Let's chase the Green Fairy together (here's some affiliate links): Want to pick up a bottle or two? drink.curiada.com/ Crown & Caliber: bit.ly/2plQH49 Barfly Mixology Gear: amzn.to/2nCGQGb Absinthe Glasses: amzn.to/2NPYgcG Absinthe Dripper: amzn.to/35amXql Estus Flask: th-cam.com/video/LeM0XYpz36o/w-d-xo.html The Educated Barfly: bit.ly/EdbFly Drinking a whole martini with Educated Barfly: th-cam.com/video/CwAAPL-4jNQ/w-d-xo.html My Twitter: bit.ly/H2DTwit My Twitch: bit.ly/2VsOi3d My Instagram: bit.ly/H2dIG My Patreon: bit.ly/H2DPatreon
@@declanvillar5557 It's just a hole I cut in it with a holesaw, they drop a lip into it with a router and cut a bit of plexiglass to fit it. The actual light source underneath it changes all the time actually. And for anything on the stem like this, the backlight (on a stand pointing more or less directly at camera) actually does a much better job of lighting the drinks up
“After the first glass of absinthe you see things as you wish they were. After the second you see them as they are not. Finally you see things as they really are, and that is the most horrible thing in the world." - Oscar Wilde
So it would indeed appear as a hallucinogen indeed, in the way that alcohol, especially a lot of it does, in that we lose our filters, not so much as in the way that other substances have a reputation for doing. Albeit that just might unleash more creative minds for grand visions, it is really a case by case situation, much like the latter.
@@colubrinedeucecreative I dont think that what Oscar Wilde says is really to be taken 100% literally. I mean, he was a poet after all, and a *_damn_* well revered one at that. I think the quote is less about the actual sight or any potential hallucinatory effects, and more about the emotional effects it has on the person. Poetry is so often about feelings rather than physicality, after all.
George Parkins how quaint. Maybe the French royalty (who were actually gradually making France better) needed more “bootlickers” who saw the errors of the revolution.
it is pretty heavy on heart. I once drank 8 shots of Absynthe without any juice/water/soda, it hit my body hard, I got hyped up on the dance floor, but it felt like I've been running for an hour straight and now can barely breath, so Absynthe probably is not good for old people or heart disease patients
Honestly? Honestly. Can we get a Greg spinoff series where he discusses movies? The way he talks about movies and the movies he likes sometimes makes me wanna hear him talk more about 'em.
"The ticking of the balancier is designed to make sure that you are aware of the hours of your life ticking away, and that you are aware that you are truly mortal and susceptible to the ravages of time and that life is but a joke played upon us by whatever powers that must exist." I must be French, because I agree. :p
Having had absinthe literally hundreds of times I can tell you that while I've never seen or heard things that weren't there ('hallucinations') the things I saw and heard, especially music and things that were colorfully lit like Christmas trees were much more clear and vibrant. It is a very specific feeling, nothing else I have ever consumed gives me the heightened sense of awareness that absinthe does. And yeah, your Pernod has gone off. If it's not green, it's been in that bottle far too long.
@@rexasaurus3853 Bear with me here....I suppose I should have been more specific in my original post. Different spirts make me feel different ways. When I have a lot of vodka I get really chatty/jokey. I get a "high" feeling when I drink tequila, it makes me very 'up' & all I want to do is get on my feet & dance. When I drink whiskey or bourbon I get a bit inward & reflective & sometimes sad. If you're a drinker like I am & have have just about every different spirit known to man (which I suppose is a bit like saying I'm an alcoholic) you recognize how different alcohols make you feel & you seek those out depending upon how you want to feel. Absinth does something special & completely different to me - it's like the feeling I get when I drink Chartreuse (which also has wormwood in it.) As for moonshine - if I have exactly one too many, I go bonkers and have to put in a cold shower or under the covers and told to go to bed. Mad respect for moonshine. I don't mess with it often, but when I do, I know when to cut myself off. Cheers!
@@YouKnowWhereYouWentWrong vodka makes me chatty, rum makes me act like an ass, whiskey will either make me angry or sad, depending on my situation, and tequila always makes me break out in handcuffs.
Wormwood got its name from its medicinal use - getting rid of intestinal worms. Originally it was added to alcohol for its medicinal value. Not only does it impart bitterness to Absinthe, but to Vermouth too - in fact the word "Vermouth" is derived from "vermout" the French word for wormwood (wemut in German). So if you think Absinthe is psychedelic, then so is Vermouth.
One of my favorite absinthe cocktails is 1 oz absinthe, over light ice, then slowly fill with ginger beer or ginger ale, usually to just under fill. If done right, the opalescent effect can be maintained. My bartender friend calls it the Ginger Fairy.
I tried it using fresh cold lemonade with no sugar cube (didn't see the need) instead of water & my goodness it was delicious. I used the Lucid brand absinthe
Then he brings up The Perfect Drug and Im back in my happy goth/industrial place. ☺️ (Yes Im that old. I also love David Lynch so this is an apex predator song for me)
I had heard of the hallucinogenic properties of absinthe and decided to take a few shots of it within an hour and a half. As someone who has taken plenty of shrooms and lsd, I was looking for specific mental points that never occurred. That being said, being in a state of drunk, the art of suggestion strikes heavily on the human brain
American absinthe doesn’t have Thujone, just trace amounts and European absinthe has slightly more trace amounts, there are laws to reduce it. You can get wormwood, but they remove the thujone from it. You have to grow wormwood yourself to make real absinthe.
The Rime of the Ancient Mariner: 1/4 shot Absinthe 3/4 shot Grand Mariner 3/4 shot Cinnamon Whiskey 1 3/4 shot Aged Rye Whiskey Juice of 1 blood orange or lemon Shaken over ice and strained
I was involved in the absinthe industry when it again became legal here and I will say that there are some that louche very well but there are others that I would recommend just drinking alone after it has a chance to breath. I found that the St. George does very poorly once you add water to it. The vibrancy of flavors is greatly dulled and it gains a metallic like flavor that was slightly off putting. I would consider doing a tasting with no water at some point just for yourself. Red absinthe is generally what I recommend to people that dislike absinthe. Most of them de-emphasize the anise. I will also note that, in general, absinthe as a high proof spirit is very stable. But as each distiller has different herbs that are added, the light damage can do more than just bleed out the chlorophyll from a green to a clear (or in high quality absinthe, brown) but can effect the taste. Most of the time the effect is minor enough that it is hard to notice but with some brands it can be very noticeable. PS: St. Germain also ages in the bottle. Yours is getting old enough on the shelf that you might want to keep that in mind. Personally I like the richer flavor after 2 or 3 years but it is not nearly as floral and bright as it mellows deeper into the sweeter aspects and develops more of a pear flavor
What brand(s) were you involved with, if you don't mind me asking? I have only been to a couple of tastings since it was relegalized, but I have had a couple of bottles of Jade Liquors before I technically should have ;-) and would like to get back to trying it. I'm kind of always running a list of high quality brands to remember in my head.
