Altitude and Absinthe

by Ilene Marder, January 20, 2009

For the first few days, walking up the hills was a bummer.
At first, I think something is terribly wrong...I can bearly breathe... my lungs are collapsing, my sinuses are stuffed, I've had a headache for three days and I must be dying. But wait... it's happening to others too. Right.....the altitude!!!! I had forgotten. The excessive dryness, the difficulty of catching your breath doing the simplest chores... all part of the Sundance charm I guess.

While the headaches gone now, taking a deep breath is still a challenge but I can live with it. I'm told the effects of alcohol on the body are intensified by the high altitude...so why do they serve all that ABSINTHE at parties?

I know this is supposed to be a blog focused on film...but this is too irresistable to pass up...absinthe...the formerly banned wormwood beverage that got Toulose-Latrec & his cohorts into quite a bit of trouble...seems to have become the drink of choice at several of the bashes offering free-flowing alcohol. Forget the traditional 'drip water onto a sugar cube on a spoon over the glass' method- bartenders here served it with Fresca and some kind of unenticing orange liquid, but I, curious soul that I am, ask for it straight up. I love that intriguing, blue color (blue!) and want to know its mystery.

I like it... it's liquid licorice that hits you in back of your throat with a special sort of dry, radiating coolness that turns into warmth. Concerned about any possibile 'intensification' of what is already 100% proof- especially because I have two more parties to go to that night - I have another...this time with ice, club soda and a twist of lemon. I admit I'm feeling pretty good, but far from "too much" if you know what I mean. And hey, I'm not even near a car. I drink it the next few nights and realize that while it gives a lovely satisifed feeling, it doesn't seem to last long. Perhaps that's why the Parisienne artists and rebels drank so much of it ...or perhaps the quality of what ls being served isn't the best, but in any case, it's become my drink of choice. Maybe I'll be can-canning next....