Green Fairy Absinthe Absinthe.
Absinthe or La Fee Verte is an alcoholic drink with an interesting history. A very famous and at the same time very controversial drink in todays time it was initially developed in the 18th century as a mere tonic.
Anise flavored and with an alcohol content of between 45 and 75% by volume, Absinthe is incredibly strong. A beautiful emerald green color is responsible for it being called “Green Fairy” in English and “La Fee Verte” in French. It is made from herbs and is a distilled liquor. The three main herbs tend to be wormwood (Artemisia Absinthium), green aniseed and fennel (fennell). The very famous Pernod Absinthe recipe was produced using herbs like hyssop, star anise, juniper, veronica, lemon balm, nutmeg, and dittany Henri-Louis Pernod was also the first person to commercially distill Absinthe. The psychoactive properties were attributed to herbs like wormwood, nutmeg, and in some cases calamus which some manufacturers used. Essential oils in the herbs that are the ingredients of Absinthe are not water soluble and hence you see the louche effect when water is poured over the sugar on the Absinthe spoon. As the oils are water insoluble Absinthe louches or clouds when water is added to it.
Absinthe the Green Fairy and the world of Painters and Artists
Absinthe famously inspired writers and artists who were associated with the Bohemian culture of the old Montmartre area in Paris. Several greats like Vincent Van Gough, Pablo Picasso, Paul Gauguin, Charles Baudelaire, Edgar Degas, Ernest Hemingway and Oscar Wilde loved their Absinthe. Writers and Artists were convinced that their genius and inspiration came from Absinthe. So popular was Absinthe that famous painters like Van Gogh and Picasso featured Absinthe and Absinthe drinkers in their paintings.
Prohibition campaigners were looking for an excuse and they found it in Absinthe’s association with the Moulin Rouge, old Montmartre, and Bohemian sect. Absinthe was wrongly blamed for the murder of a family and the growing incidence of alcohol addiction, this helped the campaigners of prohibition to lobby for declaring it illegal and it was finally banned in the year 1915. It remained legal in the UK, Portugal, Spain, and the Czech republic while other countries banned it.
Drinking the Gree Fairy has psychedelic effects and thujone, a chemical present in wormwood was blamed for it. THC in cannabis and thujone were thought to be having similar effects. However, thujone if any is present in very small quantity Absinthe mainly has alcohol and ethanol. Research has shown that Absinthe is just as safe as any other strong liquor and that it is the alcohol content not the thujone that is dangerous. The subject has had many articles written on it. Remember to drink it in moderation as it is very strong, in fact, twice the strength of whisky and vodka.
People enjoyed buying and drinking Absinthe during the prohibition in the Czech Republic, in surroundings decorated by vinatge Absinthe posters absinthe was served in large glasses. Today absinthe is allowed in EU with controlled thujone levels and in the United States only absinthe with trace amouts of thujone can be sold or bought.
Absinthe essence or absinthe bottle can be bought online at the website AbsintheKit.com) to make your own Absinthe Green Fairy to bottle at home. New Absinthes produced for the US market do not have thujone, they are however considered as vital ingredients in genuine Absinthe essence and Absinthes.
Absinthe Green Fairy champagne can be mixed with this delicious spirit to prepare a woderful decandent drink!