This guy is awesome. I love the fact that he spends his free time teaching us about alcohol when he is not being the sidekick in the crimes of Grindelwald.
Dude, you were a goth?! SUBSCRIBED. I was already loving your content and the Bauhaus took it to another level. I never could get away with the look because of my family, job, etc..., but I've loved the music and other elements of the subculture since college. There's still a lot of good goth and darkwave being released to this day. If you ever reference Clan of Xymox or Switchblade Symphony in a video, I will die a happy man.
The master distiller of St. George is in a video here on TH-cam called Obsessives: Absinthe. He brought up a great point about the experience of using a dripper as a counter to impatience some may feel. You go sit out on the porch, mid afternoon on a Sunday or something, kick back, and watch the water drip into your glass as almost a mood thing. It's relaxing and gets you ready to chill out
“The powers that be tend not to like it too much when the working class has leisure time to sit and talk about politics” “They blamed it on immigration, it’s always been the same problem” I stg Greg this channel gets more fuckin based every time
@@nebulousisgod Everyone does have bias yes. Not everyone can see the based reality due those biases. Here with the discussion of alcohol, it is based.
The Aqua Teen Hunger Force quote brought actual tears to my eyes! I was so underprepared for that excellent caliber of comedy. Greg, editors, and anyone involved in the creation of this show, thank you so very much for the giggle-ly ass laughter that you brought me!
As I recall from the old Connections TV show, there was a relatively short climate change in Europe that really messed with the grape crops. This lead to the rise of other types of alcoholic drinks (like absinthe) for a number of years until the grape crops recovered and that's when the wine makers began blackening the reputation of absinthe to get their customers back.
Not climate change, an outbreak of aphids brought from eastern land by intercontinental trade. It destroyed nearly all the vineyards in Europe, just in time for Absinthe's popularity spike with the working classes.
I actually really like Absinthe, I first had it at a bar in Brooklyn that had it available. They had a few bottles from various distilleries and the bartender pretty much made it exactly as you did but they had the fancy fountain with a spout that gently poured water over the sugar cube. The drink was amazing and I'm actually a huge lover of black licorice flavor so this drink was right up my alley. It was funny because some people around me saw me ordering it and I think some of the people were fascinated by it and thought it was a cool looking drink as it had the specific glassware and everything. Its certainly a head turner at a bar.
I just watched this episode this morning and promptly went to the store and found a bottle of St George. Came home and poor-manned it with a slotted spoon. It honestly tastes just like the anise cookies that I make with my mother for Christmas every year.
Dude, I lived in Portugal for some years, went to a festival with my wife and tried pure shots of absynthe 70° there, dude, it went in pretty nicely, but when it came back... Jeez, I thought I was about to spit fire lol
I love this! I have to admit, I was pretty scandalized the first time I saw absinthe in my local chain liquor supplier since I thought it was still illegal. Granted I must have been 14 at the time so what did I know...
I like how you are pretty even-handed about absinthe in this video. State the facts as best to the best of your knowledge but also point out that there are other ways to enjoy it which are valid.
Missing information - absinthe comes in two main styles, "blanche" (white) and "verte" (green). After macerating the herbs with neutral (grape) spirit, the distilled result is called "blanche" absinthe because as any distillate, it's clear. It's either bottled and sold, or undergoes a second maceration phase with different (that's important, because if you put artemisia absinthium - wormwood - into the second phase, the drink will be horribly bitter) herbs, their chlorophyll will color the drink green, which is the more famous style of absinthe (verte). The green color from the herbal chlorophyll fade to yellow and brown hues as for example in dead leaves, which is called by the French "feuille morte" - dead leaves.
My first experience with absinthe was doing shots of it straight in a skatepark when I was 17 after watching “Eurotrip”. I don’t recommend anything about that.
I actually didn't knew that you are supposed to put water in it... but on the other hand, in the Region where i live we dring a lot of high percentage Alcohol (regularly up to 80 vol.%And on some special events some up to 88.8 vol.%) so it's nothing that special^^
Absinthe Rouge gets its red from hibiscus, so that explains the lemony hint. And, because it's hibiscus, it fades quickly, even when protected from the sun. I had some of Great Lakes Distillery's Amerique 1912 Rouge the day it was bottled, it was beautiful and louched like pink lemonade. I've got a bottle that's a few years old that hasn't come out of the cardboard tube since I bought it. I am a little afraid what color it has faded to.
I hadn't done any research on Doc Herson's. But, yeah, reading up on it, it's not something I would bother buying. Still, fading is a problem with any naturally-colored absinthe rouge. Even a naturally-colored crapsinthe. If it doesn't fade, it's even worse...
From what I understand Trent is pretty chill with the copyright strikes, I'm sure even he would appreciate your video and using his sing as inspiration (even though he quit drinking ages ago). Well done vid and thanks for the history (and reminding us that the Perfect Drug what the gothiest music video to ever goth).
My favorite thing about absinthe is how it changes from clear to cloudy when you add water to it. It's really cool to see two clear liquids combining to create a cloudy liquid.
I don't drink alcohol very often if at all, and usually I just side with a cheap bottle of wine from the store, that might last a month, and than I just forget about alcohol for several more months. That said, I love the creativity and the alchemical-esque process that goes in to this kind of stuff, half of these concoctions look and sound delicious even if you substituted the alcohol for something else. The uses of spices and herbs especially appeals to me. Infact I've learned a fair bit about utilizing them in preperation more from this series than I might have before, be it food or drink. Consider me subscribed
Marilyn Manson's absinthe is, surprisingly, not just a cash-grab. It's produced under license by Tempus Fugit Spirits. I've met their folks, and they know absinthe pretty well. Then again, I may have been swayed by being given a taste from a 100-year-old bottle of Absinthe they had open at an event...
