Absinthe comes with an interesting history. Absinthe was created in the area of Couvet, in Switzerland, during the late 18th century by a French doctor who utilized it as being an elixir or tonic for his patients. By 1805 the Absinthe recipes had got into the hands of Henri-Louis Pernod who began distilling it within his factory in Pontarlier in France.
Original Absinthe Recipes
Pernod’s Absinthe, Original Pernod Fils, had been distilled from wine and was comprised of a lot of natural herbs and essential oils from plants which includes grande wormwood, aniseed, melissa, fennel, lemon balm, dittany, angelica root, hyssop, star anise, nutmeg and juniper.
Various manufacturers of the Green Fairy (Absinthe’s nickname) made use of distinct recipes and ingredients. Other herbs utilized in Absinthe production www.absinthekit.com included calamus root, mint, cloves, nutmeg, roman wormwood, anise seed, coriander, sweet flag and licorice. The herb wormwood, Artimesia Absinthium, was always utilised in the making of pre-ban Absinthe as it was the substance that gave Absinthe its characteristic bitter taste, as well as its name.
Wormwood contains the chemical thujone which had been believed to be similar to THC in the drug cannabis. Thujone is psychoactive and can easily cause psychedelic effects when consumed in big amounts. Anise seed and fennel seed both contain anethole that is considered to be psychoactive and Angelica root is grown as a drug in Lapland. Absinthe is a strange mixture of sedatives and stimulants, no wonder that artists and writers like Van Gogh and Oscar Wilde claimed that it provided them their genius and determination! “A clear headed drunkenness” is how being drunk on Absinthe has been identified.
Absinthe was famously suspended in France in 1915 when Prohibitionists claimed that it would ruin the country and send everyone insane. However, studies show that drinking Absinthe can be just as safe as drinking any of the other strong alcoholic drinks just like whisky and vodka. Absinthe is principally alcohol and only contains small quantities of wormwood and the other herbs so, if consumed in moderation, is no real health risk.
Home made Absinthe Recipes
There are several Absinthe recipes over the internet using different herbs and various methods – steeping, filtering etc. but making Absinthe in your own home from plants, dried herbs or essential oils is not to be recommended. Why?
– Absinthe has to be distilled.
– You’ve got no manner of knowing the thujone content of your finished Absinthe – somewhat risky.
It truly is best to buy either a high quality Absinthe, making sure that it’s got the vital ingredient wormwood, or to buy an Absinthe kit which comprises of Absinthe essences which have been distilled.
It’s also possible to buy Absinthe in America now – Breaux’s label “Lucid” is legal in the USA.
AbsintheKit.com does fantastic Absinthe kits which consist of:-
– Absinthe essence – pick from classic, white (which makes clear Swiss style Absinthe, Strong 55 (with a 55mg thujone content) and Orange (flavoured with orange oil).
– A measure.
– Artistic Labels to embellish your Absinthe bottles.
One bottle of essence could make 14 bottles of Absinthe!
To make Absinthe by using these kits you simply mix 20ml of the Absinthe essence using a neutral alcohol such as Everclear or vodka and that’s it – finished, your won bottle of Green Fairy.
Easy and simple to use and, because these essences are the very same as the ones sold to distilleries, you know that you are getting a safe, top-quality product.
In the event you search online there are lots of cocktail Absinthe recipes just like Ernest Hemingway’s famous “Death in the Afternoon” – Absinthe and champagne. Take pleasure in choosing and mixing your cocktails.