Word: liquor
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Want to party like it's 1899? Well, now you can--sort of. After nearly a century-long ban on absinthe in the U.S., a federal agency has begrudgingly allowed two European distillers to sell the mysterious liquor Stateside. Renowned for its supposedly hallucinogenic effects, the anise-flavored alcohol was rumored to have caused an epidemic of psychosis in France in the late 1800s--most infamously, leading Vincent van Gogh to cut off his ear. But before you kick one back Parisian-style, consider this: absinthe may not be the transcendent experience marketers want you to think...
...biggest controversy surrounding the liquor--once dubbed "one of the worst enemies of man"--is about not its resurgence but rather its authenticity. Enthusiasts claim the thujone-free brands, which contain less than 10 parts per million (p.p.m.) of the chemical, are made with the same relatively small amounts of thujone as the old brews. But scientists wrote in the British Medical Journal that absinthe bottled before 1900 packed up to 260 p.p.m. of thujone--which may not sound like much, but consider that only 15 parts per billion of lead in drinking water is enough to scare regulators. "They...
...perpetuated by artists and people trying to sell newspapers. Yet research shows that thujone has a significant effect on the brain, in part by blocking the neurotransmitter that controls nerve impulses. "It makes the brain zap around really fast," says Jad Adams, who wrote in Hideous Absinthe about the liquor's renown for causing lucid inebriations. "Like when you have a really strong cup of coffee...
...neighbors and family members worried about finding jobs. The threat of violence hung over the neighborhood: sometimes, Barnhill fell asleep to the patter of gunshots. A liquor store beckoned from every corner...
...nationwide rise before dawn or camp out all night to benefit from major sales at large stores. But because Harvard Square stores rely on students and tourists to generate profit, the Thanksgiving holiday left some stores empty. “Sales were dead Friday,” said DOMA Liquors store manager Arjun Kunwar. “Once the classes start again, it’ll be mad busy. Students will buy a lot of liquor.” According to the estimate by ShopperTrak, a sales research company, Friday’s nationwide sales rose 8.3 percent over last...