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Comment by schwartzworld | Hacker News Reader

The hallucinogenic effects of wormwood are pretty highly overstated. You’d get alcohol poisoning before you get there, at least with commercial absinthe. Can’t say what it was like in Poe’s time.

I think the main reason it got passed over is that anise isn’t popular with Americans. If you don’t like ouzo or arak or raki or pastis, you’re probably not going to love absinthe.

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Drank a lot of absinthe on nye once. I REALLY like the taste. If you like black licorice then absinthe is for you.

Probably placebo: i felt like my head was in the same place but my body was upside down.

This went on for less than a half hour. After initially noticing this felt completely normal. Never brought this up online but never met anyone irl who experienced this from normal boozing.

Sometimes we still get it and i drink it watered down bc its just so dang tasty.

> Sometimes we still get it and i drink it watered down bc its just so dang tasty.

For me that's the actual danger of absinthe. It is indeed ridiculously easy to drink and does not impart any of the 'fire' typically associated with spirits. And I also got the same sensation of 'body upside down'. I relate it to just how quickly my blood alcohol shot up.

not to mention you often drink it with sugar! Sweet drinks goes down easier than sour drinks!

Anecdotally, I have a similar love of licorice and had a night of too much imported absinthe where I felt like the room was spinning, but not in an alcohol way but in a "funhouse" way. I felt way steadier than I should be with that much alcohol, that it wasn't a problem with my inner ear like normally alcohol obviously is but a problem with the room.

Because it was "the room was spinning" and that is a common symptom of alcohol, I also can't claim that it wasn't a placebo effect or just alcohol sloshed memory, and most people won't believe me in casual conversation, but anecdotally it felt so weirdly different than normal alcohol "the room was spinning".

We bought a couple of bottles back from Czechoslovakia (still together back then) 25ish years ago.

All I can do is confirm that Absinthe drunk is different from most other typical alcohols kind of drunk. That said rum drunkeness made more beligerent drunk than normal drunk.

Its possibly due to trace amounts of Thujone [1], which strangely wasn't referenced in the article.

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thujone

The Thujone must definitely metabolize in some way to create that feeling even at trace amounts.

While ranked lower amongst enthusiasts, I’m partial to Kübler Abinsthe. It’s always a great euphoric drunk and without the head heaviness of many alcohols once you get to a certain level of inebriation.

I make wormwood soda, which is much higher wormwood content than absinthe, and have never had a hallucinogenic state, so yes, likely heavily overstated.

Agreed, I have made wormwood tea before (taste is intense, but it does really clear your sinuses...), barely any impact on the senses (other than taste).

I'm convinced that even at that time the effects described were at best the product of getting drunk off of very high proof alcohol, and probably some opiates in their daily routine to boot.

I imported some french absinthe as soon as I realized it was legal again in the US in 2008.

I was so excited with the glasses , spoon and the ritual.

I couldn't even finish half a glass though. It was honestly the worst drink I can ever remember having. Just absolutely terrible. Really one of the most disappointing experiences of my life for how built up it was in my head.

I still have the glasses that are so fun to drink wine out of but I would never bother with absinthe again.

Even better if in a state with legal cannabis. Absinthe glass, cannabis lemonade and a shot or two of vodka. No green fairy placebo effect needed.

Its true that anise is pretty unpopular. I grew up loving black licorice so its always been a nice treat to me, but the vast majority of people I know hate that taste and are pretty adamant about it.

The psychoactives could also have been bred out accidentally or on purpose in the intervening time. Wormwood is often propagated with cuttings so if someone bred a particularly flavorful or productive plant, it can take over the market.

I'll leave this here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1yO6iS5kFOc

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