What is Absinthe?

Absinthe is an alcoholic beverage made mainly from wormwood (artemisia absinthium) and other herbs, such as hyssop, fennel and anise. (Usually grande wormwood, fennel, and anise are the three main ingredients, but others can be substituted). Absinthe is also referred to as "The Green Fairy" due to its pale green color. It is now illegal in the United States and a few other countries because of its high alcohol content and (now proven false) "hallucinogenic" and "mind-altering" properties.

In the early nineteenth century, absinthe was the most popular drink in France. Poets, painters, bohemians, and artists of all types regularly drank The Green Fairy for its lucid inebriation effects and to release the full potential of their imaginations. Drinking absinthe was a strange experience, the chemicals in the herbs actually helped one's head stay clear despite the inevitable intoxication. The beverage became so popular during this time that many people became opposed to it, portraying it as mentally harmful and dangerously addictive; also blaming the high alcoholism rate and various murders on its excessive consumption. They also claimed absinthe damaged a person's psychological health due to the chemical, thujone, found in the drink.

The hallucinogenic effects of absinthe have now been investigated and found to have been exaggerations. Thujone is a neurotoxin and convulsant in wormwood that was originally thought to produce the mind-altering effects. Although thujone is known to produce muscle spasms in individuals, absinthe never contained enough of the neurotoxin to produce this type of reaction. Scientists tested vintage bottles of absinthe and found them to contain only a few milligrams of thujone, where once it was thought they contained 350 milligrams and more. Researches showed that a person would pass out from the alcohol content of absinthe long before the thujone could cause spasms or hallucinations.

To drink absinthe in its original form, a certain ritual was involved. A glass was filled with about an ounce of absinthe. Then a special spoon with slots or holes was set on top of the glass, and one or two sugar cubes placed on the spoon. About three to four ounces of cold water were then poured over the sugar into the glass. The normally green absinthe would then turn a cloudy gray or yellow color, which was called 'louching.' After that the absinthe was ready to drink.

You can still purchase true absinthe in the UK, Spain, the Czech Republic, and a few other countries. And even though it is illegal in the US, there are a number of absinthe-like products available that allow a sampling of what the original was like.

Pernod - it has the taste of absinthe without the thujone or wormwood; 80 proof.
Versinthe - 1.5 milligrams per liter of thujone; 90 proof.
Absente - 3.5 milligrams per liter of thujone; a whopping 110 proof (probably the closest you will get to genuine absinthe).

These pseudo-absinthes should be prepared with the usual spoon, water, and sugar ritual. (And as far as I know, they are all legal in the US.)

Here are a few famous artists who used absinthe: Vincent van Gogh, Baudelaire, Guy de Maupassant, August Strindberg, Oscar Wilde, Arthur Rimbaud, Pablo Picasso, and Ernest Hemingway.

Oscar Wilde once had this to say about drinking absinthe: "After the first glass you see things as you wish they were. After the second, you see things as they are not. Finally you see things as they really are, and that is the most horrible thing in the world."

Concerning the great writer, Ernest Hemingway, he drank absinthe throughout his life. First, while living in France in the early 20s where it was still available, then later when he returned to the US and lived in Key West. Hemingway would obtain banned absinthe by making boat trips to Cuba, purchasing it and bringing it home. He once wrote a letter to his publisher from which this now famous absinthe quote was taken: "Got tight last night on Absinthe. Did knife tricks."