A night of absinth

After the sushi bar, we meet up with pretty much the rest of our group at and ex-pat (ex-patriot) place called the “Red Lion”. This brings me to the reason for the title of this post. One of my friends was determined to try some Absinth, a very interesting liquor not sold in US bars (although it is legal to purchase and own it). So we decided to give it a shot and I must say the presentation was awesome. The first shot we ordered was brought to us with two glasses, a spoon, packet of sugar, a plate, a straw, and a napkin. Since we knew nothing of how to use all of these, we took the waiter up on his offer to mix it for us. This is how it went. The sugar was poured onto the spoon and than melted with a lighter. The sugar went into the absinthe, which was promptly lit on fire. After rolling the sugar around the glass a bit, this glass was poured into the second glass and covered to put out the fire. The top glass was then put on the napkin with the straw sticking out. At this point, the shot was ready so I downed it. I think my throat was on fire for about 5 to 10 seconds and as I tried to hold back several coughs, I was confused as to why the waiter was still holding the first glass upside down on the napkin with the straw sticking out. After staring at it for a few seconds, I realized what the purpose was. Well I tired. I don’t really think I inhaled anything seeing as taking deep breathes was not the easiest thing in the world to do after a shot of absinth.

By the end of the night, my friend and I had done three shots of absinth (another friend 2 and another 1). Overall, we ordered a lot of absinth. The result for me was a very strong buzz (I’m not very versed in this subject), but not much else, which was surprising when compared to my friend, who much worse than I (these are not my own words). Apparently, I handle my alcohol well (no hangover either). Anyways, it was an experience, and if you don’t know what absinth is, well you are already online. That’s how Petersburg ended, the next day we were off to Pskov and Novgorod (about which I will post soon and conclude this story, till then).