Dude: "Hey, want to get wasted this weekend?"
Dude #2: "Hell yeah, what you got on hand?"
Dude: "I got some Mansinthe!"
Dude #2: "..."
And yes, that really is what the drink is called. Mansinthe. It's being produced by a Swiss village known for its production of Manson's favorite drink, the potent absinthe, a drink favored by fancy-named writers and musicians from back in the day, including Arthur Rimbaud and Toulouse-Lautrec, amongst others. To date, the distillery has produced 6,000 botles of Mansinthe, which have a creepy, hunched over dude with a goblet on the label. And with that, Manson has managed to take the gothic pretention level of sipping on absinthe to a whole new level.
Absinthe is an extremely potent drink, often possessing alcohol levels around 70%. For perspective, most American beers are around 5.5% alcohol. It was illegal in many European countries for years, due to the belief that it was a strong hallucinogenic -- so it should come as no shock to anybody that Marilyn Manson would fancy a drink or two of the green liquor made from Wormwood plants. The drink has only been re-legalized in Switzerland for about 4 years now.
The distillery released the following statement:
Mansinthe is a natural absinthe, distilled from vermouth, aniseed, fennel and other fine herbs. Naturally, pre-sweetening is avoided and artificial colourings are out of the question for reasons of quality. Oliver Matter characterises Mansinthe as a classic absinthe that absinthe lovers can appreciate, but which primarily appeals to novices.
Of course, if you're loking to have a taste of Mansinthe yourself, and live in the United States, I guess you should book a trip to Europe, as absinthe -- even in Mansinthe form -- is prohibited in the United States and you won't find this down at your local store.
For more information on this drink, may I direct you to Mansinthe.com?
