About Absinthe
Written by Post on June 1st, 2009 in Food & Drink.
About the Drink Absinthe
Absinthe is a unique liquor which is between 45 and 75% ABV (alcohol by volume), about twice as strong as other types of alcoholic beverages such as whisky and vodka.
Otherwise known as “The Green Fairy” or “La Fee Verte”, 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 Absinthe bars began opening all over Paris and special Absinthe hours or “L’heure verte” took place daily. During the middle of the 19th century, the distiller Pernod, who distilled Absinthe, were making almost 30,000 liters of Absinthe every day for sale to the French people!
The Drink Absinthe Absinthe’s History
History says that Dr Pierre Ordinaire created Absinthe in the Swiss town of Couvet in the 18th century as an elixir for his patients. The Absinthe recipe eventually got into the hands of Henri-Louis Pernod who first distilled Absinthe in Couvet and then later in Pontarlier, France under the name of Pernod Fils.
Pernod began with a wine base together with several herbs including common wormwood (artemisia absinthium), aniseed fennel, lemon balm, hyssop, angelica, dittany, star anise, nutmeg and juniper.
Famous or semi famous drinkers of the Green Fairy were Van Gogh, Pablo Picasso, Oscar Wilde, Ernest Hemingway, Degas, Gauguin, Verlaine and Baudelaire.
When in France, Absinthe became more popular than wine, the prohibition movement campaigned to get Absinthe banned because:-
- Wormwood contains Thujone, thought to be similar to THC in cannabis and thought to be psychoactive.
– Absinthe was linked with artistic types and courtesans of Montmartre and their loose morals.
– Absinthe was thought to to cause hallucinations, and to drive people insane.
After it was claimed that an Absinthe drinker murdered his whole family – this excuse was used by 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 very small amounts of thujone and is perfectly safe to drink. Absinthe has been legalized in many countries since the 1990s and here has been an Absinthe revival in many countries, including the USA who have only recently allowed a few brands to go on sale.
About Absinthe About 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 herbal ingredients such as wormwood, aniseed and fennel. Your own Absinthe can be made by simply mixing with either vodka or Everclear. Essence is available in different types.
How to Prepare Absinthe
The correct way to prepare Absinthe is to follow this interesting ritural:-
– Pour 25 to 50 ml of Absinthe into a glass.
– Slotted Absinthe spoon may be rested on top of the glass.
– Put a sugar cube on the spoon.
– Drip iced water over the sugar using an Absinthe fountain or by pouring slowly from a carafe.
– Watch for the Absinthe louche.
– Now drink your Absinthe drink.
I hope you have now learned all about Absinthe, the mysterious drink with a very interesting past and a great taste.
