Absinthe is real bad stuff.
I picked up a load over in prauge a few years ago (the real stuff the locals drink) and it is vile. A tiny amount of the stuff will get you very drunk.
Also there are many storys based around Absinthe, but my favorite one is that the French army had to lower its minimum height regulation as the male population were drinking Absinthe so much it lowered the average hight! Shortly after this it was banned in most of europe.