About Absinthe

« « Personalized Wine Bottles Uniquely Yours | Personalized Wine Bottle Labels » »

Tuesday, November 11th, 2008 Subscribe To Our Feed

The Drink Absinthe

Absinthe is a very strong liquor which is 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 first given to French soldiers in the 1840s to treat malaria and they bought the drink home with them. Absinthe bars opened in Paris and special Absinthe hours or “L’heure verte” took place daily. By the middle of the 19th century, distiller Pernod, who were the distillers of Absinthe, were making over 30,000 liters of Absinthe everyday for the French people to buy!

The Drink Absinthe Absenthe History

History says that Dr Pierre Ordinaire created Absinthe in the Swiss town of Couvet in the 18th century as an elixir 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 began with a wine base together with several herbs including common wormwood (artemisia absinthium), aniseed fennel, lemon balm, hyssop, angelica, dittany, star anise, nutmeg and juniper.

Among famous or semi famous drinkers of the Green Fairy were Van Gogh, Pablo Picasso, Oscar Wilde, Ernest Hemingway, Degas, Gauguin, Verlaine and Baudelaire.

Absinthe eventually became more popular than wine in France, and the prohibition movement campaigned to get Absinthe banned because:-

- Thujone, in wormwood, was thought to be very similar to THC in cannabis and thought to be psychoactive.
- Absinthe was linked with the loose morals of the artists, writers and courtesans of Montmartre.
- Absinthe was thought to have psychedelic effects, to cause hallucinations, convulsions and to drive people insane.

It was claimed that an Absinthe drinker murdered his whole family – which was just the excuse that the prohibition movement were looking for to persuade the government to ban Absinthe. The buying, selling and consumption of Absinthe was made illegal in france in 1815 and in other countries around this time.

Studies have shown that Absinthe, including vintage Absinthe, only contains small amounts of thujone and is safe to drink. Legalized in most all countries since the 1990s, there has been an Absinthe revival in many countries, including the USA who have only recently allowed a few brands to go on sale.

About Absinthe 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 wormwood, aniseed and fennel. To make your own Absinthe, simply mix with either vodka or Everclear. Four types of essence are available.

The preparing of Absinthe

The proper way to prepare Absinthe is to follow a ritural:-

- Pour 25 to 50 ml of Absinthe into a glass.
- Absinthe’s slotted spoon is rested on top of the glass.
- On the spoon, put a sugar cube.
- Drip water over the sugar using an Absinthe fountain or pour slowly from a carafe.
- Watch the louche.
- Drink your Absinthe drink.

I hope you have now learned all about Absinthe, the mysterious drink with a very interesting past and a great taste.