Absinthe thujone is the chemical seen in Absinthe's vital ingredient, the plant known as Common Wormwood, or Artemisia Absinthium to give it its botanical name. The compound thujone was partly accountable for Absinthe being banned during the early 1900s in lots of countries around the world and thujone is still tightly regulated today www.absinthesupreme.com, specifically in the United States (or states united).

Thujone was regarded as just like THC seen in cannabis and Absinthe was alleged to be psychoactive and possess psychedelic effects triggering hallucinations and insanity. Absinthe was well-liked by the Bohemian set in Montmartre in Paris and many artists and writers believed that Absinthe, the Green Fairy, gave them inspiration in addition to their genius. Well-known Absinthe drinkers include Oscar Wilde, Ernest Hemingway, Van Gogh, Gauguin, Degas, Baudelaire and Verlaine. Some say that Van Gogh's madness was due to Absinthe and that he cut off his ear under its effect . Absinthe was even held responsible for a man murdering his family, although he had taken a number of other strong alcoholic drinks following the Absinthe.

Prohibition campaigners used news of the murder to campaign for the suspending of Absinthe and blamed France's growing problems of alcohol dependency on the emerald liquor.

Is Absinthe Thujone Dangerous?

Today's studies suggest that it was actually the alcohol (ethanol) content of Absinthe that was dangerous rather than the thujone. Absinthe is two times as strong as spirits like whisky and vodka and can be 75% alcohol. Care should therefore be taken when consuming Absinthe. Thujone is merely contained in minute quantities and ought to therefore cause no major negative effects or health issues. The EU stipulates that booze 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's not completely clear which class Absinthe suits but a majority of brands of Absinthe have much less than 35mg with many being under 10mg/kg. In the US it is only legal to purchase or sell Absinthes with trace quantities of thujone.

High doses of thujone may be dangerous triggering convulsions however you would need to drink a substantial amount of Absinthe to consume that volume of thujone and it might 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 very first Absinthe distillery, utilized the herbs wormwood, aniseed, fennel, lemon balm, hyssop, angelica root, dittany, star anise, nutmeg, juniper and veronica to produce his famous Pernod Absinthe. The essential oil from these herbs is responsible for La Louche, the clouding which happens when water is included with Absinthe. These herbs particularly the aniseed and anise are responsible for the distinctive aniseed or licorice taste of Absinthe and wormwood is responsible for the bitter flavor. Absinthe is sometimes used as bitters in cocktails.

There are several brands of Absinthe or Absinthe substitutes that have been developed in the ban and so contain no Absinthe thujone or wormwood, however, many would claim that Absinthe isn't Absinthe without Absinthe thujone and the bitter taste of wormwood. If you want real Absinthe try to find brands that contains wormwood or Absinthe thujone.