July 7th, 2007:
 

Hola chicos and chicas! My name is Brad Westmar and I am the host of a syndicated talk/comedy radio program called The Wild Wild Westmar Show. This past week my show crew and I decided to partake in some absinthe on the air. None of us had ever consumed a drop of absinthe, so this was an extremely anticipated event for us and our listeners.

We obtained bottles of Oliva and Absinthium 1792 from our friends at greenfairy.org. Everyone began with a glass of Oliva by using the traditional method of mixing: 1 shot of absinthe to approximately 5 parts water, some of which is dripped over sugar...you know the routine. Admittedly, we were a bit hurried to prepare 4 glasses before the start of the show and we may have sped up the mixing process a bit too much. Regardless, we all began sipping at the same time after observing the milky louche we had created.

Our immediate response was that the Oliva's taste was extremely bitter and not as pleasing to the palate as the everyday alcohols we are used to drinking. To combat this, most of us added more sugar to our glasses of Oliva. Whether this is "right or wrong" is still beyond me. Remember, we're all amateur absinthe drinkers and were more interested in what the absinthe buzz (both figuratively and literally) is all about rather than how to prepare it with extreme specifics for perfect taste. Overall, the more Oliva I drank, the more I did not have a problem with its taste.

Eventually we broke into the Absinthium 1792 to compare and contrast. The most obvious difference was the color (a bright green compared to the Oliva's olive green) and the smell. The aroma of the 1792 seemed to have more pizzazz, which isn't surprising when you consider it's artificially colored and already contains sugar. But that didn't stop us from adding sugar via the drip method we used for the Oliva. The taste of the 1792 was a bit easier for most of us to swallow, but the Oliva is supposed to be a more "authentic" absinthe.

As I mentioned earlier, we probably did not do the mixing technique(s) justice. Okay, to put it mildly...we were antsy to drink and not as excited about the process of mixing after going through the process once. At one point my co-host, Carl, attempted an alternative mixing technique: He poured approximately 5 parts water into a glass and dripped a shot of absinthe over sugar. This caused the water and absinthe to remain separated in the glass. The idea is to drink it this way and let the water filter through the absinthe. The problem we ran into was getting the sugar to dissolve with the absinthe drip. This ended up being a bit time consuming and rather annoying, especially since we were trying to do a radio show at the same time. So after giving it a quick taste test with a minimal amount of sugar added, Carl dropped the sugar in the glass, mixed it up, and began drinking. This might horrify some absintheurs, but like I said...we're an easily distracted bunch!

The more we drank, the more I didn't care what I was drinking. In approximately 4 hours I drank 3 glasses of Oliva and 1 of the 1792. Based on this first experience I can easily give non-absinthe drinkers my assessment of the "clear-headed drunk" feeling that's associated with absinthe. I've been calling it "drunk without the baggage". The "clear head", for me at least, did not mean I suddenly got SMART. Instead I had a somewhat drunk, euphoric feeling and was still able to be in control of my thoughts and actions, unlike what happens when I drink too many Milwaukee's Best Lights on a Saturday night. And that reminds me...no hangover after this absinthe experience, either, which is somewhat rare for me. But I'm chalking it up to being lucky this first time around.

My intentions for doing an "Absinthe Show" were to educate the listeners on absinthe and help debunk the myths surrounding it. And, of course, I wanted to know what a "clear-headed drunk" felt like. All in all, it was a great experience for me and I'm looking forward to having more in the near future: more Oliva, more 1792...and I'm sure we'll be trying other brands, as well!

I'd like to give a shout out to the entire Wild Wild Westmar Show crew that participated in our first ever Absinthe Show: Rick "The Juke" Eidson, Lady Juke, Hot Carl, and his womanfriend, "F-bomb" Reba.

And I'd also like to thank The Absinthe Review Network for allowing me the opportunity to share the experience and pimp my radio show. Thanks, everyone!


Oliva taste: 5


Absinthium 1792 taste: 7


Overall Impression of "The Absinthe Experience": 8


Brad Westmar
The Wild Wild Westmar Show
Tuesday Nights 6-9 PM CST
www.wildwildwestmar.com
The KCHost Radio Network
www.kchost.net

The full absinthe show can be heard at www.wildwildwestmar.com under "Replays".  The absinthe show is number 76, but don't hesitate to check out their previous shows!