Absinthe, also known as the Green Fairy, is a herbal alcoholic drink which has an anise flavor. It was the drink of La Belle Epoque time history and of the Bohemian culture of Paris, in particular Montmartre. Absinthe fans – Van Gogh, Pablo Picasso, Oscar Wilde and Ernest Hemingway professed that the drink was responsible for their genius and that it gave them inspiration – the Green Fairy was their muse. But, what is in Absinthe?
What is in Absinthe?
Henri-Louis Pernod’s Absinthe from the early nineteenth century was developed utilizing a wine based alcohol which was distilled with natural herbs. It is said that his Absinthe recipe was created making use of the plant common wormwood (Artemisia Absinthium) and other herbs like Florence fennel, green aniseed, hyssop, lemon balm, dittany, star anise, angelica, veronica, nutmeg and also juniper. Some of these herbs were utilized at the outset of the method and others were utilised towards the end to offer the Absinthe its classic green or verte color.
Wormwood gave Absinthe its name (from Absinthium) and its particular somewhat bitter taste. Roman or petite wormwood (artemisia pontica) is additionally sometimes used in Absinthe production.
Wormwood includes a chemical called thujone. Thujones are monoterpenes and ketones that happen to be seen in several other plants too – sage, cypress and tansy. Thujones act on the GABA receptors in the brain and might trigger convulsions as well as muscle spasms when ingested in large quantities. They can also be toxic to organs including the liver and brain. Thujone was believed to be a lot like THC in the drug cannabis triggering psychedelic effects like hallucinations but research has revealed this to generally be false.
Wormwood, or thujone, was answerable for the banning of Absinthe in the early 1900s. The medical occupation of the time claimed that drinking Absinthe triggered Absinthe addiction, Absinthism whose signs and symptoms were:-
– Hallucinations
– Hyper excitability
– Weakening of the intellect
– Brain injury
– Insanity
– Death
These claims have right now been proved false and seem to be just part of the mass hysteria promoted by the prohibition movement of that time. Absinthe, even pre ban Absinthe, only contains very tiny amounts of thujone and it would be impossible to consume enough thujone to become harmful – you’d die of alcohol poisoning first! There is a lot more thujone in sage and no one hallucinates after eating a casserole flavored with sage!
All good Absinthe contains wormwood and other essential oils. These oils permit the Absinthe to louche when water is added in Absinthe preparation and give it its wonderful anise flavor. Ensure that you obtain a quality Absinthe or make your own Absinthe utilizing a top-quality essence from AbsintheKit.com. See AbsintheKit.com for information and help regarding Absinthe products.
Absinthe also contains alcohol and features an extremely high alcohol by volume, as much as 75% ABV. Care needs to be taken when drinking Absinthe, not mainly because it can make you hallucinate but because it’s really easy to get drunk on Absinthe particularly if you are mixing it along with other alcohol in cocktails.
I hope that this info has answered the question “What is in Absinthe?”. Enjoy knowing the Green Fairy!