I have also heard there was a grape shortage due to something or another that killed many of the plants. Thus making absinthe the go to drink in France. When the wine got back in full business, the wine makers needed to get their clientele back. Saying absinthe was dangerous was just the smear campaign. Also, love your show. Keep it going!
Nice! I have a bit of history with Absinthe, first drinking it in the college style of spoon of sugar dipped then burned with some tonic water added. Then went straight to drinking neat at university bar which had a 4 per person limit on Absinthe (unless you were me, and I was allowed more than the limit). However, I finally ended up at the Absinthe Cafe in Sydney, Australia and had Absinthe as it was supposed to be served (with one of those $200 droppers) and was blown away by the difference. I really wanted to recreate this but the droppers are expensive, I had never heard of this Balancier until now and feel that I can finally recreate that experience. Great show, loving this channel!
I can’t believe you didn’t mention Sherlock Holmes. He was an absinthe drinker with the whole setup. There is a company that makes absinthe with different flavor profiles. You can order a sample kit for about $35 if I remember correctly. I’ve always wanted to try them.
Greg’s hijinks transforms this video from fun and informative to a hilarious journey through the history of absinthe. Hearing references to my own childhood (Pop-Up Video) is a another big plus. Addendum: Didn’t Ernest Hemingway have a champagne cocktail based on absinthe? I think that it was called (or was related to) “Death in the Afternoon”.
Enlightening really. I've always heard about absinth and wanted to try it, not knowing until now that I already had. I was under the impression that it was a brand name and couldn't find it because it was banned. I remember in my youth working as an underaged seasonal greenhouse labourer with an international set of coworkers. We'd be sitting mid day with a bottle of Pernod and water talking shop. It wasn't a ritualized affair. Just passed around cup filled with ice, water and some Pernod. It got you buzzing just as well as anything else and quite nice when you smelled the flowers with a hit of licorice / anise in the back of your throat.
I know I'm late but he films his videos in batches. Which means there's a rather inconsistent quality to his demeanor and actions across his videos for one, but also means he's drunk or close in half of em haha
Kind of just stumbled upon this channel, and i absolutely loved it. Then i started paying attention to the music, and now i stumbled upon glenn crytzer. And i absolutely love that orchestra to. Man, what a finding this was. Amazing.
Another funny wormwood thing, especially considering the American ban: There's this spirit you guys call "Malort", kinda popular in Chicago if I remember correctly. "Malört" is the Swedish word for wormwood, and yeah you guessed it: it's a wormwood liquor. But absinthe was banned for having wormwood? :P
@@drumdreamer92 It was banned for thujone content... but I'm not sure about modern absinth having lowered it. What I heard was that the level of thujone content has NEVER been high enough to cause any hallucinogenic effects. Apparently the dodgy effects some people experienced were due to drinking fake absinthe with all kind of nasty additives put in it.
First video I've caught, loved the format of history and multiple taste tests. Also, your editor is amazing, the bullet points during the tasting had me rolling. Cheers!
@@jasperfk That's kind of the point though. For audio-visual media it pays off to have an active visual presence as well as an auditory one. Keeps people interested in watching as well as listening, y'know?
Holy crap I remembered when I had barely subscribed to your channel and you only had like 16k subscribers... Many congrats you're almost at a million!!! Love your content!!!!
I remember reading a Wired article (2003-2006?) about a guy who reverse engineered absinthe. The article said that absinthe has both a stimulant and sedative effect, which is why it was so popular with creative types.
Love the debunking section at the beginning, great research! Also, it's a shame you didn't get some absinthe from Val-de-Travers, Switzerland (e.g. l'Angelique); it's definitely the most flavorful absinthe I've had.
I remember when I was in middle school, my dad had a bottle of not absinth, but yeni raki, which similarly turns a semi opaque white when you add water to it. Naturally, I “borrowed” some when I was over his house for the weekend, making sure to make up for it with some water, the classic middle school liquor run. I put it under the tap for a second, and the whole thing just fucking turned white; I was shocked. I just threw it back in the cabinet, and the next evening he obviously noticed that the whole bottle was white as a ghost. He scrutinized me closely, I assured him I had no idea what happened. I actually played it off pretty well, played dumb like I had no idea what he was talking about. “What do you mean it “turned white”? What does that mean?” He actually bought it. He thought it just gathered moisture or something. The best part is that I didn’t even drink what I took later. Me and my friend both took one sip, and dumped that rest. That’s stuff was awful straight up. I’m pretty sure you’re not supposed to drink it that way, but we were clueless.
"Dr. Magnon"( I think thats how you spell it): They asked me if I had a degree in theoretical phys-spirits, I said that I had a theoretical degree in spirits, they said welcome aboard
Head's up to Greg: When a french word ends in te, you just pronounce it with a solid t. When a french word ends in t, the t is usually silent. Usually you can tell this by whether or not it starts with le or la, as those are masculine and feminine versions of "The" for the appropriate words they describe (since latin languages gender every goddamn word) Also, an e in french is never pronounced as an "a" or "eh" unless it's either accented, or followed by another e. La Muse Verte is therefore pronounced as La Muse (like the band, but with a slightly rolled u because fucking French) Verte (Like vert in skateboarding, but the "er" sounts like "air") Hope this helps. Yours, a grammar Nazi from north of the border in Quebec.
I've only had absinthe once when a friend bought it over to my housewarming. It's the only time I've got proper hungover after getting drunk, so likely won't be having it with the intention of getting drunk at least. It might have also not been a great idea to just mix the absinthe in with 2 different vodkas to drink it..
This is somehow the first video that I’ve noticed you’ve said you’re from New Jersey instead of just “the northeast.” That awesome! Central Jersey here, it’s a better state knowing you’re here. Love your videos, and learning your drinks! The history is a great addition to the videos, too!
This is one I'd those episodes in wich I wish I was friends with Greg, imagine spending the afternoon tasting absinthe and listening to weird industry tales and 80s goth music
The way you said "whole martini" reminded me of "MY CAT CAN EAT A WHOLE WATERMELON" and I can't thank you enough for reminding me that Rubin and Ed, my absolute favorite movie of all time exists still.
