Travis Vocino Experiments in Art, Science & Technology.

Marilyn Manson has released his own brand of 66.6% proof absinthe called – ready for this? – Mansinthe. Seriously.

Yes, soon to be the choice drink for goth pre-prom parties, the authentic absinthe is made in Switzerland, and per Manson’s specifications contains the highest amount of wormwood allowed by law. Before Manson, the 19th century bohemian spirit was once favored by old school bad asses like Ernest Hemingway, Edgar Allan Poe and Oscar Wilde.

“Got tight last night on absinthe and did knife tricks. Great success shooting the knife into the piano. The woodworms are so bad and eat hell out of all furniture that you can always claim the woodworms did it.” ~Ernest Hemingway

Bottles feature original Manson art and cost about 40 bucks. You can purchase at absinthe.de, which provides proper drinking directions and interesting warnings like “Do not drink Absinthe pure, do not light your Absinthe on fire, do not think Absinthe will make you hallucinate.”

Death in the Afternoon

Hemingway said to “pour one jigger absinthe into a Champagne glass. Add iced Champagne until it attains the proper opalescent milkiness. Drink three to five of these slowly.”

Might be right up Manson’s ally but apparently his girlfriend Rachel Wood can’t quite handle it. “One shot of it, and you?re out for the night. Three shots of it, you?re dead.” Thrilling. Do I really want to drink that, apart from perhaps the novelty factor?

The Verdict

So how does it actually taste?

I personally don’t think anyone is bothering to care. People are going to buy it because it’s a novelty and take it to the hardcore show afterparty. Unfortunately, that didn’t stop the critics from giving their honest opinions.

Over at Epicurious it was given overall low marks of cool factor — scoring 16.25 out of a possible 30, with no category getting above even a 3.5. Ouch.

“The No. 1 problem was the aroma, which some verbally compared to sewage water or swamp mud, but with the exception of a lone taster, the panel felt it wasn’t really worth wading through the odor to get to mediocre flavor anyway.”

Oh well, sorry Marilyn.