Knowledge About Absinthe
Absinthe had been the favorite drink of several popular artists and writers.
Absinthe is a strong alcoholic beveragedistilled at high proof but generally served diluted with iced water or in cocktails. The preparation of Absinthe liquor is done from a wine alcohol base and is flavored with herbs and essential oils together with wormwood, aniseed and fennel. Absinthe is also prepared from other herbal ingredients like hyssop, lemon balm, star anise, angelica, juniper, nutmeg, dittany, calamus root and mint.
Information about Absinthe History
Absinthe has a very long and interesting history. Wormwood has been used for medicinal purposes since ancient times. In the Swiss town of Couvet in the Val-de-Travers a French doctor, Dr Pierre Ordinaire made Absinthe. It was used on the patients as an elixir which gave astonishing results.
Henri-Louis Pernod distilled Absinthe by using the Absinthe recipe in Couvet and under the name of Pernod Fils in Pontarlier. Absinthe was produced upto 30,000 liters each day by the Pernod company!
Along with France, La Belle Epoque Absinthe was also famous in several other countries. In France Absinthe overtook wine as the favorite drink. Simultaneously there were concerns related to health and the effects of Absinthe. The loose morals and artists and writers of the Bohemian culture were linked with the liquor. People started believing that thujone caused psychedelic effects, convulsions, insanity, brain damage and death.
According to the people’s thought Absinthe was the cause behind Van Gogh’s insanity and his suicide, a man killing his family and the rising rate of alcohol abuse in France. Absinthe was made illegal in 1912 in the USA and in 1915 in France. Absinthe was banned in other countries also.
Absinthe Revival
During the ban, people either drank Absinthe substitutes, such as Pernod Pastis, or bought bootleg Absinthe. Studies and research showed that the claims made about Absinthe were untrue.
Studies showed that effects of Absinthe was same as consuming other strong alcoholic beverages and the thujone content in Absinthe is not harmful for anyone.
Americans can buy certain brands of Absinthe as the USA has authorized Absinthes that contain 10 ppm thujone and the EU has legalized Absinthe up to 10mg/kg of thujone .
France, home of Pernod’s original Absinthestill has a ban on products labeled “Absinthe” and France also strictly regulates drinks containing fenchone, a chemical in fennel which is a key ingredient in Absinthe. Absinthes is known as “spirit a base de plantes d’absinthe” in France and only contain up to 5mg per liter of fenchone.
Now it is possible to get Absinthe or Absinthe essences from anywhere.The website AbsintheKit.com provides all the information related to Absinthe essences. They also sell replica Absinthe glasses and spoonslike a Pontarlier glass and Eiffel Tower spoon.
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