Move over toyol! The green fairy’s in da hood.

Those of u who’ve been like, smuggling the stuff from abroad, don’t need to feel like criminals anymore. A couple of good absinthes – from the actual village where the fuel was created – were launched at Werner’s recently.

Meet Swiss chicks Angelique and La Clandestine. The former is 68% alcohol by volume (ABV) while the latter is 53% ABV.

There were quite a few excited guests there that evening. Me, my bro and Lili were eager-nigaz at 7pm sharp. Went straight upstairs, and absinthe cocktails were being served. Efficient.

This was actually the first of a series of cocktails for d nite. How nice.

Local superstar bartender Ben Ng (who will be interviewed in this blog soon) fixed us our first round, it was called Jaded. Yummy stuff, a little like a real good and slightly fruity-herbal-ish Long Island, but not as strong.

This cocktail shit was new to me. I’ve had absinthe on many occasions – rock n roll style. Pour a shot into a glass over a cube of sugar that’s on a spoon, light up the cube, let it burn, stir it in (the whole dam glass is on fire by now, tabletop too), blow it out, “Salud!”, down it! Slam the glass down.

And go brrrehhhaaaaaaarghhhhh…!!

Then hwwwbbehhbbbehhbbbbehhhh!!

Or leggo some profanities.

Hey it works. This is a lil similar to the “French style”, but we do it Malaysian Style, coz there’s fire. Coz we like fire.

The second round of cocktails were called… hmmm…….. don’t remember.

Gosh, instant brain damage.

It was green. A nice green.

There were three cocktails in total. Then i got involved in an exhibition lesson with Ben on how to make it, French style: Pour a shot, place a sugar cube on an absinthe spoon, pour cold water through the sugar, stir and drink.

Huh? Where’s the fireworks??

“Don’t i light it up?” I asked, looking disappointed.

“U can if u want, but it’s not necessary,” Ben says to me & the crowd.

Dam. I downed it anyway. It’s pretty good with cold water.

Will post more recipes soon.

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Absinthe was banned in most countries until recently. Typical government paranoia. It was never banned here I think, maybe coz d dam Customs officers probably never even knew watdefuck it was. “Ah?? Nenek punya ubat batuk?? Ok la, jalan.”

It’s extremely herbal (like Hacks & Sambuca) and contains wormwood. Thujone is a chemical in the wormwood plant that is a hallucinogenic.

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If u think absinthe is gonna make u hallucinate, stop thinking. There isn’t enough thujone in the drink to cause that. (Awwww……… disappointed? Well, u could always try shrooms.)

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So absinthe is not some God-sent alco-drug combo meal. It’s alcohol. With plant extracts. Good for tummy aches.

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What do I like about it? The fact that I feel sumtin in my head after ONE shot. Try six. I’ve had 80% ABV absinthe and that shit’s lethal.

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As well as the fiery ritual that goes with it. There’re very few ritualistic drinks around actually. (If u wanna do sum caveman chant while drinking it, oso can.)

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Wanna know more about absinthe and these two brands? There’s a fascinating story: *click!*. This sure is the original thing from the birthplace of absinthe in Switzerland. Some hillbilly kampung.

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And, here’s where u can get it at in Malaysia:

Quattro @ Avenue K

Gypsy @ Changkat BB

Werner’s @ Changkat

My place. Haha

El Cerdo @ Changkat

21 @ Changkat

Blanc le Club @ Heritage Row

Red Square @ Cap Square

Metropol

Shalome, Wabisabi, Tao, Bamboo 9, HQ9 @ TTDI

The Social @ Bangsar

Hush

Shuraku @ Solaris

La Bodega @ BSC

Bubba Gump (watdefuck!) @ The Curve & Pyramid

Cafe Chulo@ Jaya 1

Two Monkeys @ Jaya 1

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It’s imported by TWE (Tong Woh). Will check and revert if u can buy it at any liquor store, especially if u’d rather take it home and start an arson party. Trust me it’s fun. Best done just before u go out to party.

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U heard it here first. Salud!

Brain damage rating: 8/10 (takin into account previous experiences with absinthe!)