Tara 57: A night out with Shanghai's green fairy

Most of the bars in Shanghai are using Versinthe brand which has almost no Thujone content.

In Shanghai you can find absinthe at a few places - I've seen it sometimes at Lotus Centers and at the foreigner supermarket in the American Center, on Nanjing Xi Lu. It's Czech, Fruko Schulz Absinth, it tastes like herbal flavored Listerine. Quality absinthe is only made in small batches, or from homemade grain-alcohol tinctures. And personally even then I don't think it's so great. The fake absinthes like Pernod make much better cocktails and are easy to find in Shanghai.

While I'm too lazy to Google around, science and testing emphatically show that the Thujol in absinthe has absolutely no psycho-active effect. Drinking 150 proof alcohol (the stuff you can find in Shanghai is a wimpy 120 proof) does have an effect, just from being so strong. French prohibitionist propoganda mythologized absinthe, when really it's a pretty forgettable drink. You're better off getting Havana Club 3 or 7, unavailable in the US, or Cointreau, which is a third the price it is in the US (and 100% necessary to make a good margarita, although good luck finding quality tequila).

Anyway good to hear there's a few bars lately which seem to pay more attention to making interesting cocktails, I'll have to give this place a try.

You should give it a try toogreen! The question that you ask regarding absinthe's effects is a controversial one.

One school of thought - backed up by modern science -claims that the thujone contained in the wormwood makes the brain receptors go crazy.Wormood is the main herbal constituent in real absinthe but there are others. The level of thujone in 19th century and modern day absinthe is also debated. You should take a look here for some more info about this question: Thujone in Absinthe

The other school of thought says that it is all nonsense made up by the 19th Century poets and writers who drank absinthe. Who knows? The Green Fairy in the absinthe bottle awaits you!

For my part I think absinthe is quite like any other drink, and should be enjoyed by dripping cold water into the alcohol - the so called "louche" effect - which turns absinthe to a milky green /white colour. The theatre of absinthe drinking with a spoon and water is all part of the fun.

They did not just open, they've been open for 5 month or so. There's pictures and a map here: smartshanghai.com/venue/2551/L...

I never tried absinthe. Do you really feel anything special after drinking it or is it just like normal alcohol? And how about the price?