About Absinthe

Absinthe is a uniquely strong liquor which is generally between 45 and 75% ABV (alcohol by volume), about twice as strong as other types of alcoholic beverages such as whisky and vodka.

Often known as “The Green Fairy” , Absinthe was the drink associated with La Belle Epoque and Bohemian Paris. Originally given to French soldiers in the 1840s to treat malaria and they bought the drink home with them. Special Abinthe bars opened all over Paris and Absinthe hours or “L’heure verte” took place daily. During the middle of the 19th century, Pernod the distillers of Absinthe, were producing over 30,000 liters of the drink for sale to the French people!

Absinthe About the History of Absinthe

History says that Dr Pierre Ordinaire created Absinthe in the Swiss town of Couvet in the 18th century as a tonic 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.

Among well known drinkers of the Green Fairy were Van Gogh, Pablo Picasso, Oscar Wilde, Ernest Hemingway, Degas, Gauguin, Verlaine and Baudelaire.

When Absinthe became more popular than wine, in France, 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 artists and courtesans of Montmartre and their loose morals.
- Absinthe was thought to have psychedelic effects, to cause hallucinations, convulsions and to drive people insane.

It was claimed that an Absinthe drinker murdered his whole family – which was 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 only contains very small amounts of thujone and is perfectly safe to drink and this includes vintage Absinthe. Legalized in most all countries since the 1990s, there has been an Absinthe revival in many countries, including the USA.

About Absinthe 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 fennel, aniseed and wormwood. Simply mix with either Everclear or vodka to make your very own Absinthe. There are four types of essence available.

Prepare Absinthe

The correct way to prepare Absinthe is to follow a ritural:-

- Pour 25 to 50 ml of Absinthe into a glass.
- Absinthe’s slotted spoon can be rested on top of the glass.
- A sugar cube is put on the slotted spoon.
- Drip iced water over the sugar using an Absinthe fountain or pour slowly from a carafe.
- Watch the louche.
- 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.

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