Information about Absinthe
Absinthe
Absinthe is a very strong 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 orginally given to French soldiers in the 1840s to treat malaria and they brought the drink home with them. Special Abinthe bars opened all over Paris and Absinthe hours or “L’heure verte” took place daily. In the middle of the 19th century, the distillers of Absinthe, were producing over 30,000 liters of the drink for the French people to buy!
The Drink Absinthe History of Absinthe
Legend says that Dr Pierre Ordinaire created Absinthe in the town of Couvet in the 18th century as an elixir or tonic for his patients. The Absinthe recipte eventually reached the hands of Henri-Louis Pernod who first distilled Absinthe in Couvet and later in Pontarlier, France using the name of Pernod Fils.
Pernod used a wine base with various herbs including common wormwood (artemisia absinthium), aniseed, fennel, lemon balm, hyssop, angelica, dittany, star anise, nutmeg and juniper.
Among well known drinkers of the Green Fairy were Van Gogh, Pablo Picasso, Oscar Wilde, Ernest Hemingway, Degas, Gauguin, Verlaine and Baudelaire.
Absinthe eventually became more popular than wine in France, and the prohibition movement campaigned to get Absinthe banned because:-
- The ingredient Thujone, in wormwood, was thought to be similar to THC in cannabis and thought to be psychoactive.
– Absinthe was linked with artists, writers and courtesans of Montmartre and their loose morals.
– Absinthe was thought to have psychedelic effects, and to drive people insane.
It was claimed that an Absinthe drinker murdered his whole family – just the excuse that the prohibition movement were looking for to persuade the government to ban Absinthe. The buying, selling and consumption of Absinthe was made illegal in france in 1815 and in other countries around this time.
Many studies have shown that Absinthe, including vintage Absinthe, only contains small amounts of thujone and is perfectly safe to drink. Legalized in most all countries since the 1990s, there has been an Absinthe revival in many countries, including the USA which has recently allowed a few brands to be marketed and sold.
Absinthe Drink About 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 herbal ingredients such as wormwood, aniseed and fennel. To make your own Absinthe, simply mix with either vodka or Everclear. Essence has four different types available.
Preparation of Absinthe
The proper way to prepare Absinthe is to follow a ritural:-
– Pour 25-50ml Absinthe into an Absinthe glass.
– The slotted Absinthe spoon may be rested on top of the glass.
– On the slotted spoon, put a sugar cube.
– Drip ice water over the sugar with a Absinthe fountain or pour slowly from a carafe.
– Watch for the Absinthe louche.
– 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.