PalQ

I know the laws about absinthe have changed recently and now the once-forbidden 'Green Fairy' is legalized once again in i believe France, Switzerland, UK, Czech Republic and Spain - but i've not bought any in these locales. Do cafes or pubs have it? Wine stores? Special absinthe shops? we're talking about the real thing, with the once-banned substance thorezine (sp?) in it - a wormwood based substance that was banned because it was thought to be detrimental to health.

Michael

I saw if for sale at CDG. At least it was called absinthe.

caroline_edinburgh

I believe it never was actually illegal in the UK, it just fell out of fashion (and was widely thought to be illegal) until making a comeback c.5 years ago. I think France is the only place it was banned.

I think the stuff you can buy in the UK (in any decent off-licence or large supermarket) doesn't contain that substance, but it certainly has a weird effect. I think that maybe the Czech Republic is the only place you can get the original recipe. And a friend saw a version there with added cannabis !!

caroline_edinburgh

Should have added that trendy bars here have it, and will do the sugar/water/spoon/fire malarkey for you.

PalQ

thanks - i also read that in Switzerland's Jura they now have a kind of AOC Appellation Origin Controle (sp?) to document where the (bonafide) absinthe is made there and you could take tours of the absinthe makers. A recent development - up in the hills.
Cannabis + absinthe??? Sounds dangerous!

Kate

Lots of myths surround this dodgy old drink.

It was, for instance, never banned in the UK, although people assumed it was because it wasn't available (no one was importing it). Some bright spark about 10 years ago realised it wasn't banned and so the craze revived itself.

Another myth is that, although you can buy it in pubs, you are limited to a certain amount. This isn't true either - although like any other alcohol, the landlord can use his or her disgression on how drunk he's prepared to let you get.

You can now buy it anywhere in the UK that you can buy any other alcohol (off licences, supermarkets, pubs etc), but I don't recommend you do, because it tastes REVOLTING and will give you a stinking hangover. Emperor's new clothes and all that...

caroline_edinburgh

Added info from DH : "I think the active ingredient is called thujone - the stuff you can buy on the shelves in the UK is (I think) quite low in it, but the absinthe available from specialist shops/websites (such as the one R used) tend to be rather higher..."

ThinGorjus

You can buy Absinthe at any liquor store in Prage, especially the stores on Wenseslaus Square where they are prominently displayed in the windows.

indytravel

A friend of mine is really into the nasty tasting stuff. What you now buy commercially in Europe is usually 30 parts per million thujone.

The real "green fairy" strength in the early 1900's was in the 300ppm range, 10 times stronger. And I'd imagine 10x's more vile tasting.

crefloors

"Absinthe" makes the heart grow fonder!

indytravel

You can buy "Extreme Absinthe" to add to you drinks. I purchased this for my friend in a Dijon Monoprix.

This company claims 8 day shipping time to the US.

http://www.alandia.de/absinth/produc...b590af9a8519a8

papagena

I carried a bottle home from Prague having read in my guide book that you couldn't buy it in the UK; after returning to the UK I noticed my local supermarket sells exactly the same brand. That was a waste of effort.