greggarious

So I have a business trip to Europe coming up.

I was thinking of bringing back a bottle of absinthe - I had heard it's legal again in both countries.

Is this true? I don't wanna get it taken at the border.

FlyingUnderTheRadar

Been legal again for quite sometime in the USA but check the local laws of each state/country you are passing through.

PS Europe is continent not a country.

Randyk47

Here are the rules/guidelines: http://www.cbp.gov/travel/internatio...stricted-items

bhomburg

I had no problem bringing it into the US at multiple points of entry (DFW, JFK, LAX, MIA) going back to 2007.

Section 107

Same here - I have brought it back several times and friends have brought some back for me several times with no issues.

However, you need to be careful on exactly which type/brand of absinthe you purchase. In the EU it is acceptable for absinthe to be manufactured / sold with up to 35 mg/kg of thujone - the "magic" ingredient in wormwood oil thought to induce psychotropic effects (modern pharmacological studies have debunked these thoughts).

The United States allows the manufacture/importation of absinthe that has no more than 10 mg/kg. Absinthe containing anything over that amount will be confiscated if found. Unless you have many bottles it is unlikely they would also impose a fine.

Quite a few European commercially produced brands, especially those from some Eastern European countries (CZ for example) and some produced clandestinely (in "bathtubs" at home) can have more.

If you really must have some with higher than 10 mg/kg because you want the wormwood flavor you might consider buying one bottle of US acceptable and one bottle of the not acceptable - empty the get first bottle and refill it with the not US-acceptable stuff and bring back the one bottle. If done correctly, er, carefully, this can be accomplished without the broken seal being noticed (which invites very much heightened scrutiny). Kinda of like how we, oops, some people bring back boxes Cuban cigars.

To get the most authentic product look for the words "Artemisia" or "grande wormwood" in the ingredients listing. Also look for "distilled" and stay away from "cold mixed" (but some brands will cheat and claim they are distilled because of how the base alcohol was created - ask store keeper for info). You can be assured that absinthe from CH is always distilled.

Also, keep in mind that absinthe is now manufactured and for sale in the United States. Do some research here: www.absinthes.com and order online. I completely understand wanting to bring it back from Europe but considering you might unknowingly waste your money on a poor quality product only to have it confiscated at the border - not to mention breaking in your luggage, you might find purchasing online the best way to go. Most very good absinthes can be had for about $60.

greycap7

Have had no problems. But most of Absinthe is a myth, it is nothing like LSD.