Absinthe has an interesting history. Absinthe was created in the town of Couvet, in Switzerland, in the late 18th century by a French doctor who used it as an elixir or tonic for his patients. By 1805 the Absinthe recipeshad 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 grande wormwood, aniseed, melissa, fennel, lemon balm, dittany, angelica root, hyssop, star anise, nutmeg and juniper.
A variety of recipes and ingredients were used by different producers of Absinthe,The Green Fairy. Other herbs used in Absinthe production included calamus root, mint, cloves, nutmeg, roman wormwood, anise seed, coriander, sweet flag and licorice. 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. One can have psychedelic effects due to large quantity of thujone intake. Psychoactive element anethole is found in the seeds of anise and fennel. As Absinthe is a mysterious mix of sedatives and stimulants so a few artists and writers claimed that it enhanced their genius and inspiration! The way of being drunk on Absinthe has been described in “A clear headed drunkenness”.
Absinthe was banned in France in 1915 when Prohibitionists claimed it’s harmful effects. However, studies have shown that drinking Absinthe is just as safe as drinking any of the other strong alcoholic drinks such as whisky and vodka. 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. It is not recommended to make Absinthe at home from plants, dried herbs or essential oils. Why?
– One should distill the Absinthe.
– A person have no way of knowing the thujone content of the intaken 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).
-Take a measure.
– Artistic Labels to decorate your Absinthe bottles.
A person can prepare 14 bottles of Absinthe from a single bottle of essence!
To make Absinthe using these kits one has to make solution of 20ml of the Absinthe essence and a neutral alcohol like Everclear or vodka to get own bottle of Green Fairy.
These essences are simple and easy to use and a safe, top-quality product.
Lots of cocktail Absinthe recipes are there for a person on the Internet. Have fun in finding and mixing the cocktails.