Absinthe thujone is the chemical present in Absinthe’s vital ingredient, the plant referred to as Common Wormwood, or Artemisia Absinthium to give it its botanical name absinthekit.com/articles. The substance thujone was partly accountable for Absinthe being banned during the early 1900s in lots of countries around the world and thujone continues to be tightly regulated today, particularly in the United States (or states united).
Thujone was thought to be similar to THC present in cannabis and Absinthe was purported to be psychoactive and possess psychedelic effects creating hallucinations and insanity. Absinthe was popular with the Bohemian set in Montmartre in Paris and many artists and writers believed that Absinthe, the Green Fairy, gave them inspiration as well as their genius. Renowned Absinthe drinkers include Oscar Wilde, Ernest Hemingway, Van Gogh, Gauguin, Degas, Baudelaire and Verlaine. Some claim that Van Gogh’s madness was due to Absinthe and that he cut off his ear under its control. Absinthe was even held accountable for a man murdering his family, although he had consumed many other strong alcoholic drinks right after the Absinthe.
Prohibition campaigners used news of the murder to campaign for the outlawing of Absinthe and blamed France’s growing problems of alcohol dependency on the emerald liquor.
Is Absinthe Thujone Dangerous?
Today’s research suggests that it was in fact the alcohol (ethanol) content of Absinthe which was dangerous rather than the thujone. Absinthe is twice as strong as spirits like whisky and vodka and can be 75% alcohol. Care should therefore be taken when taking in Absinthe. Thujone is merely contained in minute quantities and must therefore cause no major side effects or health problems. The EU stipulates that booze with an ABV (alcohol by volume) level over 25% might only consist of a maximum of 10mg/kg of thujone, beverages classed as “bitters” can contain as much as 35mg/kg, it isn’t completely clear which class Absinthe matches but most brands of Absinthe have much less than 35mg with many being under 10mg/kg. In the US it is only legal to buy or sell Absinthes with trace levels of thujone.
High doses of thujone may be dangerous triggering convulsions however you will have to drink a substantial amount of Absinthe to consume that quantity of thujone and it will be impossible to drink that amount, you would be comatosed from alcohol before then!
Absinthe Ingredients
It is known that Henri-Louis Pernod, who owned the very first Absinthe distillery, employed the herbs wormwood, aniseed, fennel, lemon balm, hyssop, angelica root, dittany, star anise, nutmeg, juniper and veronica to make his famous Pernod Absinthe. The essential oil from all of these herbs is mainly responsible for La Louche, the clouding which comes about when water is added to Absinthe. These herbs especially the aniseed and anise are accountable for the distinctive aniseed or licorice taste of Absinthe and wormwood is mainly responsible for the bitter flavor. Absinthe is usually used as bitters in cocktails.
There are lots of brands of Absinthe or Absinthe substitutes which were developed over the ban and thus contain no Absinthe thujone or wormwood, but some would state that Absinthe is not Absinthe without Absinthe thujone and the bitter taste of wormwood. If you wish real Absinthe search for brands containing wormwood or Absinthe thujone.