Obsessives - Absinthe

It's very simple: alcohol, wormwood, and some anise characteristics. But not simple at all: The carefully calibrated mix of aromatics and herbs that goes into the absinthe made by Lance Winters of St. George Spirits took extensive testing to get just right.

======================CHOW.com==========­===============
Didn't think food could draw such enthusiasm? Well, we've got plenty more passionate people on the Obsessives show page: http://www.youtube.com/show/obsessives

For more recipes, stories and videos, check out http://www.chow.com/videos
CHOW on Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/CHOW
CHOW on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/Chow
========================================­================

• Category

  • Food
  • Entertainment
  • Learning & Education

• Directed by:

  • Eric Slatkin

• Produced by:

  • Meredith Arthur
  • Blake Smith

[Jack atarian]

I came here thinking he was going to be an annoying hipster, I go away really wanting to try some decent absinthe. Well played!

[CicerotheDefender]

It sounds like absinthe experienced it's own Reefer Madness unsubstantiated moral panic.

[nalyib]

The cause of "absinthe murders" was that most Frenchman were chronic alcoholics at the time, and as such, sh*tfaced drunk every day. Copper suplhate and antimony obviously posed a health risk, but it was the insane amount of (cheap) alcohol that made many people crazy. In 1910, the average alcohol consumption in France was 10 standard drinks a day per capita (counting all men/women above age 15). One can't possibly imagine today how could they drink that all up.

[jesdaking]

Great ill try it. :-)

[DavidWisniewski5748]

"Poetry in a glass." I'm stealing that, and not giving you any credit.  Beautifully said, sir.

[DavidWisniewski5748]

Correct; the cause of the "Absinthe Murders" was cheap knockoff Absinthe. In order to get a nice green color for cheap, distillers were actually infusing their stuff with heavy metals that, shockingly enough, aren't great for the brainpan. Absinthe, properly made, is nothing more than a sophisticated - that is, classy as fuck - drink that happens to have a lot of alcohol in it.

[oncheurmasque]

Absinthe was originally outlawed (in France at least) because it contained methanol, due to shitty distillation, and so, people who drank too much of it would become crazy and/or blind. But thankfully the ban was lifted and now the distillation restarted. =D

[lewis2461]

That was the very last part of the video..?

[Ryan Ronald]

I wish I had as much dedication and perspective on alcohol as you do. I try to, I make myself think I know a good beer from a bad. Yet I don't know the whole entire process in which that creates the difference between a good beer and a bad. Cheers man.

[kitihirosaki]

Too long; didn't watch it all. Learned that absinthe isn't really green, which is what I was looking to find out.

[Mud Ball]

that's because supposedly in France some companies started using chemicals to achieve the flavors and it was getting people sick.

[ACollectionOfTrees]

Yup, like the guy said. Nothing like a sip of spirits to remind you of when you were a kid...