I ordered several different bottles of Absinthe from Germany a few years ago to check it out. I also purchased the sugar lumps, the special perforated spoons and matches to do the whole absinthe ritual. I can see why folks get addicted to this stuff--not only because of the high alcohol content and the almost hallucinatory aspects of the thujones in it, but due to the ritual of making a glass of it, which is as involved as a Japanese Tea ceremony..and the wonderful green fairy color the absinthe becomes. It does give you a more aware form of 'drunk', similar to really good 100 percent blue agave tequila.
The absinthe you can obtain now does not have the level of alcohol however that it did in 1890, it's high but it was closer to grain alcohol back then.

It's a nice change of pace once in a while, but it's not the sort of thing I drink all the time. I have a bottle of Verte de Fougerolles that I break out every so often.

I can't say that the effects were any difference from drinking any other 144 proof liquor. Tasty, though.

Check it out:

http://www.absintheonline.com/

A couple years back, the girl I was dating at the time went to study abroad in Hungary. Apparently that's "the only" place to get the real stuff, according to her. So for my birthday she sent me a bottle.

My thoughts on absinthe are as follows:

1. "I felt surprisingly aware, considering it had a ridiculously high alcohol content."

That's true. I know this because I was able to light it on fire. In retrospect, not the smartest idea, but cool nonetheless. I think it said something along the lines of 170 proof, which I didnt think was even possible at that time. I might as well have been drinking distilled magic.

2. I [kid] you not, I could see my words when I spoke. This only happened once though. Other times I just got drunk. Reeeeeally drunk.

3. It's a pain in the ass to make. I bought sugar cubes and tried to look like I was too cool for the coffee shop, but ended up fusing a sugar cube to one my forks, because I lit that on fire as well. Seriously, mix it with some Sprite. It makes the awful taste of licorice a bit more bearable.

4. You should always sip Absinthe. No matter what. I repeat, this is a sipping drink. If you've got the high end stuff with a decent amount of wormwood, and thujone, it won't affect you quicker if you pound it. Or if you make "Absinthe Bombs". A buddy of mine did that. He was jealous that I was the first kid on the block with a bottle, and ordered his own for $200. After mixing a booze with 100+ proof rating, and Redbull, all he got was drawn all over an hour later when he passed out.

Do yourself a favor and don't drink the Czech stuff.

OK. a few things here. After living in Prague for five years and having both real and fake Absinthe, I found that the real stuff is like Pastis (which is actaully Absinthe w/o the wormwood root extract) and does not get you too drunk. the fake stuff on the other hand will get you polluted! seriously.
also, and I'm only going to say this once;
"LIGHTIING IT ON FIRE IS NOT PART OF THE DRINKING TRADITION." that's something started by stupid frat -boy American sandal wearing tourists in Prague. And, yes I know, it was in the Hughes Bros' film From Hell, but that's becuz it was filmed there.
The way to drink Absinthe is to get a sugar cube, a flat spoon with holes in it and a carafe of water. Pour the water over the sugar into the glass. The water and sugar should turn the 'sinthe a pale creamy jade color (if it's real). Stir. End of "ritual"
You do not freebase the friggin sugar b-4 you drink it.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/05/dining/05absi.html?scp=8&sq=absinthe&st=nyt

I once got in a scrap with the police in Prague for freebasing cookie dough.

If this stuff isn't going to make me see through time or hallucinate people in dolphin suits (moreso than I already do...), I don't see the point.

I'll stick to good old Mickey's thank you very much. If I want to hallucinate when I drink I can do it for a ton less with bum wine. For excellent reviews, http://www.bumwine.com/ is the place to go.

Read this:

"Century was nice, it was the first Absinthe I had experienced.

I drank about 4 shots worth the first time and just remember sitting there and my wife just laughed and asked if I was alright. She said she asked that because I had a constant smile on my face. (Honestly wasn’t aware at the time till I stood up and looked in the mirror.)
Overall a strong sense of well being and clarity.. The best part was that the next morning I woke up 10 mins before the alarm went off and literally hopped out of bed. I felt outstanding.. It was the exact opposite of a hangover"

LOL I tried it as well.

It has 100mg thujone. and believe what you like ...it matters. I tried loads of different absinthe and this is the nearest you will get to green fairy juice.

http://www.centuryabsinthe.com/

I should clarify that the only reason I lit mine on fire was because I couldn't read Czchek, and wanted to see how strong of a proof it was.

To be fair, I also lit multiple other boozes on fire as well.

Hemingway has a bunch of his characters drinking it. I like Hemingway, but I think absinthe tastes like poop.

Ahhh...Absinthe....I was in Rome with my dad on a business trip, and I came across a bottle of Absinthe. I had heard good things about it so I bought it. Not being able to enjoy the night life, (I'm a 22 female and my dad is pretty protective) so I decided I would take a few little nips after dinner. I forgot to hide the bottle when I went to shower, and my dad found it. He thought it was vodka so he made a drink... hee hee... Good thing he was a hippie in the 60's because he was along for the ride now. When I came out of the shower I saw what he was doing, and told him what he was drinking. He was cool with it, or maybe he was already feeling good, but we ended up going out to the bars after that. I think that was the most bonding I have done with him in my life. Absinthe, it's a good thing...

hey Sandy, Wanna go out for a drink sometime?