in the LA area? Sun Jan 25 10:11:19 -0800 2009 4352468 170696 Peripatetic 6 4358824 Liqueurs de France sells Breaux's absinthe online, and they ship to the U.S. (And, as the website notes, the current exchange rate makes this a good time to buy.) Mon Jan 26 10:52:38 -0800 2009 4355924 17195 PlonkMan 1 4352003 library bar in dtla serves absinthe. Fri Jan 23 14:53:46 -0800 2009 4351636 10704 wilafur 1 4352049 GO TO THE EDISON! They have absinthe both straight and mixed, plus you won't find a better atmosphere anywehere - hit it up happy-hour time during the week and you can avoid the huge lines and cover charge. They have a drink of absinthe and champagne called "The Hemingway" . . . my boyfriend can't get enough of them. Fri Jan 23 15:09:46 -0800 2009 4351636 220674 Cebca 2 4352069 they serve it at the restaurant on hollywood and vine...there is a revolving piano there too. as the above writer mentioned, it tastes like black licorice. so its really like jaeger except you think you will hallucinate and you wont. have a vodka tonic instead. Fri Jan 23 15:17:34 -0800 2009 4352049 170082 feedthebelly 3 4352096 Whoa, I would NOT compare absinthe and jaeger. Jaeger is so much more syrupy and sweet and . . . grosser than absinthe. True, if you don't like licorice you won't like absinthe. But its like cointreau and triplesec - one just has much more character and depth of flavor. It's definitely worth a try, but as mentioned above, you will not hallucinate. Sorry. Fri Jan 23 15:26:35 -0800 2009 4352069 220674 Cebca 4 4357004 The anise component can't be stressed enough. I really couldn't get into it at all. I tried it a number of times in Barcelona and I was unable to get past the taste. I even ended up giving away a bottle of the stuff that snuck back on the plane with me. Yeah and no hallucinating or anything remotely like that. Sun Jan 25 17:17:01 -0800 2009 4352096 129187 ahuacatl 5 4363352 It's interesting, many national liquors are anise flavored--French Absinthe, Anisette, and Pastis, Greek Ouzo, Italian Sambuca, Arabic Arak (which I recently had) and New Orleans Herbsaint besides Jagermeister. Interestingly enough though I can't stand black licorice I like many of these drinks and in particular the mixed drink--the Sazerac. Tue Jan 27 15:09:36 -0800 2009 4357004 168597 The Old Man 2 4370190 Is this a place an older non-clubber can go to? I'd like to see it for the preserved space and the absinthe. Thu Jan 29 13:11:02 -0800 2009 4352049 168597 The Old Man 1 4352109 Maison 140 in Beverly Hills has "l'heure verte" - daily absinthe tastings from 5-7 pm (so really, les heures vertes). Fri Jan 23 15:30:27 -0800 2009 4351636 10604 jacinthe 1 4352389 Comme Ca Fri Jan 23 17:10:10 -0800 2009 4351636 74451 vinosnob 1 4352435 We wer4e offered 9and saw many people partaking of) Absinthe at Lucques a couple of weeks ago... Fri Jan 23 17:29:36 -0800 2009 4351636 206494 susiequeue 1 4354876 I was at The Derby in Los Feliz and I think they had 3 different brands. Sat Jan 24 19:04:43 -0800 2009 4351636 11279 Burger Boy 1 4357360 If purchasing American absinthe, make sure to stay away from gimicky brands like Lucid. I find their effort to be pretty garbage. As stated earlier, probably one of your best bets of U.S. absinthe is St. George, distilled in Alameda, CA. I've found it to be pretty readily available in most Bevmo's. To be honest though, if you want the "real stuff" it is not difficult at all to order legitimate bottles from European websites. You do have to buckle down and be willing to spend the extra on shipping, and on top of that, the only bottles worth purchasing are about $50 minimum. I've been doing it for years with complete success. On top of tasting better than most absinthes that are sold in the U.S., you can have the comfort of mind