Where to buy absinthe in Berlin

I'm not too knowledgeable about alcohol.
My friend in the US asked me to bring him some absinthe when i visit the US in a few weeks.
Is it legal to ship it by mail, or just pack it in my luggage?
And where do they sell this stuff?

Thanx in advance.

You canNOT ship alcohol to the US by mail. You can take up to 1 liter of distilled spirits into the US without having to pay extra duty. Search is your friend here.

You can find it in almost any store which sells alcohol, from supermarkets ([Kaiser's] Tengelmann/ Rewe / Edeka) to department stores (Kaufhof, V-Markt).

Absinthe no longer has any appreciable amount of wormwood or other extracts which cause hallucinations which is why the stuff is in production again. Just like the suppose "liquid opium" in Jägermeister, any psychoactive effect from modern absinthe is purely psychosomatic. The stuff generally runs 64-78% (140°-162°) -- you and your friends are advised not to drink it straight.

woof.

Thank you for you input. I did some searching (not just here on TT), and I keep running into conflicting accounts.
As you stated, a lot of folks are saying that it is okay, but I got the following from The Wormwood Society, America's Premier Absinthe Association and Information Network.
http://www.wormwoodsociety.org/index.php?o...p;limitstart=12

Quote:

Enforcing the FDA and TTB regulations is a matter for the US Customs Dept. when it comes to bringing absinthe into the country. Non-compliant, improperly imported European absinthe for individual consumption is simply “prohibited merchandise”, not smuggled drugs. If absinthe is discovered in luggage being brought into the US it will sometimes be confiscated and “destroyed”. It's in the same category with European candy, which might use non-FDA-approved colorings.
/quote

I think I'll just tell my buddy to buy it in the US...did some more searching and it looks like they do sell them there. Thank you.

In Berlin you can find "Absinthe 66" in any Real, it is not the best out there but it is OK and comes in a kinda cool bottle and it is green in colour.

Check out the Absinth Depot at Weinmeisterstrasse 4 in Mitte.

http://www.absinth-berlin.de/

Speak to the proprietor who will probably let you sample some of the more obscure brands the shop stocks.

He can give you the lowdown on the chemistry behind the drink and may also be able to advise you on carrying it abroad.

There’s nothing wrong with drinking Absinth straight as long as you resist the temptation to set it alight before quaffing.

You might otherwise prefer diluting it with a little fresh water.

Hide all sharp implements in the house and superglue a crash helmet to your head before drinking.

I regularly bring absinthe back to the States with me when I visit.

On the customs form I write "kräuterliquor" (which is technically close) and have never had a problem.

for online ordering I use:
http://www.absinthe.de/

Customs quality and checks also depend on the airport and who actually looks over your form. Detroit was the worst thus far!

Btw, there was a scientific paper in which they conclude that the content of thujone even in the old days' absinthe was not enough to cause any effect on the nervous system - so it seems to be only the alcohol making the people mad.

"Chemical composition of vintage preban absinthe with special reference to thujone, fenchone, pinocamphone, methanol, copper, and antimony concentrations." J Agric Food Chem. 2008 May 14;56(9):3073-81.