Thank you for getting it right and saying it originated in Switzerland. So many people get it wrong and say it's French just because it was very popular in France.
Dude! I was a fellow teen Goth! THat NIN Video WAS dope! And I had, like, a 2 decades long crush on Reznor! We use to have an absinthe bar in town that had one of those fancy dispensers. I only went once and then it closed. 😢 Loved the history lesson .... and the Bauhaus sing along!!
FYI, one of the most widely used red food colourings - carmine - is made from crushed up beetles which are also "all natural". Absinth is one of the few alcoholic products that I have never tried. It USED to be popular because it was cheap AF. But after being banned for so long, it's now expensive. If I'm going to pay a lot for something, it's going to be a premium scotch.
Wouldn’t want you to try driving after this presentation but I have to say I enjoyed it immensely! You could probably sell anything to anyone and hopefully have as much fun doing it! Never knew much about Absinthe so thanks for the education, also! I want the glasses, though………so cool! Thanks!
Let's chase the Green Fairy together (here's some affiliate links):
Want to pick up a bottle or two? drink.curiada.com/
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Absinthe Dripper: amzn.to/35amXql
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Drinking a whole martini with Educated Barfly: th-cam.com/video/CwAAPL-4jNQ/w-d-xo.html
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"ecoutez moi! j'ai un plan!"
How To Drink Where did you get your under lighting in the counter?
@@declanvillar5557 It's just a hole I cut in it with a holesaw, they drop a lip into it with a router and cut a bit of plexiglass to fit it. The actual light source underneath it changes all the time actually. And for anything on the stem like this, the backlight (on a stand pointing more or less directly at camera) actually does a much better job of lighting the drinks up
@@WardNightstone Watch the video!
How To Drink it’s way cool. I never noticed them in your videos before. Definitely something I’ll have to do in the future.
“After the first glass of absinthe you see things as you wish they were. After the second you see them as they are not. Finally you see things as they really are, and that is the most horrible thing in the world." - Oscar Wilde
So it would indeed appear as a hallucinogen indeed, in the way that alcohol, especially a lot of it does, in that we lose our filters, not so much as in the way that other substances have a reputation for doing. Albeit that just might unleash more creative minds for grand visions, it is really a case by case situation, much like the latter.
sounds like the "finally" is coming down from the second glass and being back in a crappy world sober XD
@@colubrinedeucecreative I dont think that what Oscar Wilde says is really to be taken 100% literally. I mean, he was a poet after all, and a *_damn_* well revered one at that.
I think the quote is less about the actual sight or any potential hallucinatory effects, and more about the emotional effects it has on the person.
Poetry is so often about feelings rather than physicality, after all.
Oscar Wilde is such a mad lad
“I like talking to a brick wall, I find it’s the only thing that never contradicts me,” he’s not wrong
Good old Oscar had an answer for everything
"...usually the people in power get very concerned any time the working class has time to sit around and discuss politics"
Facts.
I don’t expect good takes in my videos on alcohol but they are certainly a pleasant surprise.
That's why they want us having to have two jobs just to make it. Keep us that busy struggling, and we won't have the time, nor the energy, to protest.
I mean, in some cases they had good reason to worry
@@AxeBearWhoCares Bootlicker
George Parkins how quaint. Maybe the French royalty (who were actually gradually making France better) needed more “bootlickers” who saw the errors of the revolution.
I always heard that Absinthe makes the heart grow fonder.
it is pretty heavy on heart. I once drank 8 shots of Absynthe without any juice/water/soda, it hit my body hard, I got hyped up on the dance floor, but it felt like I've been running for an hour straight and now can barely breath, so Absynthe probably is not good for old people or heart disease patients
@@maarcislv the reason for that is not absinthe but the fact you did shots of 8 that got 80% alcohol or 70% any heart would be strongly affected XD
@@maarcislv It was a song reference
@@sune8398 haha jup 😄
I appreciate / dislike your pun.
"Absinthe is making good upstanding woman to tear off their clothes and throw themselves at degenerate artists!"
I think they were just hammered.
You would think that to be a great advertisement for the stuff.
Oh no, not women desiring snu snu!
I would prefer if you didn't call my girlfriend a degenerate
/j
ruling class males just mad cuz they can’t pull
So it isn’t tequila that makes her clothes fall off?
He's the Gothest Lumberjack
And cute too
"... And he's okay ... he sleeps all day and he works all night ..."
It broke my brain so hard to think about him as a goth, but also amazing!
🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
Or would that be the most lumberjackiest goth?
Honestly? Honestly.
Can we get a Greg spinoff series where he discusses movies? The way he talks about movies and the movies he likes sometimes makes me wanna hear him talk more about 'em.
Could be a 2nd channel for sure, just gotta find the time. Making 2 of these a week is a killer
@@howtodrink Well, how about starting with a casual cooperation with e.g. the Nostalgia Critic for a few episodes? :-)
@@howtodrink I would certainly subscribe to that!
How to Movie
Sorry for the late reply, but it seems like you got your wish. Have you listened to the podcast at all?
"The ticking of the balancier is designed to make sure that you are aware of the hours of your life ticking away, and that you are aware that you are truly mortal and susceptible to the ravages of time and that life is but a joke played upon us by whatever powers that must exist." I must be French, because I agree. :p
Dude, did he just vomit this out from his brain?
@@batjaa That's the residual goth coming out.
@@batjaa ok
Momento Mori
Having had absinthe literally hundreds of times I can tell you that while I've never seen or heard things that weren't there ('hallucinations') the things I saw and heard, especially music and things that were colorfully lit like Christmas trees were much more clear and vibrant. It is a very specific feeling, nothing else I have ever consumed gives me the heightened sense of awareness that absinthe does. And yeah, your Pernod has gone off. If it's not green, it's been in that bottle far too long.
I find absinthe to be like any different alcohol. I compare it to 3/4 as strong as shine. A delicious process though.