knowing you're not getting jipped on your thujone. If you're expecting hallucinatory effects, be readt for a big letdown. Absinthe however, will give you a slightly more giddy and self-aware type of drunkeness. Sun Jan 25 20:00:26 -0800 2009 4351636 174778 troublemaker 2 4358833 I think it's important to stress that St. George IS the real stuff. Mon Jan 26 10:54:52 -0800 2009 4357360 17195 PlonkMan 2 4362181 Yes. That is my experience, too. A little giddy. I feel kind of light and oddly positive. In addition to warning people that there are no hallucinatory effects, I'd also say that the light feeling I associate with absinthe obfuscates how drunk I am. Oh yeah, that feeling wears off way faster than the alcohol. You can go from feeling great to fall down drunk in a few minutes if you overdo it. And it's easy to overdo it. Tue Jan 27 10:21:42 -0800 2009 4357360 101728 Frommtron 3 4362270 Good point. I think there's a reason why the ritual of absinthe preparation involves adding a fair amount of water... Tue Jan 27 10:44:12 -0800 2009 4362181 17195 PlonkMan 1 4357638 8 oz. in WeHo has an absinthe drink... it's pretty much solid alcohol and will definitely get you fairly wasted. Sun Jan 25 22:54:11 -0800 2009 4351636 112546 rocktheglobe 1 4358207 The Edison Bar downtown LA, has a woman dressed like a green fairy serving Absinthe, this is a very cool spot for food too, free to get into: www.edisondowntown.com 108 W 2nd St Los Angeles, CA 90012 (213) 291-3247 Mon Jan 26 08:11:18 -0800 2009 4351636 16501 Hypnotic23 2 4362024 It's only free to get into if you get there early at night. Go after work for a couple drinks. After 8 (maybe 7 some nights?) there is a cover. Tue Jan 27 09:48:25 -0800 2009 4358207 220674 Cebca 1 4370280 we were in Prague over the holidays(if you haven't been, Prague is an amazing city w/great food...their currency changes to the Euro this November) anyway, this is what they did in this one underground bar... take a teaspoon of sugar and put a lighter under it and light it up(it looks really cool). wait til the sugar is somewhat dissolved" and then stir it in the shot of absinthe and down it. enjoy! Thu Jan 29 13:26:40 -0800 2009 4351636 19730 coco puff 2 4370609 >it looks really cool ...and tastes like burnt sugar, the better to disguise the taste of the industrial effluent being sold as absinthe in Prague. Thu Jan 29 14:43:12 -0800 2009 4370280 17195 PlonkMan 3 4370615 Yep. Absinthe is not usually the color of Prestone antifreeze. Thu Jan 29 14:44:49 -0800 2009 4370609 101728 Frommtron 1 4370456 Don't know which restaurants - but legally over the counter you can buy several different brands of it (e.g. Lucid, St. George and Kubler) at stores such as Bevmo. Kubler is the best and most respected of the bunch listed. You can also purchase a pastis (e.g. Pernod and La Muse Verte). These are much like absinthe without the thujone. Pernod in its absinthe form was the standard during the pre-illegal days in Europe. La Muse Vete is a very good pastis. In the days of illegal Absinthe in the US, it was one of the better Absinthe substiutes. Drinking Absinthe - Depending on your taste preference, straight-up is doable. But for those who still want a palate after drinking absinthe you can dilute the absinthe by trickling cold water into the absinthe. Trickle to taste. Or if desired, buy a flat spoon with holes - place the spoon on the rim of the galss (preferably a goblet type glass so the absinthe may breath) - place a sugar cube on the spoon, then trickle the water over sugar cube. When the water hits the absinthe, the absinthe will louche (change from a clear liquid to a cloudy liquid). Now just sit back and enjoy the wide range of botanicals as it dances on your tounge. Thu Jan 29 14:05:17 -0800 2009 4351636 261619 mrtripod