SC - Re: SC absinthe again, was-Coffee Soap

[lilinah at earthlink.net]

Lucretzia wrote:
>For some strange reason, absinthe has currently been undergoing a resurge in
>popularity in the last year and is now a 'trendy' drink in the UK. Several
>countries in Europe make it and it is being imported wholesale to England.

Not so strange. It's *extremely* popular among Goths, and Goth 
sub-culture is effecting other aspects of the culture (music, 
fashion, make-up, television advertisements, Madonna).

A number of my friends here in the San Francisco Bay Area make their 
own absinthe, using something like vodka or everclear as a base, none 
of them are distilling. Because they either *want* the nervous system 
damage, or don't believe the reports, they make it *very* heavy on 
the wormwood, and not so heavy on the anise (yeah, i don't like anise 
much either). They also add other things for flavor, don't recall 
what, but there are quite a number of absinthe recipes available on 
the web, and absinthe devoted websites.

I've tasted quite a few. They vary, of course, being homemade, but 
being strong on the wormwood they are all *extremely* bitter. I have 
never felt anything more than the effects of a certain amount of 
alcohol, but i don't drink it with any regularity. Just at Goth-nics 
(Goth picnics, either in Golden Gate Park or a suitable cemetery) or 
some other social occasions. I've never had it the "old" way, poured 
over a sugar cube in a perforated spoon so it drips luxuriously into 
a glass. Rather a bottle with a personalized computer printed label 
in an "olde fashionde" font (hey, most of the Goths i know are 
computer geeks) is passed around and we take turns swilling, errr, i 
mean, sipping from it.

Sorry, not on-topic for Medieval food...

Anahita al-shazhiyya
the usually abstemious
not absintheous