@@rexasaurus3853 Bear with me here....I suppose I should have been more specific in my original post. Different spirts make me feel different ways. When I have a lot of vodka I get really chatty/jokey. I get a "high" feeling when I drink tequila, it makes me very 'up' & all I want to do is get on my feet & dance. When I drink whiskey or bourbon I get a bit inward & reflective & sometimes sad. If you're a drinker like I am & have have just about every different spirit known to man (which I suppose is a bit like saying I'm an alcoholic) you recognize how different alcohols make you feel & you seek those out depending upon how you want to feel. Absinth does something special & completely different to me - it's like the feeling I get when I drink Chartreuse (which also has wormwood in it.) As for moonshine - if I have exactly one too many, I go bonkers and have to put in a cold shower or under the covers and told to go to bed. Mad respect for moonshine. I don't mess with it often, but when I do, I know when to cut myself off. Cheers!
@Erik Burgerhagen Strange indeed.
@@YouKnowWhereYouWentWrong vodka makes me chatty, rum makes me act like an ass, whiskey will either make me angry or sad, depending on my situation, and tequila always makes me break out in handcuffs.
@@YouKnowWhereYouWentWrong Couldn't agree more friend! Different alcohols offer different "highs" in my opinion
Wormwood got its name from its medicinal use - getting rid of intestinal worms. Originally it was added to alcohol for its medicinal value. Not only does it impart bitterness to Absinthe, but to Vermouth too - in fact the word "Vermouth" is derived from "vermout" the French word for wormwood (wemut in German). So if you think Absinthe is psychedelic, then so is Vermouth.
i put shrooms in mine so I DO hallucinationate
As is Mallort 😂
One of my favorite absinthe cocktails is 1 oz absinthe, over light ice, then slowly fill with ginger beer or ginger ale, usually to just under fill. If done right, the opalescent effect can be maintained. My bartender friend calls it the Ginger Fairy.
Ooh, sounds yummy
I've got to try this myself, now. XD
I tried it using fresh cold lemonade with no sugar cube (didn't see the need) instead of water & my goodness it was delicious. I used the Lucid brand absinthe
"Originated from Switzerland, Neuchâtel canton"
Finally, someone who did his research ! Thank you :D
I think the fact that he quoted Bauhaus's Bela Lugosi's Dead instantly made this video a 10/10.
Literally no body does that.
Yep , great song , I wish he would have sung a little bit more of it .
Over the decades i've turned a lot of people on to that song .
Then he brings up The Perfect Drug and Im back in my happy goth/industrial place. ☺️ (Yes Im that old. I also love David Lynch so this is an apex predator song for me)
Burn down Hot Topic.
Bill Bailey's cockney rock version works a treat.
I think we need pictures of goth Greg.
Yes we do
I came here to say just that.
... Still waiting lol
Holy crap yes!!
Yessss
I had heard of the hallucinogenic properties of absinthe and decided to take a few shots of it within an hour and a half. As someone who has taken plenty of shrooms and lsd, I was looking for specific mental points that never occurred. That being said, being in a state of drunk, the art of suggestion strikes heavily on the human brain
American absinthe doesn’t have Thujone, just trace amounts and European absinthe has slightly more trace amounts, there are laws to reduce it. You can get wormwood, but they remove the thujone from it. You have to grow wormwood yourself to make real absinthe.
I once managed to convince myself I was halucinating out of boredom.
The Rime of the Ancient Mariner:
1/4 shot Absinthe
3/4 shot Grand Mariner
3/4 shot Cinnamon Whiskey
1 3/4 shot Aged Rye Whiskey
Juice of 1 blood orange or lemon
Shaken over ice and strained
I was involved in the absinthe industry when it again became legal here and I will say that there are some that louche very well but there are others that I would recommend just drinking alone after it has a chance to breath. I found that the St. George does very poorly once you add water to it. The vibrancy of flavors is greatly dulled and it gains a metallic like flavor that was slightly off putting. I would consider doing a tasting with no water at some point just for yourself. Red absinthe is generally what I recommend to people that dislike absinthe. Most of them de-emphasize the anise.
I will also note that, in general, absinthe as a high proof spirit is very stable. But as each distiller has different herbs that are added, the light damage can do more than just bleed out the chlorophyll from a green to a clear (or in high quality absinthe, brown) but can effect the taste. Most of the time the effect is minor enough that it is hard to notice but with some brands it can be very noticeable.
PS: St. Germain also ages in the bottle. Yours is getting old enough on the shelf that you might want to keep that in mind. Personally I like the richer flavor after 2 or 3 years but it is not nearly as floral and bright as it mellows deeper into the sweeter aspects and develops more of a pear flavor
What brand(s) were you involved with, if you don't mind me asking?
I have only been to a couple of tastings since it was relegalized, but I have had a couple of bottles of Jade Liquors before I technically should have ;-) and would like to get back to trying it. I'm kind of always running a list of high quality brands to remember in my head.
Sweet comment
Thank you for this wonderful insight, as a bartender I can really appreciate it.
Love me a good talk with customers about the drinks they like.
i heard it became legal when they removed the wormwood ( thujone) ?
I love you
Dude, I was a goth in Philly and spent almost every Wednesday at Nocturne back in the early 2000s! I knew you looked familiar!
Wholesome
Same!
Digital ferret philly will know lol
@@MO-xm5fk YESSS
Was? Are you not a goth anymore or something?
This guy is awesome. I love the fact that he spends his free time teaching us about alcohol when he is not being the sidekick in the crimes of Grindelwald.
Fuck that got me good 😂
Dude, you were a goth?! SUBSCRIBED. I was already loving your content and the Bauhaus took it to another level.
I never could get away with the look because of my family, job, etc..., but I've loved the music and other elements of the subculture since college. There's still a lot of good goth and darkwave being released to this day. If you ever reference Clan of Xymox or Switchblade Symphony in a video, I will die a happy man.
Ha! I think Rasputina is about as current as my tastes get
The master distiller of St. George is in a video here on TH-cam called Obsessives: Absinthe. He brought up a great point about the experience of using a dripper as a counter to impatience some may feel. You go sit out on the porch, mid afternoon on a Sunday or something, kick back, and watch the water drip into your glass as almost a mood thing. It's relaxing and gets you ready to chill out
“The powers that be tend not to like it too much when the working class has leisure time to sit and talk about politics”
“They blamed it on immigration, it’s always been the same problem”
I stg Greg this channel gets more fuckin based every time
Vaush and HTD collab when?
@@RaccKing21 fucking ew. Vaush is not based.
@@RaccKing21 vaush? Why would you want People to vomit?
What the fuck is based? Do you mean biased?
@@nebulousisgod Everyone does have bias yes. Not everyone can see the based reality due those biases. Here with the discussion of alcohol, it is based.
