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As a young man, Samuel Clemens loved nothing more than piloting a riverboat, unless it might be arriving at the Old Absinthe House at 240 Bourbon Street in New Orleans, where they served, that's right, absinthe.
For those not familiar with this robust emerald green liqueur made from the herbal extract of wormwood, it brings out the best in you; some regard it as an aphrodisiac, others suggest it will inspire one to write the great American novel.
The fact that absinthe has been illegal in the United States for over a hundred years might explain why no great American novel, in my estimation, has been written since "Adventures of Huckleberry Finn."
But my friend, the days of absinthe prohibition are about to end.
Chemist and New Orleans native Ted Breaux has figured a way to extract the thujone element that has taken the blame over the years for inducing hallucination, disorientation and sheer madness.
Mr. Breaux sent his new absinthe recipe to the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau, and guess what? It passed! Next step - import as Breaux happens to be working in France. Up steps Viridian Spirits of New York, and now we're looking at $60 for a 750-milliliter bottle of legal and safe absinthe, called, "Lucid." I'll let you know when Ron lays it in at the Village Market. One bottle of Lucid could save the cost of four years of college... who knows.
Absinthe has been around for quite awhile; the Greeks gave it a name, it means, "without sweetness" or "undrinkable." Only by adding other herbs can it be altered so you don't have to pinch your nose while you drink it. Absinthe is mentioned in the Holy Bible in Revelation: "And the third angel sounded, and there fell a great star from heaven, burning as it were a lamp, and it fell upon the third part of the rivers, and upon the fountains of waters. And the name of the star is called Wormwood, and the third part of the waters became wormwood, and many men died of the waters, because they were made bitter."
As you see, Mr. Breaux had his work cut out for him.
Twenty years or so ago, I stopped at the Old Absinthe House at 240 Bourbon Street in New Orleans, where they no longer served absinthe, and sat in the very spot where they claimed Sam Clemens sat and sipped an absinthe. It gave me chicken skin. The next time I arrived at the Absinthe House a year or so later it was boarded up for good.
If and when we finally get to try absinthe again, we must remember to strain it over ice and a few cubes of sugar. It boasts 124 proof, so don't plan to drive heavy equipment after sampling.
There are very few things that Sam Clemens would come back for, he pretty much told us that before he left, but a cool glass of absinthe might be just the draw to bring him back to the Delta Saloon for a little taste.
McAvoy Layne lives in Incline Village and visits schools throughout Nevada as the ghost of Mark Twain.
For those not familiar with this robust emerald green liqueur made from the herbal extract of wormwood, it brings out the best in you; some regard it as an aphrodisiac, others suggest it will inspire one to write the great American novel.
The fact that absinthe has been illegal in the United States for over a hundred years might explain why no great American novel, in my estimation, has been written since "Adventures of Huckleberry Finn."
But my friend, the days of absinthe prohibition are about to end.
Chemist and New Orleans native Ted Breaux has figured a way to extract the thujone element that has taken the blame over the years for inducing hallucination, disorientation and sheer madness.
Mr. Breaux sent his new absinthe recipe to the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau, and guess what? It passed! Next step - import as Breaux happens to be working in France. Up steps Viridian Spirits of New York, and now we're looking at $60 for a 750-milliliter bottle of legal and safe absinthe, called, "Lucid." I'll let you know when Ron lays it in at the Village Market. One bottle of Lucid could save the cost of four years of college... who knows.
Absinthe has been around for quite awhile; the Greeks gave it a name, it means, "without sweetness" or "undrinkable." Only by adding other herbs can it be altered so you don't have to pinch your nose while you drink it. Absinthe is mentioned in the Holy Bible in Revelation: "And the third angel sounded, and there fell a great star from heaven, burning as it were a lamp, and it fell upon the third part of the rivers, and upon the fountains of waters. And the name of the star is called Wormwood, and the third part of the waters became wormwood, and many men died of the waters, because they were made bitter."
As you see, Mr. Breaux had his work cut out for him.
Twenty years or so ago, I stopped at the Old Absinthe House at 240 Bourbon Street in New Orleans, where they no longer served absinthe, and sat in the very spot where they claimed Sam Clemens sat and sipped an absinthe. It gave me chicken skin. The next time I arrived at the Absinthe House a year or so later it was boarded up for good.
If and when we finally get to try absinthe again, we must remember to strain it over ice and a few cubes of sugar. It boasts 124 proof, so don't plan to drive heavy equipment after sampling.
There are very few things that Sam Clemens would come back for, he pretty much told us that before he left, but a cool glass of absinthe might be just the draw to bring him back to the Delta Saloon for a little taste.
McAvoy Layne lives in Incline Village and visits schools throughout Nevada as the ghost of Mark Twain.
