The history of Absinthe is very interesting. Absinthe was created in Couvet of Switzerland, in the late 18th century by a French doctor as a medicine. By 1805 the absinthe recipes had got into the hands of Henri-Louis Pernod who started distilling it in his factory in Pontarlier in France.
Original Absinthe Recipes
Pernod’s Absinthe, Original Pernod Fils, was distilled from wine and contained many natural herbs and essential oils from plants including grand wormwood, aniseed, melissa, fennel, lemon balm, dittany, angelica root, hyssop, star anise, nutmeg and juniper.
There were no similarities in the recipes and ingredients of different manufacturers of the Green Fairy. Calamus root, mint, cloves, nutmeg, roman wormwood, anise seed, coriander, sweet flag and licorice are different herbs used in Absinthe production. The characteristic bitter taste and name of Absinthe was given by the herb wormwood, Artimesia Absinthium.
Wormwood contains the chemical thujone which was thought to be similar to THC in the drug cannabis. Psychedelic effects are caused because of high intake of thujone content. Anise seed and fennel seed both contain anethole which is said to be psychoactive and Angelica root is grown as a drug in Lapland. Van Gogh and Oscar Wilde are among the artists and writers who got their genius and inspiration from Absinthe! “A clear headed drunkenness” is the description on the way of being drunk on Absinthe.
Absinthe was unauthorized in France because Prohibitionists believed that it was a great danger for the country. Just like other strong alcoholic drinks drinking Absinthe is also safe. Absinthe is not dangerous for anyone as it is basically alcohol and only contains only a small amount of wormwood and the other herbs.
Homemade Absinthe Recipes
There are many Absinthe recipes on the Internet using different herbs and different methods – steeping, filtering etc. but making Absinthe at home from plants, dried herbs or essential oils is not to be recommended. Why?
– One should distill the Absinthe.
– The thujone content cannot be known of consumed Absinthe.
It is far better to buy either a quality Absinthe, making sure that it’s got the vital ingredient wormwood, or to buy an Absinthe kit which consists of Absinthe essences that have already been distilled.
Buying Absinthe is now legal in the USA.
AbsintheKit.com does great Absinthe kits which consist of:-
– Absinthe essence – choose from classic, white (which makes clear Swiss style Absinthe, Strong 55 (with a 55mg thujone content) and Orange (flavored with orange oil).
– This is a measure.
– Absinthe bottles can be decorated by Artistic Labels.
A person can prepare 14 bottles of Absinthe from a single bottle of essence!
Simply mix 20ml of the Absinthe essence with a neutral alcohol to produce own bottled Green Fairy.
A person is sure about getting a safe, top-quality product as these essences are similar to the ones sold to distilleries.
A variety of cocktail Absinthe recipes are available on the Internet. Enjoy finding and mixing your cocktails.