Absinthe in Spain
 

Hi Everyone, My wife and I will be traveling in Spain for the next 3 weeks. We have always wanted to try Absinthe. Can anybody suggest a brand that is common in Spain that actually is made with wormwood?

Thanks,

Absinthe is not very common here in Spain now, though it was in the past.
I really don't know any brand. I'm sorry but I cannot help you !

I was just in Spain and Italy and while I did not try absinthe in Spain, we came across it in Rome in a bar/cafe on the Campo di Fiori. They had many different brands available from many different European countries; we tried several and they all had sligthly different flavors. Yes, they were the "real" thing and I must admit we quite enjoyed the effect!

However, when we tried to but some at various shops later in the trip (not in Rome)we had trouble finding it. Finally found it in a shop in Florence.

Didn't try any in Spain as I mentioned, but I am sure it is available in the bars. I think Spain never put a ban on it as many European countries did. Apparently now in the EU it is legal everywhere.

Oh, I see that kenderina's post came in while I was writing mine -- and you live in Spain, I think, right? So I am sure you know more than me about it...guess it is not so available after all!

what is Absinthe??

It never has been banned here, you are right. I think , the same as you say in Italy, you can still find it in bars but maybe it's difficult to find in a supermarket, as in example.

angy400, is a liquor with a very high degree of alcohol :)

It is a herbal liquor distilled with wormwood and anise and other herbs. It is bright green and tastes like licorice.

Strangely, it is forbidden to sale absitnthe in the US, but it is not a controlled substance. It is supposed to have a "push-me, pull you" effect from the herbs (some take you up, others bring you down)... some people describe it as "clarity" or a full-body high...

Sounds like fascinating stuff! Never had it myself (got all the above from a website).

Four of us each consumed one "shot" of absinthe in the above mentioned Rome cafe. The taste was very similar to any anise-infused alcohol, the color was bright green (thus the nickname "the green fairy"), and the elaborate serving ritual included lighting a special spoon of sugar on fire and then mixing it into the rather bitter absinthe.

The effect was...well, we laughed a lot, felt quite giddy, and all had very bizarre dreams. Glad we weren't driving.

We all agreed that we could see why it was addictive!

It must be very good for your health. My lisping grandmother always used to say, "absinthe maketh the heart grow fonder".

Oh, that was a good one, Patrick! On the trip we made a lot of jokes about feeling "absinthe-minded" but I think you topped that.

One of my daughter's students gave her a bottle from Czechoslovakia a year ago. I took it home because it was so pretty and just last night we had company who asked for a liquor that was not too sweet so I brought it out and we all had some. We all found it to be very strong but liked the taste. Don't know about our guests but we slept very well. It is 70% alcohol and Grand Marnier is 40%.

If it is from the Czech republic, it most likely is the "real" thing, made with wormwood, which has a hallucinagenic property in it. Interesting stuff!

My daughter took us to a bar in Siena where they served it--very elaborate procedure--poured it through a sugar cube and then lite a match to it...it's basically a mild hallucinagen...the Impressionist were very "into" it...I like it, DH claims it doesn't affect him...

We were in Spain after Italy, but I didn't try it there...

However, I did bring a bottle back that I found in Amsterdam.

I CAN see why it's addictive, but we only have 3/4 a bottle left, so no way I'm going to get addicted...

Sorry I can't help you about Spain...I'm so naturally high in Spain I don't feel like I need anything, but I would think you could get it there.

And yes, it's supposedly made with wormwood (whatever that is).

Wormwood, I believe, is an herb that was used, among other things, to "cure" tapeworms...maybe that is where the name came from, I don't know. But the side effect of this tapeworm remedy was the hallucinagenic (am I spelling that right?) quality, which I believe is what the artists/writers etc. of Montmartre who made it famous (and infamous) liked it for.

artlover, that is funny, I also enjoyed trying it in Italy, but weeks later in Spain it never even occured to me. Maybe there IS something in the water there!

Absinthe called Absenta in Spain has several brands. Diva and Montana come to mind and Mari Magav made in Ibizia.
Not popular in the South of Spain, the Spaniards seem to prefer the German Pastis, Serpis.