Absinthe ( St George, Kubler, Lucid )

This was drink of choice among artists, poets, and writers, and of course the common man of late 19th century. Some of these "art" types even claimed that the drink enhanced their creativity, to which I call "shenanigans!" Others of the time said the drink was the cause of the societal woes in in some cases pure madness and debauchery, which led to the drink becoming banned in many countries.

Absinthe, or commonly known by its nick name "the green fairy" was banned in the US prior to prohibition. The drink was/is made with "grand wormwood" as one, of its several ingredients. This herb contains a compound called thojune. It was purported, at the time, that this compound made imbibers "mad and or insane", and for those creative types gave a spark of creativity. There has been no scientific proof to back either theory up, though many high profile court cases, and celebrities behavior at the time were said to have a basis with the drink.

For example it was said Van Gough cut his ear off after sampling some absinthe, of course he was just plain crazy too! The other instance, usually referred to that cause outraged and led to the direct ban in Switzerland, was that of a swiss farmer who killed his wife and unborn son, then turned on his two daughters after drinking two glasses of absinthe. Of course it was never mentioned that A) he was a raging alcoholic, and B) that same day he had also consumed 6 glasses of wine, 1 glass of creme de menth, 1 cup of coffee w/brandy, as well as other liquors. You see absinthe is typically between 50-60% Alcohol which is 100 to 120 proof! This is the only thing that I see would cause any societal woes when consumed in large quantities and where grand wormwood was mistakenly given its allure and damnation.

If you wish to read more about the history of absinthe please check out the wiki entry here: Absinthe Wiki

Recently the swiss makers of "3 Kubler Absinthe" hired a lawyer and took on the various legal systems in the various countries where the drink was banned. With much success they were able to get the drink removed as a banned liquor.

With that success it opened the gates to allow American distributors to import the European brands of Kubler and Lucid, and one American maker to start providing the drink domestically.

The American maker sold their first batch the day after my birthday Dec 21, 2007. St.George Spirits located in Alameda, CA. They are known for the premium vodka called Hanger 1, as well as some other spirits.

I was able to acquire a bottle of the 1st batch late Friday night around 6pm or so after 45 min of waiting. I was only able to get said bottle by the kindness of the owner, Lance, breaking open his personal stash and allowing 20 additional bottle to be sold which I was lucky number 17. All totally with their local distribution to a few liquor stores as well as their sales at the distillery they sold over 3500 bottles for around $75. each.

At the distillery I was able to sample some while waiting in line and must say that the st.george is a very pleasing and complex absinthe and is my favorite out of the three I've tried so far.

BevMo here in California sell at least two other kinds of absinthe.

3 Kublar Absinthe 

Lucid

All of the absinthe louche very well, or create a precipitate that is suspended in the liquor after adding ice water which depending on the starting color will create a jade like color or in the case of the Kublar an opal/white color.

When purchasing absinthe be wary of the Czech brands, as i've heard they are more licorice and alcohol than any true complexity what absinthe should be and should be avoided.

The Kublar is clear in color, and is the weaker of the three in taste and complexity. It has a more of a black jelly bean flavor. Oddly enough is about midpoint in price 53.99 and purported to be one of the better absinthe. Myself I didn't care much for this brand.

The Lucid is akin to the st.george, but not as complex. It is green in color and louches nicely. The price is about $45.00. This would be a good starting point for most people if they wanted to try the drink and never have before. Then if they like the drink they should then move up to the St. George Absinthe Verte.

All of the Absinthe were taken with equal parts of water to absinthe and a standard sugar cube using the traditional method of drizzling ice water over the cube on a spoon. I myself don't own any of the "special glasses or spoons" so I used an everyday large cordial glass of about 8 oz and 1 oz of absinthe and 1 oz water using a slotted "serving spoon" (finally have a use for that piece of silverware) from my silverware set.

I've taken some video of the louching of each in the glass but the videos are fairly large and I'll need to compress them to post them. After that I'll post them here.

So now that I've got 3 bottles of absinthe I believe I'm going to invite some friends over for an absinthe tasting party!

If you have any questions please let me know.

New Wii Game Purchases

So I had the itch to pick up some new Nintendo Wii games this week. I picked up the following titles and gave each a try last.

Mercury Meltdown Revolution
Geometry Wars: Galaxies
Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games

Geometry Wars: Galaxies is a port from the xbox and reminds me of one of my favorite games of all times Asteroids! The game itself is pretty simple, survive wave after wave of enemies and obtain the highest score possible! There are a few other subtleties to the game. One is that you have a little "pod" that you can "program" to perform various, six i think, behaviors e.g., defending behavior, attacking behavior, and a gathering behavior, These behaviors are purchased by picking up the currency in the game called "nodes" dropped from destroyed baddies. Its a fun game and has many many levels. You can play with a friend too locally.