The Aqua Teen Hunger Force quote brought actual tears to my eyes! I was so underprepared for that excellent caliber of comedy. Greg, editors, and anyone involved in the creation of this show, thank you so very much for the giggle-ly ass laughter that you brought me!
My body wasn't ready to be hit with that Bauhaus in the beginning, but I'm here for it!
I jumped like a frog when I heard the lyrics!
I'm always ready for Bauhhaus or any new wave industrial punk.
What do you think of the CHVRCHES cover?
@@HarryToeface too much like pop for BLD. This is intended to be a dark song and CHVRCHES is not that.
@@bmmcwhirt mehhhh I love both so I don't agree :d
*Greg speaks in a German accent*
"He's from Alsace-Lorraine!"
me: He's using the right accent for the time
As I recall from the old Connections TV show, there was a relatively short climate change in Europe that really messed with the grape crops. This lead to the rise of other types of alcoholic drinks (like absinthe) for a number of years until the grape crops recovered and that's when the wine makers began blackening the reputation of absinthe to get their customers back.
That was one of the best TV shows ever!
Not climate change, an outbreak of aphids brought from eastern land by intercontinental trade.
It destroyed nearly all the vineyards in Europe, just in time for Absinthe's popularity spike with the working classes.
I actually really like Absinthe, I first had it at a bar in Brooklyn that had it available. They had a few bottles from various distilleries and the bartender pretty much made it exactly as you did but they had the fancy fountain with a spout that gently poured water over the sugar cube. The drink was amazing and I'm actually a huge lover of black licorice flavor so this drink was right up my alley. It was funny because some people around me saw me ordering it and I think some of the people were fascinated by it and thought it was a cool looking drink as it had the specific glassware and everything. Its certainly a head turner at a bar.
I just watched this episode this morning and promptly went to the store and found a bottle of St George. Came home and poor-manned it with a slotted spoon. It honestly tastes just like the anise cookies that I make with my mother for Christmas every year.
Dude, I lived in Portugal for some years, went to a festival with my wife and tried pure shots of absynthe 70° there, dude, it went in pretty nicely, but when it came back... Jeez, I thought I was about to spit fire lol
I love this! I have to admit, I was pretty scandalized the first time I saw absinthe in my local chain liquor supplier since I thought it was still illegal. Granted I must have been 14 at the time so what did I know...
You believe you dont know what you dont know. In Socrates eyes you're filled with wisdom
Greg’s Highschool: “We have no goths here!”
Greg: “Hold my black eyeliner”
😁
There was a guy my Freshman year who graduated out, I took up the mantle when returning from summer vacation as a sophomore
@@howtodrink we absolutely need a photo of this
“Love You To Death” by Type O Negative plays in the background
channtastic Love Type O Negative! 😁
@@howtodrink :-D did the mantle have a crimson lining?
Bauhaus and Nine Inch Nails. I like him more every single episode
Griffin Smith Yeah this is the second episode that I’ve seen and after starting with Bauhaus I’m officially hooked!
I was thinking, Bauhaus? This guy must be cool... Then playing the perfect drug... This guy know his music! Fuck yeah!
I saw Bauhaus with nin in the early 2000s (and a bunch of other artists like Wolfmother, ...Trail of the Dead). It was such an experience.
I like how you are pretty even-handed about absinthe in this video. State the facts as best to the best of your knowledge but also point out that there are other ways to enjoy it which are valid.
Greg I won't check someone else out because, I'm here for your personal touch your personality and showmanship.
Missing information - absinthe comes in two main styles, "blanche" (white) and "verte" (green). After macerating the herbs with neutral (grape) spirit, the distilled result is called "blanche" absinthe because as any distillate, it's clear. It's either bottled and sold, or undergoes a second maceration phase with different (that's important, because if you put artemisia absinthium - wormwood - into the second phase, the drink will be horribly bitter) herbs, their chlorophyll will color the drink green, which is the more famous style of absinthe (verte). The green color from the herbal chlorophyll fade to yellow and brown hues as for example in dead leaves, which is called by the French "feuille morte" - dead leaves.
There's also a black absent which is just a novelty
My first experience with absinthe was doing shots of it straight in a skatepark when I was 17 after watching “Eurotrip”. I don’t recommend anything about that.
I cannot possibly imagine.
I actually didn't knew that you are supposed to put water in it... but on the other hand, in the Region where i live we dring a lot of high percentage Alcohol (regularly up to 80 vol.%And on some special events some up to 88.8 vol.%) so it's nothing that special^^
@@Rollstuhlwal "nothing special" idk about that one, chief
haha I´ve done exactly the same XD
Except it was on a camping trip with some friends. Man that stuff burns your throat and hits like a truck.
You don't remember, do you?
Absinthe Rouge gets its red from hibiscus, so that explains the lemony hint. And, because it's hibiscus, it fades quickly, even when protected from the sun. I had some of Great Lakes Distillery's Amerique 1912 Rouge the day it was bottled, it was beautiful and louched like pink lemonade. I've got a bottle that's a few years old that hasn't come out of the cardboard tube since I bought it. I am a little afraid what color it has faded to.
Doc Hensons is not under any circumstances a true absinthe - it is fake. It is not made with the holy trinity and should not be sold as absinthe.
I hadn't done any research on Doc Herson's. But, yeah, reading up on it, it's not something I would bother buying.
Still, fading is a problem with any naturally-colored absinthe rouge. Even a naturally-colored crapsinthe. If it doesn't fade, it's even worse...
"It don't matter, none of this matters."
If you could sum up 2020 with one sentence, that would be it.
From what I understand Trent is pretty chill with the copyright strikes, I'm sure even he would appreciate your video and using his sing as inspiration (even though he quit drinking ages ago). Well done vid and thanks for the history (and reminding us that the Perfect Drug what the gothiest music video to ever goth).
My favorite thing about absinthe is how it changes from clear to cloudy when you add water to it. It's really cool to see two clear liquids combining to create a cloudy liquid.
Takeshi7 in my chemistry class I Highschool, we mixed two clear liquids and got a yellow solid. Chemistry is weird
You will get the same effect with any anisette. ;)
@@thewalkingforest5185 Even weirder is when you combine two solids and get a liquid out. Chemistry is weird and cool.
