Absinthe Thujone

Absinthe thujone is the chemical found in Absinthe’s essential ingredient, the plant called Common Wormwood, or Artemisia Absinthium to give it its organic name. The chemical thujone was to some extent responsible for Absinthe being banned during the early 1900s in many countries across the world and thujone is still tightly regulated these days, particularly in the United States (or states united).

Thujone was considered to be similar to THC seen in cannabis and Absinthe has been speculated to be psychoactive and have psychedelic effects causing hallucinations and insanity. Absinthe was popular with the Bohemian set in Montmartre inside Paris and many artists as well as 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 and www.absinthethujone.com Verlaine. Some say that Van Gogh’s madness was due to 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 a great many other strong alcoholic beverages following the Absinthe.

Prohibition campaigners used news of the murder to campaign for the banning of Absinthe and blamed France’s growing problems of alcohol addiction on the emerald liquor.

Is Absinthe thujone Harmful?

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 any time consuming Absinthe. Thujone is merely present in minute quantities and must therefore result in no major unwanted effects or even health issues. The EU stipulates that alcoholic beverages with an ABV {alcohol by volume) level above 25% may only consist of a maximum of 10mg/kg of thujone, beverages classed as “bitters” can contain around 35mg/kg, it is not totally clear which class Absinthe suits but most brands of Absinthe have much less than 35mg with many being below 10mg/kg. In the US it is just legal to get or sell Absinthes with trace amounts of thujone.

High doses of thujone could be dangerous causing convulsions but you must drink a large amount of Absinthe to consume that amount of thujone also it would be impossible to drink that amount, you’d be comatose from alcohol until then!

Absinthe Elements

It is known that Henri-Louis Pernod, who owned the first Absinthe distillery, employed the herbs wormwood, aniseed, fennel, lemon balm, hyssop, angelica root, dittany, star anise, nutmeg, juniper and also veronica to make his famous Pernod Absinthe. The essential oil from all of these herbs accounts for La Louche, the clouding which happens when water is added to Absinthe. These herbs especially the aniseed and anise are responsible for the distinctive aniseed or licorice style of Absinthe and wormwood is responsible for the actual bitter flavor. Absinthe is sometimes utilized as bitters in cocktails.

There are many brands of Absinthe or Absinthe alternatives which were developed throughout the ban and so contain no Absinthe thujone or wormwood, but a majority of people would say that Absinthe is not Absinthe without Absinthe thujone and the bitter style of wormwood. If you’d like real Absinthe search for brands containing wormwood or Absinthe thujone.