h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

This is going to be closer to a bar review than anything else; I won't be able to capture in words exactly how I felt. Strangely, this has nothing to do with absinthe or any other substance, but that intangible and elusive sensation of being perfectly serenely happy in a single evanescent moment.

And that's the sort of pretentious twaddle one generates while drinking absinthe in pleasant surroundings in the company of a person who matters to you.

So - back to basics. This is the place in question: http://www.absinthesalon.com.au/ It's in Surry Hills, one of the shabbier, grittier, formerly-a-slum-now-yuppified central districts of Sydney, tucked away in a tiny little terrace on a corner. D and I went along just to see what it was like. The idea of a bar serving no alcohol but absinthe was intriguing, as was the three-drink limit per customer that is apparently one of the conditions of the licence. One rings the doorbell to gain entry to the premises; I was afraid we might be vetted and turned away on account of looking generally shabby after a fairly rackety near-sleepless weekend, but we weren't. The controlled entry is part of the security measures which are a condition of the licence and let's face it, this adds to the mystique. There's only room for 30 customers (with tables set for two or four), the decor is heavily reminiscent of the 1890s without actually being painstakingly authentic (sort of a modern, stripped-back reinterpretation of the period), the background music is appropriate (fin de siecle French) and somewhat muted so conversation remains possible, and the staff know their stuff. He's the bartender and general supervisor of the revels, while she's the greeter and cashier and general hostess in a velvet and ribbon gown which also echoes the 1890s.

I can't recall exactly which of the couple of dozen options we drank, but I stuck to the green Swiss absinthes because I like green while D stayed mostly with white French absinthes. I added slightly more sugar and rather more water than D did. The water drippers were lovely objects, with a reservoir for ice water and little brass taps to fiddle with. I arranged the tap so it dripped slowly onto the sugarlump (grainy powdery French sugar, not the hyperprocessed sort we usually see here) and then ino the absinthe... There's a meditative feel to watching the absinthe changing colour and releasing all the essential oils; it's a mesmerising process, a key part of an ancient ritual, and a brilliant excuse to use the word 'louche' in general conversation. As D is also a word nerd we exploited this to the hilt. Then we drank. And drank some more.

Yes, we enjoyed our three-drink quota. I think three is just enough, to be honest. It's enough to warm the throat and numb the tip of the tongue and relax the mind and make all things seem possible but nothing especially important in the great scheme of things. It's also not enough to start hallucinating. Modern absinthe simply doesn't have enough thujone in it to produce that sort of mind-trick; not from three glasses at any rate. The absinthe available here has no more than 10 milligrams of thujone per [some volume or other]. That's also part of the licencing conditions. (Incidentally, the absinthe which is legally available in the US is required to have undetectable levels of thujone, which makes me wonder why one would bother. Without that, it's just an anisette with herbal essences, not a real absinthe. But maybe I'm being unnecessarily pedantic about that.)

As a drinking establishment goes, this one is expensive - between $12 and $20 a glass. But it's fresh, and different, and not an everyday thing, and so very nice. And D paid the bill so I'm feeling no financial pain. (My birthday, you see.)

I want to do it all again. This time I'll probably pay. I'd better start saving up now. We decided that this will be a ritual when I'm in Sydney in future...

Ivan.

http://www.thedrinkshop.com/products/productlist.php?catid=49
one day I might try it

Thanks for the comforting explanation as to strength, I nearly had a fit when I saw your subject line I suppose if you drank enough of it there might be some repercussions! Wouldn't want to see you go down that route

Websailor

Webbie, I couldn't possibly afford to go down that route, not at those prices. (It is still up to 74% alcohol, though - but as it's *always* diluted for consumption, that's not so bad.)

Prof, thanks for the link. Some of those names are now familiar to me. But I note that even in Europe it's still quite pricey...

