Everything About Absinthe

Most of the well known artists and writers liked drinking Absinthe, the Green Fairy.

Absinthe is a strong alcoholic beverage distilled at high proof but generally served diluted with iced water or in cocktails. The preparation of Absinthe liquor is done from a wine alcohol base and is flavored with herbs and essential oils together with wormwood, aniseed and fennel. Hyssop, lemon balm, star anise, angelica, juniper, nutmeg, dittany, calamus root and mint are the other herbal ingredients used in the manufacture of Absinthe.

Information about Absinthe History

Absinthe has a very long and interesting history. Wormwood has been used in medicine since ancient times. In the late 18th century Absinthe was prepared by a French doctor, Dr Pierre Ordinaire. Ordinaire used it on his patients as a medicine which gave amazing results.

Henri-Louis Pernod distilled Absinthe by using the Absinthe recipe in Couvet and under the name of Pernod Fils in Pontarlier. By the middle of the 19th century, the Pernod company were producing 30,000 liters of Absinthe each day!

Absinthe was found to be famous in France, in La Belle Epoque and many other nations also. The French people liked drinking Absinthe more than the wine. There were concerns about health and the effects of Absinthe simultaneously. The Bohemian culture of Montmartre was combined with the liquor. People started believing that thujone caused psychedelic effects, convulsions, insanity, brain damage and death.

Van Gogh's madness and his suicide, a man killing his family and the rising rate of alcohol abuse in France all had been caused due to Absinthe. Absinthe was banned both in the USA and in France. It was also illegal to buy and sell Absinthe in other nations.

Absinthe Revival

During the ban, people either drank absinthe substitutes, such as Pernod Pastis, or bought bootleg Absinthe. Several people were influenced with the proves given by studies and research.

Studies showed that the thujone content in Absinthe was so small that it cannot cause harmful side effects and drinking Absinthe was no more dangerous than other strong alcoholic beverages.

The EU legalized Absinthe with up to 10mg/kg of thujone in the late 20th century and in 2007 the USA legalized certain brands of Absinthe which contained up to 10 ppm of thujone .

France, home of Pernod's original Absinthe still has a ban on products labeled “Absinthe” and France also strictly regulates drinks containing fenchone, a chemical in fennel which is a key ingredient in Absinthe. The fenchone content in Absinthe is 5mg per liter in France,.

In these times of revival, it is possible to get Absinthe from anywhere.For further information about Absinthe essences one can go through the site AbsintheKit.com. They also sell replica Absinthe glasses and spoons like a Pontarlier glass and Eiffel Tower spoon.