Nice little article in The Vancouver Sun about the previously mentioned Taboo absinthe from Okanagan Spirits. I liked the comparison made when they tried to get shelf space at the government run liquor store. The "tiny absinthe allotment" was filled by a Czechoslovakian brand that was "about as similar to the subtle Taboo as, say, Baby Duck is to vintage champagne". Even that is probably being too kind! I think we have to speed our efforts at getting a bottle.

This green fairy has a magical touch

It is romantic, poetic, a little bit dangerous. It is also delicious, at least when the absinthe in question is the Taboo from Okanagan Spirits.

This article, showing up in The Seattle Times, shows some of the good and some of the bad that comes from the mainstream press when talking about absinthe. Yes, we do count ourselves as having "an extraordinary passion for [absinthe].".

I'm not sure how Prof. Fugelsang could possibly say that it isn't "particularly flavorful" and "can be very bitter", unless he's in the habit of drinking nothing but pretend absinthes from the Czech region! And it perpetuates the annoying myth that burning a sugar cube is somehow a "traditional" way of drinking absinthe. And then some playwright swoons over the "theater" of "when you burn something, it just looks illegal.". It is more than that, it is stupid, dangerous and ruins a good absinthe.

But it has a nice segue into absinthe history, and any article that prominently mentions The Wormwood Society can't be all wrong. They do finish up with a reasonable description of making an absinthe, although the proportions (5-7 to 1) are a little too much (we like 3 or 4 to one here). But we don't notice a "sagey smell", but maybe we have tried Lucid enough.

Absinthe: intoxicating mix of legend, liquor - The Seattle Times

The Wormwood Society's excellent page on how to prepare absinthe has just been updated to include a video by user "Meatwaggon". While the look is grainy, it's still a nice video of a Jade PF1901 louche, all set to Chopin's Nocturne in D-flat Major.

Here's a little Hump Day humor for you - an absinthe LOLcat.

Epicurious, a top notch "foodie" blog, has recently run some taste tests on three new absinthes - Kubler, lucid and Mansinthe (sic). We recently reviewed lucid ourselves, and should have a Kubler review up soon. But, from the sound of it, we will probably stay away from Mansinthe, Marilyn Manson's named brand of absinthe. We don't generally run to the nearest source of "swamp water".

Absinthe Taste Test Part 1: Lucid - Their review panel opinions of lucid seems to match up pretty well with ours, if maybe even a little harsher (not sure we used "armpit" in our description!). But the end result of "it's going to have to improve its flavor to stay on top" is right in line with our thinking. Of course, it was only "on top" because it was the only one available at the time.

Absinthe Taste Test Part 2: Kubler - while we haven't written up an official review here at InAbsinthia, our feelings very much are, once again, right in line with the epicurious review panel. A very nice, smooth, blanche, we really have enjoyed it, especially at the price.

Absinthe Taste Test Part 3: Mansinthe (Marilyn Manson Absinthe) - the stuff sounds bad, doesn't it? Reminds us of humorist H. Allen Smith's reaction to tasting his first American beer - "Put it back in the horse!"

The cover story for the Jan/Feb issued of Imbibe magazine is absinthe - "Absinthe is Back: Find Out What You've Been Missing". We're still waiting for our copy to show up here at InAbsinthia, but in the meantime, be sure to click the "Take a Peek Inside" link for more info on this cool new magazine.

The author is Paul Clarke, whose Cocktail Chronicles blog is a regular stop of all imbibers. The article has been getting good reviews on the Wormwood Society forums, and not just because they are prominently mentioned inside! Perhaps there is still hope for truly fair and balanced coverage of our controversial green fairy.

Imbibe | The Ultimate Drinks Magazine

Be sure to check out their blog as well:

Imbibe Unfiltered

This is a pretty wacky page about absinthe. It is what The Onion would write if it told the story of absinthe. Some pretty funny stuff, and, unfortunately, for all its satire, the information here shows up too often in the mainstream press.

Absinthe - Uncyclopedia, the content-free encyclopedia

Absinthe is distilled from bits of wood, worms, green crayons, 11 secret herbs and spices according to a secret lesbian recipe.

Salsa blogs about being one of the lucky ones to pick up the second batch of absinthe made by St. George Spirits. Sounds like it is rounding out to be a solid entry on the absinthe shelf:

Salsa's Absinthe Blargh: St. George: Second Release of Absinthe Verte