Absinthe, also referred to as the Green Fairy, is actually a herbal alcoholic drink having an anise flavor. It was the drink of La Belle Epoque time history and of the Bohemian way of life of Paris, in particular Montmartre. Absinthe fans - Van Gogh, Pablo Picasso, Oscar Wilde and Ernest Hemingway claimed that the drink was accountable for their genius and that it www.absintheflavoring.com afforded them ideas - the Green Fairy was their muse. But, what is in Absinthe?
What is in Absinthe?
Henri-Louis Pernod's Absinthe with the early nineteenth century was made by using a wine based alcohol which was distilled with natural herbs. It is known that his Absinthe recipe was created making use of the plant common wormwood (Artemisia Absinthium) and other herbs such as Florence fennel, green aniseed, hyssop, lemon balm, dittany, star anise, angelica, veronica, nutmeg as well as juniper. Many of these herbs were used at the beginning of the process and others were utilised towards the end to give the Absinthe its classic green or verte color.
Wormwood offered Absinthe its name (from Absinthium) and its particular marginally bitter taste. Roman or petite wormwood (artemisia pontica) is also sometimes used in Absinthe production.
Wormwood contains a substance referred to as thujone. Thujones are monoterpenes and ketones that happen to be seen in several other plants too - sage, cypress and tansy. Thujones act about the GABA receptors in the brain and can result in convulsions as well as muscle spasms when consumed in big amounts. They can also be toxic to organs such as the liver and brain. Thujone was considered to be similar to THC in the drug cannabis leading to psychedelic effects like hallucinations but research shows this to generally be false.
Wormwood, or thujone, was responsible for the banning of Absinthe in the early 1900s. The medical career of the time stated that drinking Absinthe led to Absinthe addiction, Absinthism whose signs or symptoms were:-
- Hallucinations
- Hyper excitability
- Decline of the intellect
- Brain harm
- Madness
- Death
These claims have at the moment been proved false and are generally just part of the mass hysteria endorsed by the prohibition movement of the time. Absinthe, even pre ban Absinthe, only includes really small quantities of thujone and it will be impossible to take in enough thujone to be harmful - you will die of alcohol poisoning first! There is much more thujone in sage and no one hallucinates after eating a casserole flavored with sage!
All good Absinthe consists of wormwood and other essential oils. These oils permit the Absinthe to louche when water is included Absinthe preparation and present it its wonderful anise flavor. Ensure that you buy a quality Absinthe or create your own Absinthe using a top-quality essence from AbsintheKit.com. See AbsintheKit.com for details and help regarding their Absinthe products.
Absinthe also includes alcohol and contains an extremely high alcohol by volume, up to 75% ABV. Care ought to be taken when drinking Absinthe, not mainly because it can make you hallucinate but because it is so easy to get drunk on Absinthe specifically if you are mixing it with other alcohol in cocktails.
I hope that this data has answered the question "What is in Absinthe?". Enjoy observing the Green Fairy!