Feb 15, 2008

Absinthe Is Not Overrated

So, I'm a bit messed up right now.

Drinking absinthe, watching Prince and Chicks on Speed videos at the bar I was at, talking to some guy about his taiko drum repair business...

Absinthe. That green stuff. That stuff that's unsellable in the States, yet quite legal here in Nihon. I'm a bit fucked on it as I write this. It's definitely different.

It's as if my head has sprouted diminutive wings and is fluttering perhaps eight inches over the rest of my body. Meanwhile, the front of my head seems larger than any other portion of my anatomy, and my hands appear to be moving on their own volition.

At the bar, whoever was in charge of videos was playing both MC Hammer and Chicks on Speed. For some nebulous reason, I appreciated this. When I left, it was cold enough to pickle the testicles of a racehorse, but I didn't seem to mind. My head was eight inches above my body, and my legs were on an amazingly efficient autopilot. Meanwhile, everything seemed shiny.

So, yeah... One of the benefits of being abroad. Legal absinthe.

God I hope I'm sober tomorrow.

Wheee!

4 comments:

Seph said...

Funny thing. Absinthe is illegal to sell and import in the US, but it's not illegal to consume. But damn, that stuff is nasty. I had one glass of it and couldn't take any more. Glad you enjoyed it, though...

Eric said...

Licorice = Nasty.

Did you do the cube of sugar and dilute it with ice water like a real absinthe drinker would? Actually, there was a NY Times article a little while ago about how absinthe is "making a comeback" here in the States. Apparently its illegality is in dispute.

Anonymous said...

Be careful, Joe! I hear that stuff can give you one hell of a nasty hangover. Love ya. Talk to you soon.

Joe Streckert said...

It's morning, and I emerge hangover free! My cunning plan of eating pasta, drinking water, and watching The Daily Show in order to sober up worked.

Yes, I did do the sugar and ice water thing. The bartender asked if I'd ever drank absinthe before, and told him only once, and it was home brew stuff a friend had made. He gave me a bit of an Absinthe 101 lesson, and offered to swing by with some more sugar cubes if it was too nasty.

The taste is rather foul, but the effects are surprising. I had a highball glass of it, and that, along with some beer, got me pretty buzzed. The hallucinogenic bits were mild at best.

But it is fun stuff. At least I think so, having managed to escape the nasty hangover Kristen mentioned.