The effects of Absinthe are infamous. Ask anyone concerning Absinthe and they can remember Absinthe as being the green liquor that was famously banned around the world because it drove individuals to insanity. Many of these folks have never tried Asbinthe and cannot comment from personal experience.
Absinthe was initially developed as an elixir or tonic by a doctor in the Swiss town of Couvet. Dr Ordinaire made it out of a selection of herbs better known for their medicinal components. His recipe eventually got into the hands of Henri-Louis Pernod who manufactured Absinthe from a wine base and added in herbal ingredients such as aniseed, wormwood, hyssop, fennel, star anise, angelica root, lemon balm, nutmeg, juniper and also dittany. Additional manufacturers used several types of herbs together with Pernod’s recipe, herbs like calamus root and mint.
The Green Fairy, or Absinthe, was presented to French soldiers in the 1840s to help remedy malaria and have become popular with the troops who brought it back along with them where it grew quite popular in bars in France. Some bars even had Absinthe hours – L’heure vert – the green hour.
The Absinthe Ritual was a crucial part of the satisfaction of drinking Absinthe. Absinthe was served in bars in exclusive absinthe-spoons Absinthe glasses using an Absinthe spoon, a sugar cube and ice cold water. The barman or waiter would make use of a carafe or fountain to drip the water on the sugar on the spoon and the client would look at the Absinthe louche as the water mixed with the liquor.
Absinthe grew to become a popular drink among the artists and writers of the Bohemian portion of Paris – Montmartre. Artists and writers, such as Van Gogh, Pablo Picasso, Degas, Baudelaire, Verlaine, Oscar Wilde and Gauguin, all claimed that Absinthe gave them their genius and motivation. Absinthe and Absinthe drinkers are featured in several artwork such as Albert Maignan’s “Green Muse” from 1895 exhibiting an Absinthe drinker that has a fairy (the green fairy) and Degas’ “L’Absinthe” from 1876.
Oscar Wilde had written “After the first glass of Absinthe you see things as you wish they were. After the second you see them as they are not. Finally, you see things as they really are, and that is the most horrible thing in the world.”
Others have described the effects of drinking Absinthe as a “clear headed” or “lucid” drunkenness and this could possibly be because Absinthe contains both sedatives as well as stimulants.
Effects of Absinthe and the Ban
Absinthe was famously suspended in France in 1915 and many other countries around the globe also banned it. The prohibition campaigners had been able to persuade the French government that Absinthe would bring about the country’s downfall and therefore extented drinking of Absinthe, Absinthism, caused the next effects:-
– Hallucinations
– Super excitability
– Deterioration of the intellect
– Insanity
– Brain damage
– Violence
The chemical thujone, seen in one of many vital ingredients of absinthe, wormwood, was thought to be like THC in the drug cannabis. Thujone was purported to be a neurotoxin, to be psychoactive as well as to cause psychedelic effects. The wormwood in Absinthe was held accountable for Van Gogh’s suicide and for a man killing his family.
Numerous studies have shown that thujone should be consumed in large amounts to result in such awful effects so when Ted Breaux, Absinthe maker and creator of the “Lucid” brand, examined bottles of vintage pre-ban Absinthe he learned that Absinthe only was comprised of minute levels of thujone. Absinthe has therefore been legalized in several countries now.
Absinthe is principally alcohol and it’s a very strong spirit, about twice as strong as other sorts of spirits such as whisky and vodka. It might therefore be pretty much impossible to consume a substantial amount of thujone as you would not be capable to consume that much alcohol and still be able to drink!
The effects of Absinthe really are just stories, part of the myth and legend that is all around this glorious drink. Try some yourself by getting a bottle of real wormwood Absinthe online or by developing your own personal by making use of Absinthe essences via AbsintheKit.com.