Absinthe on plane

R1221

Heading back to amsterdam for a few days next week:D I was just wondering if absinthe is legal in Netherlands? and if so can I bring it back on the plane or will it be confiscated

BeerNut

Absinthe is legal everywhere that alcohol is legal.

Edit: Though liquids in hand luggage are not, obviously. Check-in bag or airport shop only.

akila

I've brought it back from my last few trips away with no bother.. Enjoy

moonflower

I always find it weird that so many people think that Absinthe is illegal here.

pa990

widely availible, they have in the airport as well, but its the 35 - 40% stuff

if you do buy the 70% abv absinthe, thechnicaly you aren't allowed bring it on board.. even in your check-in luggage as it is classed as flammable (technically )


this guy has a massive selection, you just need to get the tram from centraal stn, right to his door

http://www.tonovermars.nl/

R1221

Thanks everyone, Going to chance my arm and see if I can bring back a bottle of the real stuff.:D BTW when can i buy some in Ireland, never saw it for sale in any off licence

Jonathanpbk

You can buy various types in the celtic whiskey shop

http://www.celticwhiskeyshop.com/Other_Spirits/Absinthe/a_to_z_of_Absinthe-category-24-distillery-42-z-distillery.htm

Technocentral

Jonathanpbk wrote: »

You can buy various types in the celtic whiskey shop

http://www.celticwhiskeyshop.com/Other_Spirits/Absinthe/a_to_z_of_Absinthe-category-24-distillery-42-z-distillery.htm

I bought the 4 bottle gift pack they sell in the shop for 29 euro, they go from 70 to 85% pretty nice watered down with a sugar cube. Wouldn't be into trying it straight though!

SV

moonflower wrote: »

I always find it weird that so many people think that Absinthe is illegal here.

Indeed...

Erm, can anyone explain why it simply isn't sold here?!
I really was under the impression it was illegal

BeerNut

SV wrote: »

Erm, can anyone explain why it simply isn't sold here?!

Erm, it is. See above.

No major spirit manufacturer makes one, so you're not likely to see it in the supermarket. Nor mescal, nor cachaça, nor soju nor lots of other speciality spirits.

gollem_1975

R1221 wrote: »

Thanks everyone, Going to chance my arm and see if I can bring back a bottle of the real stuff.:D BTW when can i buy some in Ireland, never saw it for sale in any off licence

every year there are loads of bottles brought back to Ireland and never opened

from experience the black stuff is particularly bad.. very rough on the stomach and best avoided

rubadub

BeerNut wrote: »

Absinthe is legal everywhere that alcohol is legal.

Seems it was illegal in the netherlands up until 2004
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Absinthe

In the Netherlands, restrictions on the manufacture and sale of Absinthe were successfully challenged by the Amsterdam wine seller Menno Boorsma in July 2004, making absinthe legal once again.

Seems the ban was lifted in many countries only recently. I think some might have limits on how high the thujone content can be, and another site has unconfirmed reports it is illegal it turkey & serbia.

BeerNut wrote: »

No major spirit manufacturer makes one, so you're not likely to see it in the supermarket.

It used to be in my local tesco, not anymore though. I expect it is also hard to find as it probably does not sell well, most people I know who tasted it though it was vile.

Technocentral

With a 7up as a mixer is quite nice, if you like licorice flavours of course.

BeerNut

rubadub wrote: »

Seems it was illegal in the netherlands up until 2004
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Absinthe

Seems the ban was lifted in many countries only recently.

Seems this doesn't really change what I said: absinthe is mostly perfectly legal.

rubadub wrote: »

another site has unconfirmed reports it is illegal it turkey & serbia.

And Vanuatu, according to Wikipedia. Though since it includes "similar liquors" Pernod is probably illegal there too.

rubadub

BeerNut wrote: »

Seems this doesn't really change what I said: absinthe is mostly perfectly legal.

Yeah, mostly -it was more directed at people saying the likes of

moonflower wrote: »

I always find it weird that so many people think that Absinthe is illegal here.

Mr.S wrote: »

Yeah its a bit silly!

It is not weird or silly to question it seeing as the bans were only recently lifted in a lot of countries. The OP or his mate could well have been in amsterdam 10 years back and told it was illegal back then, and so questions it now.

Parsley

I remember drinking absynthe ON a plane back in 2007... you should be grand :P

Butch Cassidy

BeerNut wrote: »

Edit: Though liquids in hand luggage are not, obviously. Check-in bag or airport shop only.

Liquids in hand luggage aren't banned as such. It's more so that you're not allowed carry liquids past the security screen/checkpoint. Airports have shops after the security bit of course and you can buy booze here. At one point this was called "Duty free" but then the EU did away with that and then the EU did away with people carrying liquids through security which conveniently meant that people would inevitably have to buy stuff in the airport shops should they wish to purchase a particular liquid product.

R1221 wrote: »

Thanks everyone, Going to chance my arm and see if I can bring back a bottle of the real stuff.:D BTW when can i buy some in Ireland, never saw it for sale in any off licence

There's no need to chance your arm. As a rule of thumb if you're in an EU country and it's legal then you're ok. There's limits on the amount of alcohol you can bring in to the country from outside the EU.

You might need to "chance your arm" if you want to consume it on board in flight. I did that once - bought a bottle of whiskey in the airport with the intention of having a drink on the flight - and my booze was confiscated until the end of the flight.