Absinthe wormwood is normally Artemisia Absinthium or Grand Wormwood which is actually a variety of wormwood which does not contain a vast amount of the chemical thujone. The drinks with two types of wormwood may contain more thujone. Thujone amounts can differ between brands significantly, some Absinthes only have negligible amounts of thujone, whereas others have up to 35mg/kg. As thujone is an illegal food additive in the USA so Absinthe with negligible amounts of thujone is authorized here.
People don’t have single point of view about Absinthe Wormwood?
Common Wormwood, Artemisia Absinthium has been used in medicine from Ancient times. One has used it :-
– To weaken poisoning caused by toadstools and hemlock.
– One can use as a tonic.
– Helps in lowering down a fever.
– As a digestive stimulant.
– Parasitic intestinal worms can be treated.
Green color, bitter taste and name of Absinthe is based on wormwood herb used in it’s preparation. A person can see the appearance of the “louche” effect caused by the essential herbal oils in Absinthe when water is added to the drink.
During 1900s Absinthe was illegalized in many countries because of having thujone content in it. Absinthe drinking was believed to be responsible for violent crimes, serious intoxication, insanity and thujone was thought to have psychoactive and psychedelic effects. After drinking the Absinthe a french man consumed lots of other alcohol and killed his family for which Absinthe was made responsible!
This drink was enjoyed by most of the writers and artists before it’s illegalization. Absinthe was unauthorized in many European countries and in the USA but was always authorized in the UK, Spain, Portugal or the Czech Republic.
Absinthe Wormwood Revival
There was never any real evidence linking Absinthe drinking to hallucinations or insanity and it is now known that Absinthe is no worse than any other highly alcoholic drink. Absinthe contains twice the alcoholic content than other drinks so one should be careful while consuming it but Absinthe wormwood is not claimed to be harmful. Many Absinthe drinkers do report feeling a funny lucid or clear headed type of drunkenness when consuming a bit too much Absinthe – this could be due to the combination of the sedative effects of some of the herbs (and the alcohol content)and the stimulating effects of the Wormwood and other herbs.
Absinthe drinking became a revival after it’s relegalization in many countries. There are many different types and brands of Absinthe available to buy and buyers can even order Absinthe essence, to make their own Absinthe, online from companies like AbsintheKit.com.
The thujone content of wormwood should not be used more than 10mg/kg in the European Union and in the United States it can be used only in trace amounts. Artificial flavored Absinthe should be avoided.
