No, no, I'm not about stir the possibility of gay marriage amongst those of extraterrestrial origin into the already putrid stew that is the recent public/political discourse surrounding legalized unions of happy people. Maybe another time.
Today's lesson has to do with Absinthe, the until-recently-banned-in-most-civilized-countries hallucinogen masquerading as a distilled beverage. Now legal, the NYT recently had a nice piece about Le Fee Verte, or the Green Fairy: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/13/dining/reviews/13wine.html?em.
As you have probably surmised by now, Absinthe is usually some godawful shade of green - you know, the same color that kept you from trying lima beans for the first time until 3:00 a.m., when it became quite clear that mom wasn't just whistlin' Dixie when she said you couldn't leave the table until you ate every bite. Sadly, such natural reluctance to try something that looks so awful doesn't translate to alcoholic beverages such as Absinthe. If it did, you would have huge drop off in UFO sightings near establishments that serve such stuff.
Which is another way of saying that the Green Muse is also much more than just an aperitif or happy hour cocktail. The author of the above piece and others try to clean up the drink's image, saying that Absinthe's legendary "effects" (which probably have as much to do with the drink's nickname as its color) are no more than the result of high alcohol content. I know better, and I speak from experience.
I have been know to occasionally join up with a few like-minded buddies to travel across the big waters for the purpose of soaking in some of the Old World's culture, sights, history, and - more importantly - alcohol (hey, most of us are married). In the course of hitting every beer joint and bar that we are able, I have seen most of my traveling companions after a hard night of "sampling" and know how they react to a bit of overindulgence - exhaustion, silliness, increased intelligence, the usual stuff. Never had I seen depravity, anger or violence until we wondered into an Absinthe Bar in Barcelona a couple of years ago. Wild night - ended up that evening - well, me and 4 other guys - trying to restrain a guy bent on beating the living shit out of everyone he saw, including us. Also spent the wee hours of the morning explaining to hotel management why every guest was awake at 4:30 a.m., complaining about the madman on the fourth floor who was screaming - not very nice stuff, btw - at the top of his lungs. Suffice to say we were out of the hotel by 9:00.
So there you have it. Next time you find yourself a little short on bathtub crank or PCP, give ol' Eau de Wormwood a shot. Hey, it's legal.
1 comment:
The Chicago Art Institute had a traveling exhibit in Fort Worth last fall. One of the more impressive pictures (IMO) was Toulouse Lautrec's "At the Moulin Rouge." On the lower right side of the painting is a woman with an eerily green complexion, said to be typical of absinthe fans of the day.
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