Absinthe Thujone these two words have had a really ambivalent history. Absinthe on the one hand was adoringly called as The Green Fairy, The Green Muse, or perhaps The Green Goddess have also been equally disliked by its detractors and held accountable for moral degeneration and also madness.
of absinthe may be traced back in later years of the 18th century when a French doctor Dr. Pierre Ordinaire invented a digestive system tonic using herbs including wormwood (Artemisia absinthium), fennel, anise, hyssop and nutmeg. It was considered an herbal remedy absinthe liquor during those times. In the year 1797 Henri-Louis Pernod started commercial manufacturing of absinthe. In 1805 a passionate distillery for the manufacture of absinthe was created by Pernod and shortly after that absinthe took over as national drink of France. It was the most common alcoholic drink within Europe and at one time absinthe rivaled wine. Approximately in the 19th century greater than 2 million liters per year of absinthe was consumed in France alone. The rich and poor both consumed absinthe.
Absinthe has been considered an inspirational drink and lots of great artists and writers were regular users. Great painters like Vincent Van Gogh were so much crazy about The Green Fairy that absinthe features in five of his masterpieces. Some other notable people from the arena of art and literature including Pablo Picasso, Oscar Wilde, and Hemmingway traced their creative genius to absinthe and its mystical effects. However, by the beginning of the twentieth century alarmed by the increasing alcoholism amongst the population as well as specific unfounded rumors the demand to ban absinthe started gathering momentum. It was widely thought that thujone a terpene found in the herb wormwood was to blame for the damaging effects of absinthe. It was widely thought that absinthe contained alarming quantities of thujone. This kind of sustained campaign against absinthe eventually resulted in absinthe being banned at the start of the 20th century for most of Europe and North America.
With the ban on absinthe, curiosity about absinthe slowly and gradually declined. Nonetheless in certain parts of Europe absinthe was still being distilled clandestinely and this had become often known as clandestine absinthe. Around 1975 in a paper published in the scientific magazine established that thujone’s substance structure is similar to THC or Tetrahydrocannabinol which can be present in cannabis and causes convulsions and hallucinations when ingested inside great quantity. However in the year 1999 further evidence demonstrated that thujone has no effects on cannabinoid receptors. The study further proved that thujone in small volume provides stimulant action, as it is a GABA-A modulator. In the light of this brand new finding the majority of European countries have now lifted the ban on absinthe and it is now available in Europe. However, it remains banned in the US.
US residents can get absinthe from non-US producers as possession and drinking of absinthe is not illegal in the US. With the fast expansion of the world wide web there are many online shops that sell absinthe essence and other absinthe products. It’s easy to buy absinthe essence on the internet and prepare your own absinthe in your own home. A note of caution, given that absinthe has high alcohol content it is recommended that you drink absinthe in moderation.
Good quality absinthe consists of wormwood and other essential oils, these oils acquire precipitated when ice-cold water is actually combined with it and the emerald green hue of absinthe turns opaque white, this is whats called louching and it is the cause of the wonderful anise flavor.To get the best quality absinthe essence and also other absinthe products and accessories visit absinthekit.com