Sunday, September 18, 2005

Café Absenta.

My latest tipple, which I thoroughly recommend:
Black Cat Coffee Absinthe*, made in Tarragona.

Absinthe has been considered a vivifying elixir since ancient times. It contains thujone, a chemical present in wormwood which, apparently, mildly increases the firing of neural synapses. Sounds good to me. Thujone is found in several plants, including wormwood (Artemesia Absinthium), sage, tansy, clary and cedar.

I'm drinking it today just with water, though I've been drinking it with ice, lemon and soda water. Delightful:

Smell: caramel, coffee.
Taste: (I sip now) a first burst of aniseed flavour, reminiscent of plain absinthe, quickly blends into a sweeter taste which flows into burnt caramel and coffee, leaving a final very pleasant warm coffee lingering on the palate.
Absinthe was effectively banned throughout Europe early last century, and has been unavailable outside of Portugal, Spain and Switzerland. It never was illegal in the UK, but no one told us. Thujone and drinks containing it are still illegal in the USA, though most sites say importing absinthe for personal enjoyment is not an issue. And people do it.

A famous absinthe site: Le Fee Verte (the green fairy).
Some good stuff on absinthe and thujone.
The Return of the Green Faerie by Modern Drunkard magazine.
You can buy absinthe online.

* "Teichenné se complace de ofrecerles el licor de Café Absenta Black Cat, elaborado a base de un destilado de Artemesia Absinthium de alto contenido en tuyonas, café y otras plantas aromáticas. Todo ésto confiere a ésta bebida un sabor único y delicioso."

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