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

We've been putting down "Czech-sinthe" here at inAbsinthia pretty much since the start. We have to be honest though - we have never actually tried the stuff. All the pretty incredibly bad reports have made us quite skittish. That, and the outrageous prices often charged. But we probably need to throw ourselves at a bottle soon (or maybe just a glass).

That being said, we don't think of ourselves as "anti-Czech", just prudent consumers. Heck, Pilsner Urquell is one of our favorite beers. A nicely bitter beer, it really goes well on a hot, lazy summer day. But bitter Czech-sinthes give good Franco-Swiss absinthes a bad name, and their ad campaigns, complete with date rape suggestions and high thujone bragging, irritate and appall us.

And someone better than us takes on the charge of anit-Czech bias. Oxygénée, whose website is a top-notch absinthe resource, also writes a very informative blog, The Wheat of Virgin Spaces (see link to right). And he recently wrote a long post about Czech absinthes and gave them some great marketing ideas.

Some thoughts on Czech absinthe

Is it possible to actually have a real absinthe come from the Czech Republic? For the most part, despite truly popularizing the absinthe "craze" in places like Britain, Czech "absinthe" is anything but. Almost universally deplored by serious absintheurs, Czech absinthe usually doesn't even get the spelling correct (calling itself 'absynth' or 'absinth'), which is a dead giveaway for a bad drink. Another hint is when the marketer insists on touting its thujone content.

But Oliva Absinthe has the patter down, with a colorful, if too neat sounding, history. The recipe looks okay and the marketing hype is muted. We'll report on any early tastings as we hear of them.

Welcome to Oliva Absinth (Oliva Absinthe) where to buy absinthe online. Yes, we make the best Czech absinth (actually, the ONLY authentic Absinthe from the Czech Republic). That's right, the best Absinthe from the Czech Republic. You can't go wrong if you buy absinthe from our online absinthe shop. We also produce the ONLY sparkling absinthe in the world, ever.

Oliva Absinth :: Buy Absinthe Online

Really nice description, with cool pictures, of an absinthe pour.  Here he is tasting the award-winning Duplais, which he really likes.  The fanciful pictures add atmosphere to the blog post. Note the lack of a burning sugar cube - yay! But he does have some very funny clown candles, which also seem to enjoy the emerald gold.

IntangibleArts: Absinthe uncorked, clowns lobotomized by fire

The in-flight magazine for EasyJet, a European economy airline, features an amazingly accurate (for print media) article on finding absinthe in Paris. The writer even does a good job with the thumbnail history sketch. The Vert d'Absinthe shop is featured, as is a wonderful sounding bar at the Café Procope, "the oldest café in the world", complete with chandeliers and absinthe fountains:

But today, dinner or a drink at the Procope is a cheerful affair and the place has a fantastic buzz on a Saturday night. It’s colourfully done out in gilt, red, plush, chandeliers, mirrors, pictures and quaint objets d’art—which, of course, include glittering Absinthe “fountains” .

Our only real nits to pick with the article are its claim that modern absinthes are 40% to 50% alcohol (really more like 60%-75%) and quoting Madame Delahaye with the awful canard about absinthe losing its "mystique" if it should become legalized. For our sake, we are willing to take that chance.

easyJet Inflight June 2006

David Lebovitz admits to not liking anise flavored drinks(!) (including, of course, absinthe) but loving it as a flavor enhancer for cooking. So being the expert dessert chef he is, he whips up an astoundingly delicious sounding Absinthe Cake recipe. It only uses a 1/4 cup of absinthe, so you won't be draining away too much of the precious emerald drink. And I also never heard of aluminum being in baking powder. Check it out next time you are in the grocery store.

David Lebovitz Absinthe Cake