Originally Posted By: wavinwayne
One thing that I gleaned from the wikipedia article is that properly made absinthe does NOT produce any more hallucinogenic effects than any other alcoholic drink. It's just the fact that absinthe has a much higher alcohol content than what most folks are used to. So, you have 3 shots of absinthe & you're blitzed; whereas the same thing wouldn't happen with 3 shots of whiskey, for example.
Well, back in '06 I travelled to Czech, among other countries. I arrived back in the states w/ 2 bottles (~$8.00 USD per bottle, and it has wormwood that sits at the bottom of the bottle), and there is a difference between the stuff you find stateside and the stuff you drink in Europe. The biggest part of the equation is thujone, the less there is, the less it deserves to be labeled absinthe.
Absinthe packs much more than just an alcohol buzz. I wouldnt call it hallucinogenic per say, but it is different than any other alcohol I have ever had, and I have tried just about all of them.
If you buy, examine the thujone content. If its not listed on the bottle, it is NOT absinthe, regardless of what the label tries to sell you.