Nicknamed “La Fée Verte” (“The Green Fairy”) after its pale-green colour, it tastes much like an aniseed-flavoured liqueur but with a more subtle flavour, due to the many herbs used, and light bitter undertones.
In addition to wormwood, absinthe contains anise (often partially substituted with star anise), Florence fennel, hyssop, melissa, and Roman wormwood (Artemisia pontica). Various recipes also include angelica root, sweet flag, dittany leaves, coriander, veronica, juniper, nutmeg, and various mountain herbs.
The alcohol content is extremely high (45%~85%, though there is no historical evidence that any commercial vintage absinthe was higher than 74 percent) given the low solubility of many of the herbal components in alcohol.
It is usually not drunk “straight,” but consumed after a fairly elaborate ritual (link with info) in which a specially designed, slotted spoon with a sugar cube inside its bowl is placed over a glass, and water is poured over the sugar until the drink is diluted 3:1 to 5:1. During that ritual, the components that are not soluble in water come out of solution and cloud the drink; that milky opalescence has always been called the “louche” (Fr. “opaque” or “shady”). This process takes around seven minutes, the following is a time-lapse animation of it:
In the former times of the Belle Epoque many intellectuals and artists confessed their love to the Green Fairy and met for the “Heure Verte”, the green hour, in the bistros of Paris. Toulouse Lautrec, Baudelaire, Manet, Rimbaud, Verlaine and Gauguin were famous absintheures, just to name a few.
Asides from alcohol absinthe contains a number of different psychoactive substances. Among these thujon is of major importance, a substance released by the wormwood plant, known under the name artemisia absinthium. The effects of real absinthe can be mood brightening, stimulating even euphorizing. Today in Germany and other European Countries the maximum thujon content permitted by law is 10mg per kilogram in spirits and 35mg in the so called “Bitter Spirits.”
When indulged in moderation, the effect is one of pleasant alcohol intoxication accompanied by a lively mental clarity and uplifted mood, not unlike that of caffeine. It is now commonly thought to be the result of the mixture of the herbs in question, not merely the wormwood. It is likely that this liveliness and clarity allowed the artists and writers of the belle epoque to capture their visions rather than simply falling into a stupor. However, it must be remembered that absinthe inspires brilliance, it does not provide it.
When indulged in excessively, however, the effects are precisely similar to those of any over-indulgence in alcohol. Take into mind the very high alcohol content compared to most modern drinks, and indulge responsibly and in moderation.
Absinthe is not a narcotic. It will not make you “trip”, hallucinate, cut your ear off, or anything else you wouldn’t ordinarily do when intoxicated with liquor. These often-repeated legends are based on misinformation, exaggeration, 19th century politics (specifically, the Puritanical drive to to ban all alcohol-containing drinks – absinthe was an easy target because of it’s high alcohol content) and media hype.
Absinthe has never been banned in the UK, Spain, Portgual, the areas now known as the Czech Republic or Mexico, nor in much of Southern and Eastern Europe,
It was banned in Congo, Brazil, Belgium, Switzerland, Holland, the USA, and France in the early 1900’s as a result of French controversy.
It was recently legalised again by the European Union in 1988 and is now legal in nearly all of Europe.
An often neglected fact is that there were millions who enjoyed absinthe regularly with no ill effects whatsoever. There were over 30,000 cafés all over Paris. At its height of popularity, the people of France consumed over 36,000,000 liters of absinthe a year . Everyone drank absinthe. There were no drug-induced “trips” as with commonly available illegal drugs.
Absinthe was never drunk furtively in dark, secret “absinthe dens”. It was like beer is today – everywhere, in every bar.
Swiss poster criticising the 1915 ban of Absinthe
It shows a triumphant prohibitionist, dressed as a priest, trampling on the murdered figure of the Green Fairy, while in the background Helvetica mourns her lost liberties.
From 2nd March this year, absinthe was made again legal in its country of origin, Switzerland, after nearly a century of prohibition. Evidence suggests absinthe has never stopped being produced in Switzerland and clandestine home distillers have produced it since the ban.
In America it is still banned, and bottles of absinthe are regularly seized by American customs officers.
There it is not specified as a controlled substance and not legally considered a drug (as in fact, it is not). This means that there are no laws specifically prohibiting possession or consumption of absinthe in particular. It can, however, be seized during transit or from your home, with a warrant. Also, it is considered untaxed liquor, which is illegal.
If absinthe is discovered in luggage being brought into the US it will be confiscated and “destroyed” (by some very delighted customs officers and their drinking buddies, most likely). It’s not considered “evil” like cocaine or heroin, it’s considered naughty.
If absinthe is discovered by Customs or the US Postal Service (USPS) being shipped to the US via the mail, it will be seized and the package will be resealed and delivered to its intended recipient along with a letter stating that the absinthe had been found and seized and you may elect to contest the seizure (you have no chance of winning this), have them “destroy” it or return it to the sender.
