About Absinthe
Absinthe Drink
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.
Otherwise known as “The Green Fairy” or “La Fee Verte”, Absinthe was the drink associated with La Belle Epoque and Bohemian Paris. It was given to French soldiers in the 1840s to treat malaria and they brought the drink home with them. Special Abinthe bars opened over Paris and Absinthe hours or “L’heure verte” took place daily. In the middle of the 19th century Pernod who were the distillers of Absinthe, were making almost 30,000 liters of this drink every day for the French people to buy!
All About 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 recipte for Absinthe got into the hands of Henri-Luris Pernod who first distilled Absenthe in Couvet and late in Pontartlier, France un the name of Pernod Fils.
Pernod used a wine base and various herbs including common wormwood (artemisia absinthium), aniseed, fennel, lemon balm, hyssop, angelica, dittany, star anise, nutmeg and juniper.
Well known drinkers of the Green Fairy were Van Gogh, Pablo Picasso, Oscar Wilde, Ernest Hemingway, Degas, Gauguin, Verlaine and Baudelaire.
Absinthe became more popular than wine, In France, and 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 artistic types and courtesans of Montmartre and their loose morals.
– Absinthe was thought to have psychedelic effects, to cause convulsions 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 in France was made illegal in France in 1915 and in many other countries around this time.
Many studies done by different researchers have shown that Absinthe, including vintage Absinthe, only contains very 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.
About the Drink Absinthe Essences
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. Four different types of essence are available.
The Prepartion of Absinthe
The proper way to prepare Absinthe is to follow the following ritural:-
– Pour 25-50ml Absinthe into an Absinthe glass.
– Rest a slotted Absinthe spoon on the top of the glass.
– On the spoon, put a sugar cube.
– Drip iced water over the sugar using an Absinthe fountain or by pouring slowly from a carafe.
– Watch for the louche from the Absinthe.
– Drink this wonderful 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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