A person should know about the interesting history of Absinthe. 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.
The recipes and ingredients used by different manufacturers of the Green Fairy were not same. Absinthe is also prepared using the herbs like calamus root, mint, cloves, nutmeg, roman wormwood, anise seed, coriander, sweet flag and licorice. The herb wormwood, Artimesia Absinthium, was always used in the making of pre-ban Absinthe because it was the ingredient that gave Absinthe its characteristic bitter taste, as well as its name.
The THC in the drug cannabis and thujone in wormwood was thought to be similar. Psychedelic effects are caused because of high intake of thujone content. Anethole is the content in anise seed and fennel seed which is psychoactive and Angelica root is grown in the form of a drug in Lapland. Absinthe is a mysterious mix of sedatives and stimulants which gave artists and writers their genius and inspiration! “A clear headed drunkenness” is the explanation on how being drunk on Absinthe.
Absinthe was famously banned in France in 1915 when Prohibitionists claimed that it was going to ruin the country and send everyone insane. There is no harm in drinking Absinthe. Being a alcoholic beverage Absinthe contains a very small amount of wormwood and the other herbs so there is no real health risk.
Homemade Absinthe Recipes
There are many Absinthe recipes on the Internet using different herbs and different methods – steeping, filtering etc. It is not suggested to make Absinthe at home from plants, dried herbs or essential oils. Why?
– A person must use distilled Absinthe.
– No one can know the thujone content of his finished 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).
– Appropriate measure.
– Absinthe bottles can be decorated by Artistic Labels.
14 bottles of Absinthe can be made from a 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 similar to the ones sold to distilleries so there is hundred percent chance of getting a safe, top-quality product.
A variety of cocktail Absinthe recipes are available on the Internet. Enjoy finding and mixing your cocktails.