Absinthe wormwood is commonly Artemisia Absinthium or Grand Wormwood that is actually a number of wormwood which does not contain a large number of the compound thujone. Some brands of Absinthe utilize Roman Wormwood, Artemisia Pontica, along with Grand Wormwood and this form of wormwood also includes thujone absinthe distiller, so drinks with two kinds of wormwood could have more thujone. Thujone amounts may vary between brands significantly, some Absinthes just have negligible quantities of thujone, whereas others have approximately 35mg/kg. Only Absinthe which has negligible quantities of thujone is legal for selling in the USA due to the fact that thujone is an unlawful food additive there.
Why is there controversy with regards to Absinthe Wormwood?
Common Wormwood, Artemisia Absinthium, is a plant which was used in medicine for thousands of years. It’s been used:-
– To deal with poisoning caused by toadstools and hemlock.
– Being a tonic.
– To lessen temperature.
– Being a stimulant to digestion.
– To help remedy parasitic intestinal worms.
It is the herb Wormwood which gives Absinthe its bitterness, its green colour as well as name. The essential herbal oils in Absinthe are usually the reason for the famouse “louche” effect, the cloudy that takes place when water is added into the drink.
Absinthe was forbidden in the early 1900s in several countries due to the alleged side effects of the substance thujone, found in Wormwood extract. Absinthe drinking was connected to violent crimes, severe intoxication, insanity and thujone was believed to have psychoactive and psychedelic effects as well as to be a hallucinogen. It was even claimed that a french man wiped out his whole family right after drinking Absinthe – he was actually an alcoholic who used copious quantities of other alcohol after the Absinthe!
From becoming a trendy Bohemian drink enjoyed by a lot of writers and artists, such as Van Gogh, Pablo Picasso, Ernest Hemingway and Oscar Wilde, it had been abruptly a prohibited and illegal drink. It was prohibited in a great many European countries and also in the USA but has never been stopped in the UK, where it had not been popular, Spain, Portugal or even the Czech Republic.
Absinthe Wormwood Resurgence
There was no real evidence connecting Absinthe drinking to hallucinations or insanity and it is now known that Absinthe is no worse than some other highly alcoholic drink. Absinthe has about twice the alcoholic content of spirits including whisky and vodka and thus should be consumed in moderation, but Absinthe wormwood is not believed to be harmful. Many Absinthe drinkers do report feeling an amusing lucid or clear headed sort of drunkenness when consuming a bit too much Absinthe – this could be due to the blend of the sedative effects of a few of the herbs (as well as the alcohol content) and the stimulating effects of the Wormwood along with other herbs.
Since Absinthe was legalized in many countries in the 1990s there’s been a renewed interest, a resurgence, in Absinthe drinking. There are many different types and brands of Absinthe on the market and buyers can also order Absinthe essence, to make their own Absinthe, online from businesses like AbsintheKit.com.
Absinthe Wormwood continues to be the most critical ingredient in Absinthe nowadays but thujone content is strictly regulated in the European Union (not more than 10mg/kg) and also the United States where only trace amounts are allowed. Try to find Absinthes that contain real wormwood and herbs not artificial flavors.