Absinthe Blog

Absinthe has a long history of use. Although commercially absinthe was made not until the late 18th century, history is replete with incidents of its use. It is interesting to observe that absinthe was initially taken in the form of a medicine. Absinthe is mentioned in historical texts but it was from being a popular alcoholic drink. It had a very haloed image around it in those times. The drinks is very vividly portrayed in ancient Roman and Greek history. Great thinkers of these civilizations found absinthe to have many medicinal properties and prescribed them for curing various ailments.

Absinthe was more of a medicine in ancient times

Though the medicinal form of the drink was far removed from the recipe that later made the drink very popular. The medicine was essentially made by soaking wormwood leaves in wine along with a few other herbs.

Hippocrates recommended such a medicine for the treatment of stomach ulcers. It was also recommended by him to women seeking help in relieving symptoms of heavy periods and during labor.
Common diseases like rheumatism and jaundice too were said to be cured effectively by the potion.

As a remedy the drink must have been very effective. It enjoyed good enough reputation to find mention in what have now become historical texts. It was used widely and its reputation for curing diseases added more gloss with ever more diseases purported to come within its ambit.

The taste of the potion was characteristic of absinthe. It was bitterly bitter. It was difficult to take the medicine except if one had no other option.

The unusual role played by absinthe

Absinthe as a medicine finds several mention in ancient history. It was treated with great respect and was seen as a cure for many diseases. It began to be touted as a cure-all and as a remedy to promote general sense of well being.

However, it served an unusual purpose in Roman times. Champion chariot racers were given the drink whenever they won a title. This was done with the purpose of reminding the champion that success is always “bitter-sweet” - a portion of bitter results accompany every action even if it is something like becoming a champion.

The bitter drink was perhaps hand-picked to serve the purpose. It would be hard to think that winners of the event will forget the occasion in a hurry after going through such a formality. Such was the legendary taste of the drink.

World is changing day by day, so the trends and choices are changing as well. People sense tired of consuming the same ordinary liquors like rum, gin, brandy, vodka etc. But status of absinthe liquor is getting much higher as its popularity is widespread.

Absinthe is a drink from olden times that was made in eighteenth century. This beverage is warmly regarded as “green-fairy” by people, since it hold light green color and own powerful effects.

Originally it was a medicinal drink created or discovered by Dr. Oridinaire in France. The medicinal properties of absinthe mixed with different herbs were unique. Later absinthe liquor was first distilled in a commercial manner by Henry L. Pernod. Moreover Pernod actively involved in all the manufacturing processes, that even comprised of selecting raw materials like wormwood, fennel and melissa. Nevertheless the quality of absinthe brand produced by Pernod contributed its incredible success.

Absinthe taste bitter as it is prepared from wormwood extort. Well wormwood is an herb containing psychoactive element called thujone. This active constituent thujone is allowed in very limited amount in beverages since it’s not good for health. In addition there were more herbs like anise, hyssop, fennel etc used to produce high volume alcohol beverage.

Major distillers and producers of absinthe beverages were Czech Republic. Moreover it did not regulate the volume of thujone in absinthe drinks, for that reason it emerged as a leading country in absinthe manufacturing. On the other hand France could not completely utilize the benefit of absinthe production (due to legal prohibition on thujone), in spite of discovering it first. Furthermore the absinthe liquor brands produced by Czech was very little dissimilar than of France.

Lack of media for promotion was not a trouble for absinthe in earlier days. Its fame and reputation was marked as most eminent people of various countries drank absinthe alcohol. Many famous authors, discoverers and artists in the eighteen and nineteenth century liked this green liquor. In fact people were inspired by absinthe and did appreciate a lot because of its relaxing effects.

The matter of fact is that evidence suggests absinthe was considered as great liquor during eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. So this a probable reason why there is still tremendous demand of absinthe drinks in modern world. To end with, it is essential to note absinthe contains great alcohol concentration; hence it must be consumed in moderate quantity only.

Absinthe, after the ban, has begun to be readily available in many places. Even when the ban was placed, there was a general feeling that the ban on absinthe was unjust. Many felt that the drink was being made a scapegoat for social evils that had been occurring independent of the drinks’ existence. The effects of drinking absinthe have been highly exaggerated. It has been said to bring on hallucinations, reveries and what not. But the original absinthe gives effects similar to what you get after drinking too much of alcohol. This is expected after all, as absinthe contains at least 65% of alcohol, which is substantially more than commonly found in liquors.

A case for Absinthe

Its effects, therefore, has to be largely similar to alcohol. Herbs used in absinthe like wormwood, anise and fennel have not been found to cause any hallucinogenic effects. Of course drinking too much of the drink can bring you in harm’s way. But that is true with other liquors too. The point is, if you take it responsibly you will be fine with it.

Alcohol abuse is a fact of even modern life. It is recognized today that inordinate and indiscriminate consumption of alcohol is the root cause for many social evils persisting in society today. But, drinking has been and is still very much a part of our culture since ages.

It must be said though culture has encouraged drinking responsibly. Drink in moderation is what has been acceptable to society always. It leaves upon the individual to show maturity and partake only so much as one can enjoy responsibly.

Absinthe too is essentially alcoholic in nature. In fact, it contains three-to-four times more alcohol than other alcoholic drinks. This is why it should be taken with care. The fact that it contains such high percentage of alcohol must be taken into account before one ventures towards drinking it.

Lifting of the ban on absinthe

The lifting of the ban, however, comes with a rider. The ban has been uplifted for only those absinthe which has thujone levels of 10 parts per million. This is not of much concern, though, because thujone levels very rarely even approach such concentration levels if absinthe is prepared using the original recipe.

People can once again enjoy the drink for what it is. They can now experience for themselves all that they had read or heard about the drink.