Absinthe thujone is the chemical found in Absinthe’s vital ingredient, the plant identified as Common Wormwood, or Artemisia Absinthium to give it its botanical name absinthekit. The chemical thujone was partly the cause of Absinthe being banned in the early 1900s in several countries around the world and thujone is still tightly regulated today, particularly in the United States (or states united).
Thujone was thought to be similar to THC seen in cannabis and Absinthe was purported to be psychoactive and possess psychedelic effects producing hallucinations and insanity. Absinthe was favored by the Bohemian set in Montmartre in Paris and lots of artists and writers believed that Absinthe, the Green Fairy, gave them inspiration and 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 brought on by Absinthe and that he cut off his ear under its control. Absinthe was even held responsible for a man murdering his family, despite the fact that he had taken a great many other strong alcoholic drinks after the Absinthe.
Prohibition campaigners used news of the murder to campaign for the outlawing of Absinthe and blamed France’s growing problems of alcoholism to the emerald liquor.
Is Absinthe Thujone Dangerous?
Today’s studies suggest that it was in fact the alcohol (ethanol) content of Absinthe that was dangerous rather than the thujone. Absinthe is two times as strong as spirits like whisky and vodka and can be 75% alcohol. Care should therefore be utilized when taking in Absinthe. Thujone is just present in minute quantities and should therefore cause no major unwanted effects or health issues. The EU stipulates that booze with an ABV (alcohol by volume) level over 25% may only have a maximum of 10mg/kg of thujone, beverages classed as “bitters” can contain up to 35mg/kg, it’s not completely clear which class Absinthe fits into but most brands of Absinthe have much less than 35mg with many being under 10mg/kg. In the US it is just legal to buy or sell Absinthes with trace quantities of thujone.
High doses of thujone may be dangerous leading to convulsions but you would need to drink a large amount of Absinthe to consume that volume of thujone and it will be impossible to drink that amount, you’d be comatosed from alcohol until 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 produce his famous Pernod Absinthe. The essential oil from these herbs is mainly responsible for La Louche, the clouding which occurs when water is included with Absinthe. These herbs particularly the aniseed and anise are accountable for the distinctive aniseed or licorice taste of Absinthe and wormwood is responsible for the bitter flavor. Absinthe is usually used as bitters in cocktails.
There are lots of brands of Absinthe or Absinthe substitutes that were developed over the ban and thus contain no Absinthe thujone or wormwood, but many would state that Absinthe just isn’t Absinthe without Absinthe thujone and the bitter taste of wormwood. If you want real Absinthe search for brands that contains wormwood or Absinthe thujone.