Absinthe thujone is the chemical found in Absinthe’s vital ingredient, the plant called Common Wormwood, or Artemisia Absinthium to give it its organic name. The chemical thujone was partially liable for Absinthe being banned during the early 1900s in lots of countries around the globe and thujone is still tightly regulated nowadays, especially in the United States (or states united).
Thujone was regarded as much like THC found in cannabis and Absinthe had been purported to be psychoactive and have psychedelic outcomes causing hallucinations and insanity. Absinthe had been popular with the Bohemian set in Montmartre in Paris and lots of artists and also writers claimed that Absinthe, the Green Fairy, gave them inspiration and their genius. Famous Absinthe drinkers consist of Oscar Wilde, Ernest Hemingway, Van Gogh, Gauguin, Degas, Baudelaire absinthethujone.com and Verlaine. Some claim that Van Gogh’s madness was brought on by Absinthe and that he cut off his ear under its influence. Absinthe was even blamed for a man murdering his family, even though he had ingested many other strong alcoholic drinks after the Absinthe.
Prohibition campaigners used news of the murder to campaign for the banning of Absinthe and held accountable France’s growing problems of alcohol dependency on the emerald liquor.
Is Absinthe thujone Hazardous?
Today’s research suggests that it was really the alcohol (ethanol) content of Absinthe which was dangerous as opposed to the thujone. Absinthe is doubly strong as spirits like whisky and vodka and can be 75% alcohol. Care should therefore be taken when consuming Absinthe. Thujone is simply present in minute quantities and must therefore result in no major unwanted effects or health problems. The EU states that alcoholic beverages with an ABV {alcohol by volume) level over 25% may only contain a maximum of 10mg/kg of thujone, beverages classed as “bitters” can contain up to 35mg/kg, it is not totally clear which class Absinthe matches but most brands of Absinthe have much less than 35mg with many being beneath 10mg/kg. In the US it is simply legal to purchase or sell Absinthes with trace amounts of thujone.
High doses of thujone could be dangerous causing convulsions but you would need to drink a great deal of Absinthe to take that amount of thujone and it will be impossible to drink that amount, you’d be comatose from alcohol before then!
Absinthe Substances
It is said that Henri-Louis Pernod, who owned the initial Absinthe distillery, utilized the herbs wormwood, aniseed, fennel, lemon balm, hyssop, angelica root, dittany, star anise, nutmeg, juniper as well as veronica to make his famous Pernod Absinthe. The essential oil from all of these herbs is in charge of La Louche, the clouding which occurs when water is combined with Absinthe. These kinds of herbs specially the aniseed and anise lead to the distinctive aniseed or licorice style of Absinthe and wormwood is responsible for the actual bitter flavor. Absinthe is oftentimes used as bitters in cocktails.
There are many brands of Absinthe or Absinthe replacements which were developed during the ban and therefore contain no Absinthe thujone or wormwood, but a majority of people would say that Absinthe isn’t Absinthe without Absinthe thujone and the bitter taste of wormwood. If you’d like real Absinthe look for brands made up of wormwood or Absinthe thujone.