In any of these cases, you will not be fined, arrested or harassed, you’ll just have your booze stolen from you by well-meaning but ignorant public servants. They are only doing their job.
What’s wrong with Czech-style Absinth (easily spotted as it does not include the E of Absinthe) – also produced in Russia, Germany, Poland, Holland, Austria and Bulgaria.
With very few exceptions, absinthe (“absinth”) produced outside France, Switzerland and Spain are terribly inferior absinthe knock-offs and marketed by less-than-ethical businesses – It’s fake, and possibly harmful due to added chemicals that ordinary Absinthe does not contain that can prove toxic.
However, recently, three medium-to-decent quality brands of authentic absinthe have been released: “Montmartre” from Austria, “Absinthe Toulouse Lautrec” from Czechia, and one decent Swiss absinth (no e), “Kallnacher”.
Thujone is not a narcotic either. Thujone, the primary volatile oil in wormwood, is present in only in very small amounts in absinthe and is negligible in its effects. The current “high-thujone” and “strong” hype on many sites selling absinthe (usually absinth, the poor-quality ripoff) is merely a marketing gimmick aimed at the gullible in search of a new high. Thujone’s role in the so-called “secondary effect” is greatly exaggerated, as are the secondaries themselves.
While in extremely high quantities, thujone is known to be a dangerous neurotoxin, science has shown through chemical analysis of vintage absinthes and contemporary absinthes made strictly according to historical recipes, that previous estimates of thujone levels in pre-ban absinthe were greatly exaggerated. One would die of alcohol poisoning long before one could consume enough absinthe to get a substantial dose of thujone.
Sage and tarragon both contain thujone. There’s probably as much thujone in one glass of absinthe as there is in a helping of turkey stuffing. Very, very little and in no way harmful. As was mentioned previously, most of the taste comes from the unique combination of herbs, and the “Absinthe effect” comes from the distillation process.
The majority of studies cited by critics which seem to implicate absinthe were not performed by testing absinthe itself, but used pure thujone extracted directly from wormwood without distillation and without considering the miniscule amounts actually present in the absinthe after distillation. A parody of a scientific analysis.
Many decadent fin-de-siecle Paris-based artists including Paul Verlaine and Oscar Wilde were fans of the drink.
Contrary to rumours, Absinthe definitely does not in any way “rot your mind” 😉
Pure thujone, now that would be a different matter. But that’s like saying drinking alcoholic drinks is the same as drinking pure Ethanol (pure alcohol, 100% proof), which would surely kill you. It’s not. 😉
A detailed scientific report about Thujone by Ian Hutton in an article titled ‘Myth, reality and absinthe‘ September 2002, first appearing in ‘Current Drug Discovery’ magazine, a resource for individuals working in healthcare – “Absinthe has always had an ambivalent history, praised on the one hand as ‘The Green Muse’ by its devotees, while condemned on the other by it detractors as a cause of moral degeneracy. But is there any scientific or medical basis for either position?“
You can’t make real absinthe at home any more than you can make real whisky at home. Absinthe must be distilled. Soaking wormwood in vodka to make absinthe is like soaking corn in vodka to make Bourbon. It’s like adding grape juice to vodka to make wine.
Authentic absinthe is not horribly bitter; it is less so than tonic water or tea, and the tradition of adding sugar also helps belay the bitterness.
Reviews of different absinthes.
The sugar’s an important bit! The preparation ritual’s for a reason, think the Chinese Tea Ritual, it’s to make sure it is prepared and tastes the best possible!
Also there are many many different types of Absinthe, with different tastes, flavours and ingredients. They’re no more the same than all types of wine are.
From http://www.alandia.de:
Particularly good varities:
1. Absinthe Suisse La Bleue – Tradition and quality at its best
2. Strong68 – The best absinthe effect.
3. Moulin Vert – Traditional French absinthe with a very complex taste, natural green color nice louche and stimulation.
4. Blue Velvet – Anisfree absinthe, therefore for those who do not like the licorice taste.
Hm, this i need to check 😉
Funny thing btw; i disliked absinthe because of the fad going with it..
In the meantime i found Pernod is a bit rounder in taste than Sambuca when mixed with coke, so my standard drink has changed to that…what i didn’t knew before i changed it was that the pretty common drink “Pernod” is basically nothing else than absinthe without all the illegal ingredients ( seems like i’m not the only one though, judging by how many posers and baby-bats run around to spend a shitload more for a bottle labeled “Absinthe” instead of pernod while absinthe naturally must be “censored” too to be sold in Germany^^ But they sure don’t buy it because of it’s taste anyway :roll:)
Anyway, if you find nothing labeled Absinthe near you, try Pernod – bit more common 😉
French stuff though, so it’s a one-time experience to see me promoting it.
On a side note i also found an absinthe bar in Leipzig during the WGT that has like 122 different brands of Absinthe! http://www.sixtina.de
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