Absinthe thujone is the chemical present in Absinthe's vital ingredient, the plant identified as Common Wormwood, or Artemisia Absinthium to give it its botanical name absinthekit. The compound thujone was partly the cause of Absinthe being banned in early 1900s in lots of countries around the world and thujone is still tightly regulated today, particularly in the United States (or states united).
Thujone was thought to be much like THC present in cannabis and Absinthe was alleged to be psychoactive and have psychedelic effects causing hallucinations and insanity. Absinthe was favored by the Bohemian set in Montmartre in Paris and lots of artists and writers believed that Absinthe, the Green Fairy, gave them inspiration in addition to their genius. Famous Absinthe drinkers include Oscar Wilde, Ernest Hemingway, Van Gogh, Gauguin, Degas, Baudelaire and Verlaine. Some say that Van Gogh's madness was brought on by Absinthe and that he cut off his ear under its effect. Absinthe was even blamed for a man murdering his family, even though he had taken a great many other strong alcoholic drinks after the Absinthe.
Prohibition campaigners used news of the murder to campaign for the outlawing of Absinthe and blamed France's growing problems of alcoholism on the emerald liquor.
Is Absinthe Thujone Dangerous?
Today's research suggests that it was actually the alcohol (ethanol) content of Absinthe which was dangerous instead of the thujone. Absinthe is twice as strong as spirits like whisky and vodka and can be 75% alcohol. Care should therefore be taken when taking in Absinthe. Thujone is just found in minute quantities and ought to therefore cause no major side effects or health issues. The EU stipulates that alcohol based drinks with an ABV (alcohol by volume) level over 25% may possibly consist of a maximum of 10mg/kg of thujone, beverages classed as "bitters" can contain as much as 35mg/kg, it isn't completely clear which class Absinthe fits into but a majority of brands of Absinthe have much less than 35mg with many being under 10mg/kg. In the US it is just legal to get or sell Absinthes with trace levels of thujone.
High doses of thujone could be dangerous triggering convulsions but you would have to drink a large amount of Absinthe to consume that volume of thujone and it would be impossible to drink that amount, you'd be comatosed from alcohol until then!
Absinthe Formula
It is known that Henri-Louis Pernod, who owned the first Absinthe distillery, employed the herbs wormwood, aniseed, fennel, lemon balm, hyssop, angelica root, dittany, star anise, nutmeg, juniper and veronica to make his famous Pernod Absinthe. The essential oil from all of these herbs is mainly responsible for La Louche, the clouding which comes about when water is added to Absinthe. These herbs specially the aniseed and anise are responsible for the distinctive aniseed or licorice taste of Absinthe and wormwood is liable for the bitter flavor. Absinthe is sometimes used as bitters in cocktails.
There are many brands of Absinthe or Absinthe substitutes that have been developed over the ban and thus contain no Absinthe thujone or wormwood, but some would claim that Absinthe just isn't Absinthe without Absinthe thujone and the bitter taste of wormwood. If you want real Absinthe look for brands that contain wormwood or Absinthe thujone.
