Call me pessimistic but I've never understood the big deal with absinthe.
It's supposed to contain wormwood and thujone and other hallucinogenics.
Problem is, it never did. The real late-19th century stuff
-- the Van Gogh-chopping-off-his-ear stuff -- contained barely a
trace of thujone, not nearly enough to make a person go crazy.
Researchers experimenting on old Absinthe bottles and using old recipes
came to the conclusion that the thujone stays in the pot during the
distillation process.
So like Kiss without makeup or any George Lucas movie after 1990,
it's more about hype and mystery than actual flavor. (Yes, I've tried "real" absinthe. It's harsh and very alcoholic-tasting.)
But that hasn't stopped Virgin
America from advertising that it's the first airline to serve absinthe.
Specifically, Virgin is serving tourment, a small-batch French absinthe.
"It seems only fitting that the first airline to carry our
absinthe is Virgin America, a brand that is synonymous with creativity
and innovation. We realize that this may be the first opportunity for
passengers to try absinthe on a plane," says Minott Wessinger of Le
Tourment Vert.
Here's
where logic breaks down. Absinthe became infamous because of
effects that included hallucinations, fits of panic and acts of
terrible violence -- exactly the sort of attitudes you'd want to avoid
having on an airplane.
But hey, if you really want to
try absinthe and don't mind paying the exorbitant cost... just beware,
you're more likely to feel ripped off than mind-bent.
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