Absinthe

Absinthe is a liquor which is between 45 and 75% ABV (alcohol by volume),which is about twice as strong as other types of alcoholic beverages such as whisky and vodka.

Otherwise known as “The Green Fairy” Absinthe was the drink associated with Bohemian Paris. It was given to French soldiers in the 1840s to treat malaria and they brought the drink home with them. Special Abinthe bars opened over Paris and Absinthe hours or “L’heure verte” took place daily. By the middle of the 19th century, distiller Pernod, who were the distillers of Absinthe, were making over 30,000 to be sold to the French people!

Absinthe All About the History of Absinthe

History says that Dr Pierre Ordinaire created Absinthe in the Swiss town of Couvet in the 18th century as a tonic for his patients. The recipte for Absinthe come into the hands of Henri-Louis Pernod who first distilled the drink in Couvet and then alter in Pontarlier, France under the name of Pernod Fils.

Distillers Pernod began with a wine base and various herbs including common wormwood (artemisia absinthium), aniseed, fennel, lemon balm, hyssop, angelica, dittany, star anise, nutmeg and juniper.

Among famous or semi famous drinkers of the Green Fairy were Van Gogh, Pablo Picasso, Oscar Wilde, Ernest Hemingway, Degas, Gauguin, Verlaine and Baudelaire.

Absinthe became more popular than wine, in France, and a movement campaigned to get Absinthe banned because:-

- Thujone, in wormwood, was thought to be very similar to THC in cannabis and considered to be psychoactive.
– Absinthe was linked with the loose morals of the artists, writers and courtesans of Montmartre.
– Absinthe was thought to cause hallucinations, convulsions and to drive people insane.

It was claimed that an Absinthe drinker murdered his whole family – which was just the excuse that the prohibition movement were looking for to persuade the government to ban Absinthe. The consumption, buying and selling of Absinthe in France was made illegal in France in 1915 and in many other countries around this time.

Many studies have shown that Absinthe, including vintage Absinthe, only contains small amounts of thujone and is safe to drink. Legalized in most all countries since the 1990s, there has been an Absinthe revival in many countries, including the USA who have only recently allowed a few brands to go on sale.

The Drink Absinthe The Essences in Absinthe

To enjoy Absinthe, you can either order bottles of Absinthe online or you can make your own Absinthe using essences from AbsintheKit.com. These essences are used by the Absinthe industry and are made using traditional herbs such as wormwood, fennal and aniseed. To make your own Absinthe, mix with either vodka or Everclear. There are four types of essence available.

The preparing of Absinthe

The correct way to prepare Absinthe is to follow the following ritural:-

– Pour 25 to 50 ml of Absinthe into an Absinthe glass.
– The slotted Absinthe spoon may be rested on top of the glass.
– A sugar cube is put on the spoon.
– Drip ice water over the sugar with a Absinthe fountain or pour slowly from a carafe.
– Watch for the Absinthe louche.
– Now drink your wonderful Absinthe drink.

I hope you have now learned all about Absinthe, the mysterious drink with a very interesting past and a great taste.