People have heard about the marvelous mythical drink, Absinthe – the drink considered to be hallucinogenic, the Green Fairy which may cause you to see fairies, the anise flavored herbal spirit popular in Bohemian Montmartre absinthekit. But, only a few people can respond to the question “What is Absinthe made of?”. They might say wormwood though not most will be capable of expand on that!
So, what is Absinthe made of?
Well, Absinthe was made by the legendary Dr Pierre Ordinaire in Switzerland in the late 18th century as being an elixir for his patients. Henri-Louis Pernod started out selling Absinthe commercially at the turn of the 19th century and employed a wine base and macerated herbs as well as common wormwood (artemisia absinthium), fennel, green aniseed, hyssop, angelica root, lemon balm, dittany, star anise, nutmeg, veronica and juniper to flavor and shade the alcohol.
Other herbs used in Absinthe manufacturing contain: calamus root, mint, cloves, sweet flag, licorice, caraway seeds, coriander seeds and also roman wormwood (artemisia pontica) also known as petite wormwood. Claude-Alain Bugnon, the renowned bootlegger who now distills Absinthe in Switzerland, likewise flavors his La Clandestine Absinthe with local Alpine herbs which offer his Absinthe a taste of honey as well as a bouquet of Alpine meadows.
It’s the essential oils of the herbs in Absinthe which result in the Absinthe to louche when water is put in. The oils are soluble in alcohol but not in water and thus precipitate if the water is added in making the drink turn cloudy or milky. In case your Absinthe does not louche then it is probably not an actual Absinthe or a high quality Absinthe loaded with essential oils.
AbsintheKit.com, who produce distilled Absinthe essences for folks to make real Absinthe at home, employ classic Absinthe herbs to flavor their essences. This means that Absinthe produced from their essences will taste beautifully and will also louche beautifully.
Some Czech Absinth doesn’t comprise anise or aniseed and it is really just a kind of wormwood bitters. Make sure that you purchase real anise and wormwood Absinthe to see the real classic flavor.
The common wormwood plant is regarded as the most famous Absinthe ingredient, the ingredient that gives Absinthe its somewhat bitter taste and the ingredient which caused Absinthe to be prohibited in many countries in the early 1900s. Initially used for thousands of years as a medicine, it started to be called a psychoactive neurotoxin which trigger psychedelic effects for instance hallucinations, convulsion and spasms. Wormwood oil contains a chemical called thujon or thujone which has been compared to THC in cannabis. Absinthe was shown to contain huge amounts of thujone and to result in driving individuals to insanity and even to death.
However, recent surveys and tests have established that vintage Absinthe actually only was comprised of small quantities of thujone, nowhere near enough to be at all dangerous. EU and US laws only allow Absinthe with small quantities of thujone to be traded so Absinthe is perfectly safe to use and enjoy.
Absinthe is a spirit or liquor not a liqueur as it does not have added sugar. It’s really a high proof alcoholic drink but is generally served diluted with iced water and sugar. Although it is safe to use, you need to know that it is a very strong spirit and definitely will quickly allow you to get drunk particularly if you combine it with other spirits in cocktails!
So, the reply to the question “What is Absinthe made of?” is handily answered – alcohol as well as a mixture of herbs.