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The Liquid Muse (center) at Bar Keeper

…What? You thought absinthe, that storied liquor that made Picasso cut off his own ear, made people go nuts? Well, you can rest assured that absinthe does not make you crazy. I know, because I had some and lived to tell about it, right here, right now on this very blog.

I had this absinthe courtesy of The Liquid Muse Cocktail Club, which I’ve blogged about before, at Bar Keeper in Silver Lake. This was a great event — fun, informative, and in the coolest location. This meeting of the club was sponsored by Lucid absinthe and came with its own absinthe expert, who explained the origins of the liquor and its infamy. Apparently, you have to drink a ton of the stuff to “go crazy,” and it was banned because the wine industry didn’t want the competition, not because it was dangerous. So there you have it. Now that absinthe has been un-banned, you can enjoy the liquor made from sugar beets, fennel, anise and grand wormwood any time you want.

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Manhattan (left), gin cocktail (right)

Natalie Bovis-Nelsen of The Liquid Muse recently started a cocktail club, and I was lucky enough to snag a spot (okay, I was technically a +1) to the last meeting at BOA Steakhouse in West Hollywood.

We cocktail lovers, including Matt of Rumdood, Danit and Paul of LA Decostified, H.C. of L.A and O.C. Foodventures, Danny Kung Food Panda and Esther of estarLA, enjoyed two drinks made for us that night: a Manhattan made with Maker’s Mark bourbon, roobios red tea, Luxardo cherry liqueur and garnished with a brandy cherry on the bottom of the glass; and a gin cocktail made with No. 209 gin, rhubarb, sage, soda water and garnished with strawberries.

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Hey, party people! The biggest prom just for bloggers (OK, it may be the only prom just for bloggers) this year is fast approaching on July 22, and if you’ve been lucky enough to score an invite — we’ve reached capacity, though there’s a wait list — there are tons of goodies and fun waiting for you next week at the Andaz hotel on the Sunset Strip.

So if you’re attending, you’ll have lots of great (and free!) food, drink and take-home goodies to look forward to, all to be enjoyed in the chic setting of the Andaz’s rooftop with its killer views.

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