Mercury Meltdown Revolution is another game in the line of "tilt" games, where you hold the remote on its side and "tilt" the world around while your blob/marble/droplet/Monkey Ball slides around, such as Super Monkey Ball, Kororinpa: Marble Mania, and Dewy's Adventure. The difference here is, and I think this is the best of the four, is that there are 150+ levels of puzzles but more importantly has aspects of game play from the other three. Mercury Meltdown moves much like the water droplet does in Dewey's Adventure and there are even triggers like in Dewey's Adventure to heat(faster movement), cool(slower movement), and turn the blob into a solid ball(rail riding). Like Marble Madness the puzzles are complicated and challenging and have triggers/effects you must overcome to finish in a timely manner. The one unique aspect of this game is that you can "split" your blob into two sections and then use "paint stations" to turn your blob into various colors. Paint two colors onto two separated blobs and then combined them back into one blob will provide a third color, or secondary color! This color mixing is what some triggers and finish portals require to finish the level. Which is a nice added feature for a bit of complexity! The game is mostly single player, there are a few "party games" and you can go via wi-fi and compare and rank your scores and try and beat other people scores. The best thing is the game is a mere $19.99 at most places! So its a must buy!

Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games Is a very good game as well, however there are some irritating facts about the game. One it is full price, $49.99. Second some of the "missions" you have to perform within the guidelines of the event. On event in particular which peeved me was the freestyle swimming. I ran the race twice coming in first each time with a time of 47.7 seconds but still failing. WTF! So after quickly reading the requirements again , I noticed to pass the event you had to finish between 48 and 50 seconds exactly! It didn't matter that I kicked Ninteno/Sega characters booties all over the place and got 1st place, which being the Olympics you would think doing the "best" would allow you to continue on regardless. Lastly not all the events are unlocked so you have to play through a bit before unlocking any new events in circuit mode, much like the Mariokart franchise. Which I was a bit upset as I was hoping for a little archery action right off. I think there are something like 20+ events total and about half are available at the start. The game is fun, don't get me wrong, but for most of the events it is just another "wave the nunchuck and wii remote up and down as fast as you can" game with a few added complexities. The game does give a good workout though.

With that said here are some info/codes for the Olympics Game I gleaned off the web and placed here for a one stop shop!:

Unlockable: Music Tracks

Below is a list of music you can unlock in the game.

* Green Hill - Complete each round of one minigame
* Overworld - Complete each round of one minigame
* Sonic 2 Special Stage - Complete each round of three minigames
* Sonic 2 Underwater - Complete each round of three minigames
* Star Light - Complete each round of two minigames
* Underground - Complete each round of two minigames

Unlockable: Emblems

Below is a list of unlockable emblems, and how you can unlock them.

* Knight Emblem - Go 15-0 in an individual event
* Network Emblem - Connect to Wi-Fi Nintendo Rankings
* Olympic Record Emblem - Break a record on any event
* Rocket Emblem - Win the 100m event
* World Record Emblem - Break a world record on any event

Unlockable: Events

Below is a list of events that can be unlocked in the game, and how to unlock each.

* 400m Hurdles - Win Sunlight Circuit
* 400m Race - Win Planet Circuit
* 4x100m Relay - Unlock the Moonlight Circuit
* Advanced Class - Come in First on the Moonlight Circuit
* Archery - Unlock the Stardust Circuit
* Big Bang Circuit - Place on podium on Universal Circuit
* Cosmos Circuit - Win Supernova Circuit
* Dream Fencing - Win Comet Circuit
* Dream Platform - Unlock Galaxy Circuit
* Dream Race Event - Unlock the Moonlight Circuit
* Dream Table Tennis - Win Satellite Circuit
* End Credits Sequence - Place in 1st on Big Bang Circuit
* Galaxy Circuit - Win Cosmos Circuit
* High Jump - Play as all characters at least once
* Meteorite Circuit - Come First in Stardust Circuit, Planet Circuit, Comet Circuit, Satellite Circuit and Sunlight Circuit
* Moonlight Circuit - Come in First on: Mercury, Venus, Jupiter, and Saturn Circuits
* Pole Vault - Unlock Supernova Circuit
* Single Sculls Event - Unlock the Moonlight Circuit
* Stardust Circuit - Come in First on the Moonlight Circuit
* Sunlight Circuit - Win Stardust, Planet, Comet, and Satellite Circuit
* Supernova Circuit - Win Meteorite Circuit
* Universal Circuit - Place on podium on Galaxy Circuit
* Vault - Unlock Cosmos Circuit

If you find any more codes for any of the games please let me know and I'll post it up!

-PTSuk