Word is out that Marilyn Manson has unveiled his "Mansinthe" absinthe-like spirit, produced by Markus Lion. The drink apparently contains no (large) wormwood (Artemisia absinthium), but likely contains a good quantity of Roman wormwood (Artemisia pontica) to get around U.S. laws regarding the former herb... no matter that the latter contains that controvertial toxin as well...
Good to bet on this and other absinthe fans having to correct bloggers and journalists who will surely refer to it as an actual "absinthe"...:)
Update: Turns out they bailed on the "no large wormwood" plan and that Mansinthe is, in fact, proper absinthe. More info to come...
Well, similar to my comments on the Hapsburg, I must say once again-whether you like it or not, love or hate the gimmicks, you've got to admit that this is significant progress for the [albeit currebtly non-existant] US absinthe market. As long as it is reasonably-priced and tastes good this will truthfully probably be my new party drink. I don't really like non-absinthe alcoholic beverages anymore, so at parties I found it a tough decision either way; put up with the crappy beer (I HATE beer!) and cheap tequila shots because well, it's cheap that way or enjoy myself much more and bring along absinthe (at the cost of, well, quite a bit more money, as I'm not stingy enough to keep it to myself). This would serve as a sort of compromise, I suppose. Although I hope that even with the absence of wormwood, there are herbal properties of SOME sort, as absinthe herbs seem to magically prevent hangovers...
ReplyDelete...but what's all this about Roman wormwood containing thujone? If that's the case, why hasn't this been done ages ago?
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ReplyDeleteabsintheyr77-- it could be good for absinthe, as long as it doesn't call itself absinthe (as it appears to be devoid of Artemisia absinthium).
ReplyDeleteAs for pontica containing thujone, (1) that (thujone) is not the droid you're looking for, and (2) small wormwood seems to be the rarest, most fragile, and difficult to cultivate herb of the bunch, so it's not simple to substitute it for large wormwood.
satyr-- "that Manson" is no idiot, and your comment is not constructive. Give me a reason not to delete it.
i read about mansinthe in revolver magazine and am now dieing to try it. i have never had absinthe but i have tried greek uzo.
ReplyDeletei hate beer and most wines.
i am just wondering whether absinthe would be an upper or a downer. bourbon is a downer to me and sparkling wine an upper. rum does not affect my mood at all but makes me extremely talkative.
the uzo? well it made me sick.
oops! i spelled ouzo wrong. sorry.
ReplyDeleteMansinthe obviously contains grande wormwood - otherwise it wouldn't be Absinthe! So Salsa just spreads things he doesn't know at all!
ReplyDeleteBtw. Mansinthe just won a gold Medal at the San Francisco World Spirits Competition on March 16th 08'
I went through a bottle of Mansinthe and liked it very much-- great stuff! The color was a bit off-putting though. Markus, I linked to my source, not sure if the plan changed or if I was relaying confused information. Water, bridge, etc.
ReplyDelete