As for the effects of the stuff, beyond a heightened lucidity and much more of a desire to talk - well, it seems to give thought wings, which is lovely, but most of the thoughts promptly fly off so far as to be beyond recovery afterwards. This is frustrating. One feels like Coleridge, trying to finish Kubla Khan but interrupted by the gentleman on business from Porlock... But one doesn't get falling-over drunk, not even slurring drunk. Not on three properly diluted drinks, at least.

Ouch - dangerous liquid...

Wormwood spiced alcoholic beverages is quite common here in the Far North. I remember picking wormwood before I was legally allowed to drink, drying it and then put in to a bottle which was filled with plain vodka. Quite bitterish, and you only drank small amounts of it.

I actually found that old bottle the other day while clearing out some cupboard to make space for some of Mum's stuff I'm keeping. The now empty glass bottle with reminiscents of wormwood in the bottom was discarded.

Ready made "malörtssnaps" - wormwoord schnaps can be bought at the shop licenced for selling alcoholic beverages.

Nowadays I stick to and cranberry juice. Gives less and you remember where you went to bed and why

Absynthe I remember (which in itself quite unusual), one particular London HooToo meet.... oo must be six years ago or more perhaps Wehre myself and a fellow researcher after exploring the usual beers and other beverages, noticed the bar had a proper bottle of absynthe behind the bar... and we spent the rest of the meet ensuring that by the time we left they didn't* have a bottle of absynthe behind the bar... perhaps a three measures only limit wouldn't be such a bad idea Ooo which reminds me there is still a now quite vintage bottle of absynthe in the house somewhere, which belongs to lodger but he's thus far refused to either drink it himself, or let me at it tempting very tempting

That does sound a loverly bar, nice and differnt to the useual run of the mill establishments... You can take me there if I ever end up in that side of the plannet...

Belated happy birthday, Ivan! (<- which I think is the smiley closest to absinthe that we have)

I've never had absinthe, but I like the flavor of anise, so I don't think I'd hate it.

We do have a wormwood derived spirit that's quite popular here in Chicago, called Malört. It tastes like chalk dust and aspirin. K's bandmates always have free shots available to attendees of their shows. Consuming the stuff can prove to be a bit of an endurance test.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mal%C3%B6rt

Do come for a visit, 2legs - there are lots of other things you'd enjoy in that part of Sydney. Mostly legal, too.

Thanks, Titania. Exactly what I need after the day I had today - of which I won't speak, because nobody else deserves to put up with it all.

Dragonqueen, I'm spending more and more time drinking fruit juice and things like that these days. It is odd, but I'm becoming more sensible as I get older. Not too sensible, of course, just enough to avoid injury.

Pc - a drink that tastes of aspirin doesn't exactly entice me, but does it do the same job as aspirin? If so, analgesics just got a whole lot more interesting.

Has anyone else noticed how difficult it is to respond to multiple posts at once, while trying not to be abrupt and not missing details? Think I'll have another drink...

Or - even better!

Thanks again!

PC, that's the kind of stuff I made when I was young and innocent . Now I'm just a disillusioned sober

I generally* just stick to beer these days... but have been known to explore strange and exciting (and especially brightly coloured) spirits
I still remember one night we were in a bar... when I was a student... and we saw someone walking by with a bright* green drink
Me to the barman...
"can we have a bright green drink please" he got the right one can't remember what it was now... strangely

ah, well, we do not use the expression absinth-minded for nothing. you know

i have had my fair share of wormwood-flavoured snaps, but i sure as aint done with it! it is one of the pleasures of life that i do not want to give up!

leave it for 12 months at least, though. it is undrinkable before that

Every time I look at this thread I feel thirsty. Can't think why...

I might allow myself a beer later this evening. Just the one, you understand. It is a school night, after all.

use the sentence "it's purely medicinal"

And it's half-finished already. Oh well.

a half emptyglass is like a mobile phoneit's top up time

Or bedtime, maybe, before I get too carried away...

There was just a flash of lightning in the east. It might be a good idea to switch this off, go to bed and watch the storm from there.