"We are so poor, we do not even have a language! Just this stupid accent!"
"She's right, she's right! We all talk like Maurice Chevalier!"
Hon hon hon!!
Let's make sure we end this comment on a high note.
Bathtub Absinthe is the name of my new Math Rock band.
CN Neil 😂😂😂😂
I spent a year working at a bar in Seattle called Absinthe, the “green fairy” is a close friend of mine. 😁
I don't drink alcohol very often if at all, and usually I just side with a cheap bottle of wine from the store, that might last a month, and than I just forget about alcohol for several more months.
That said, I love the creativity and the alchemical-esque process that goes in to this kind of stuff, half of these concoctions look and sound delicious even if you substituted the alcohol for something else. The uses of spices and herbs especially appeals to me. Infact I've learned a fair bit about utilizing them in preperation more from this series than I might have before, be it food or drink.
Consider me subscribed
We've started out with "Singing Greg". This shall be a great episode.
Greg: i was a goth.
Me: why not try Marilyn Manson‘s absinthe
Marilyn Manson's absinthe is, surprisingly, not just a cash-grab. It's produced under license by Tempus Fugit Spirits. I've met their folks, and they know absinthe pretty well. Then again, I may have been swayed by being given a taste from a 100-year-old bottle of Absinthe they had open at an event...
I've got a friend who loves the stuff, and I actually intended to include it, but it wasn't at the liquor store.
I think Manson’s Absinthe is really good as well. He has a true passion for it
@@AndrewTrembley It's pretty good, actually.
@@AndrewTrembley Same goes the Rammstein Vodka, which is surprisingly good, if overpireced, still.
I have also heard there was a grape shortage due to something or another that killed many of the plants. Thus making absinthe the go to drink in France. When the wine got back in full business, the wine makers needed to get their clientele back. Saying absinthe was dangerous was just the smear campaign. Also, love your show. Keep it going!
Nice! I have a bit of history with Absinthe, first drinking it in the college style of spoon of sugar dipped then burned with some tonic water added. Then went straight to drinking neat at university bar which had a 4 per person limit on Absinthe (unless you were me, and I was allowed more than the limit). However, I finally ended up at the Absinthe Cafe in Sydney, Australia and had Absinthe as it was supposed to be served (with one of those $200 droppers) and was blown away by the difference. I really wanted to recreate this but the droppers are expensive, I had never heard of this Balancier until now and feel that I can finally recreate that experience. Great show, loving this channel!
I can’t believe you didn’t mention Sherlock Holmes. He was an absinthe drinker with the whole setup. There is a company that makes absinthe with different flavor profiles. You can order a sample kit for about $35 if I remember correctly. I’ve always wanted to try them.
I love whoever does the editing and the "taste list". It's funny as hell. lol. XD
Greg’s hijinks transforms this video from fun and informative to a hilarious journey through the history of absinthe. Hearing references to my own childhood (Pop-Up Video) is a another big plus.
Addendum: Didn’t Ernest Hemingway have a champagne cocktail based on absinthe? I think that it was called (or was related to) “Death in the Afternoon”.
My angsty goth heart is crying thank you
Enlightening really. I've always heard about absinth and wanted to try it, not knowing until now that I already had. I was under the impression that it was a brand name and couldn't find it because it was banned. I remember in my youth working as an underaged seasonal greenhouse labourer with an international set of coworkers. We'd be sitting mid day with a bottle of Pernod and water talking shop. It wasn't a ritualized affair. Just passed around cup filled with ice, water and some Pernod. It got you buzzing just as well as anything else and quite nice when you smelled the flowers with a hit of licorice / anise in the back of your throat.
I really enjoyed this demonstration! I have never seen this before nor have I ever had Absinthe. This would be a great little show at a dinner party.
...I'm seven minutes into this video and I have the nagging feeling that you've had a few drinks prior to making this...
Nah 12 minutes in when he drops the ice everywhere. Yeah he’s definitely been testing the candy
I know I'm late but he films his videos in batches. Which means there's a rather inconsistent quality to his demeanor and actions across his videos for one, but also means he's drunk or close in half of em haha
@@wntsumcandy yes in the Long Island Ice-T video he finishes the entire drink and then says he has more videos to do.
hahaha.
Have you ever thought of making cocktails based on experiences?
Like a autumn stroll through the woods.
finally, a great video of absinthe! Cheers in the name of Camus my friend!
Kind of just stumbled upon this channel, and i absolutely loved it. Then i started paying attention to the music, and now i stumbled upon glenn crytzer. And i absolutely love that orchestra to. Man, what a finding this was. Amazing.
Absolutely living for the casual and constant shade towards the American establishment in this video, my gosh
I’d always heard that wormwood was a component of vermouth as well. Hence the German word for wormwood being wermut.
Yes indeed!
Another funny wormwood thing, especially considering the American ban:
There's this spirit you guys call "Malort", kinda popular in Chicago if I remember correctly. "Malört" is the Swedish word for wormwood, and yeah you guessed it: it's a wormwood liquor. But absinthe was banned for having wormwood? :P
@@timlarsson I think it was banned more for the thujone content, modern absinthe has lowered it greatly
@@drumdreamer92 It was banned for thujone content... but I'm not sure about modern absinth having lowered it.
What I heard was that the level of thujone content has NEVER been high enough to cause any hallucinogenic effects.
Apparently the dodgy effects some people experienced were due to drinking fake absinthe with all kind of nasty additives put in it.
First video I've caught, loved the format of history and multiple taste tests. Also, your editor is amazing, the bullet points during the tasting had me rolling. Cheers!
Greg, is that guy that makes you think everything time you see him "we would make great buddies".
Ricardo Aceves I feel like I’d get along with him if he gesticulated less, it’s distracting
@@jasperfk That's kind of the point though. For audio-visual media it pays off to have an active visual presence as well as an auditory one. Keeps people interested in watching as well as listening, y'know?
" Got tight last night on absinthe and did knife tricks. Great success shooting the knife into the piano " Hemingway
I had to look that up. Can't believe it's a real quote.
Holy crap I remembered when I had barely subscribed to your channel and you only had like 16k subscribers... Many congrats you're almost at a million!!! Love your content!!!!
It’s an aphrodisiac because “absinthe makes the heart fonder”
I remember reading a Wired article (2003-2006?) about a guy who reverse engineered absinthe. The article said that absinthe has both a stimulant and sedative effect, which is why it was so popular with creative types.
As a french person this episode sounded like a weird fanfiction on French history but I'm in for it
Absinthe makes the heart grow fonder
Love how genuinely excited you are to talk about The Perfect Drug :)
Love the debunking section at the beginning, great research! Also, it's a shame you didn't get some absinthe from Val-de-Travers, Switzerland (e.g. l'Angelique); it's definitely the most flavorful absinthe I've had.
We're finally talking about how prohibition always seems to pop up when working class folx start talking to each other?!
Praise Cthulhu.
Ia!
I love the singing at the beginning. Very awkward Dad.
Learning that you are/were part of the goth crowd has only cemented my love for this channel - marvelously done, sir!
Starting the episode about absinth with Bauhaus. Chef's kiss!
Moulin Rouge and Pop-Up Video references. At this point, the absinthe pouring is the added bonus.
Thats the idea
I miss songs on MTV & VH1 and Pop-Up Video. 🥰
Oscar Wilde salutes you. He AND the wallpaper.
Hearing Greg sing Bauhaus just made my day.
I had to cut the outro of me shrieking out Antonin Artaud for... reasons...
I remember when I was in middle school, my dad had a bottle of not absinth, but yeni raki, which similarly turns a semi opaque white when you add water to it. Naturally, I “borrowed” some when I was over his house for the weekend, making sure to make up for it with some water, the classic middle school liquor run. I put it under the tap for a second, and the whole thing just fucking turned white; I was shocked. I just threw it back in the cabinet, and the next evening he obviously noticed that the whole bottle was white as a ghost. He scrutinized me closely, I assured him I had no idea what happened. I actually played it off pretty well, played dumb like I had no idea what he was talking about. “What do you mean it “turned white”? What does that mean?” He actually bought it. He thought it just gathered moisture or something. The best part is that I didn’t even drink what I took later. Me and my friend both took one sip, and dumped that rest. That’s stuff was awful straight up. I’m pretty sure you’re not supposed to drink it that way, but we were clueless.
Well, you know what they always say, "Absinthe makes the heart grow fonder"!
"Dr. Magnon"( I think thats how you spell it): They asked me if I had a degree in theoretical phys-spirits, I said that I had a theoretical degree in spirits, they said welcome aboard
It’s Magnan- en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valentin_Magnan
Head's up to Greg:
When a french word ends in te, you just pronounce it with a solid t.
When a french word ends in t, the t is usually silent.
Usually you can tell this by whether or not it starts with le or la, as those are masculine and feminine versions of "The" for the appropriate words they describe (since latin languages gender every goddamn word)
Also, an e in french is never pronounced as an "a" or "eh" unless it's either accented, or followed by another e.
La Muse Verte is therefore pronounced as La Muse (like the band, but with a slightly rolled u because fucking French) Verte (Like vert in skateboarding, but the "er" sounts like "air")
Hope this helps.
Yours, a grammar Nazi from north of the border in Quebec.
je comprends, j'essaie chaque fois de corriger les faux pas de prononciation qu'il faits
I feel like the french language embodies the french people's hatred for everyone who's not french.
My standard assumption with French is you don't pronounce the last letter of any word unless you know otherwise.
Nerd
@@gso619 English has a lot of bullshit too
Writing a story about the Green Faery (like, the fairy herself), so I'm super excited to be learning about absinthe!
How goes the story writing?
Still plugging away if you can believe it. Someday it'll be published.
I've only had absinthe once when a friend bought it over to my housewarming.
It's the only time I've got proper hungover after getting drunk, so likely won't be having it with the intention of getting drunk at least.
It might have also not been a great idea to just mix the absinthe in with 2 different vodkas to drink it..
This is somehow the first video that I’ve noticed you’ve said you’re from New Jersey instead of just “the northeast.” That awesome! Central Jersey here, it’s a better state knowing you’re here. Love your videos, and learning your drinks! The history is a great addition to the videos, too!
It's pretty cool you have an underlit spot on the bar, never noticed it before
Goth? You just keep getting cooler. Lol
We love to binge watch you!
This is one I'd those episodes in wich I wish I was friends with Greg, imagine spending the afternoon tasting absinthe and listening to weird industry tales and 80s goth music
The way you said "whole martini" reminded me of "MY CAT CAN EAT A WHOLE WATERMELON" and I can't thank you enough for reminding me that Rubin and Ed, my absolute favorite movie of all time exists still.
Thank you for getting it right and saying it originated in Switzerland. So many people get it wrong and say it's French just because it was very popular in France.
I've been confused about this for a while. Was really hoping you would make a video about it actually.
The Pernod has an aesthetically pleasing color, like a body of liquid crystal in a crystal chalice.
Yeah I actually didn't hate the faded version I wound up with here but I recognize it's not as intended
@@howtodrink Pernod is a very very average bottom shelf absinthe, there are so many better absinthes out there especially from the VDT.
Absenta Serpis, from Valencia in Spain also has a nice colour. It tastes a bit sweeter, but we don't add sugar to absinthe.
Now we're talking! Absinthe is probably my favourite liquor in the world.
Dude! I was a fellow teen Goth! THat NIN Video WAS dope! And I had, like, a 2 decades long crush on Reznor! We use to have an absinthe bar in town that had one of those fancy dispensers. I only went once and then it closed. 😢 Loved the history lesson .... and the Bauhaus sing along!!
Awesome video. Absinthe is one of my very favorite spirits, and I love the St. George.
Every time I say "It doesn't matter" it turns into that Carl from ATHF line. This is why we are friends.
FYI, one of the most widely used red food colourings - carmine - is made from crushed up beetles which are also "all natural". Absinth is one of the few alcoholic products that I have never tried. It USED to be popular because it was cheap AF. But after being banned for so long, it's now expensive. If I'm going to pay a lot for something, it's going to be a premium scotch.
I liked you for the drinks. I now love you for your High School music tastes! Former High School Goth turned Flannel rocker here too. lol
I'm glad all the Absinth facts are put right in one single video
Wouldn’t want you to try driving after this presentation but I have to say I enjoyed it immensely! You could probably sell anything to anyone and hopefully have as much fun doing it! Never knew much about Absinthe so thanks for the education, also! I want the glasses, though………so cool! Thanks!