Absinthe thujone is the chemical found in Absinthe’s vital ingredient, the plant known as Common Wormwood, or Artemisia Absinthium to give it its botanical name. The chemical thujone was partly responsible for Absinthe being banned in the early 1900s in lots of countries around the world and thujone is still tightly regulated today, specifically in the United States (or states united).
Thujone was regarded as just like THC present in cannabis and Absinthe was speculated to be psychoactive and possess psychedelic effects creating hallucinations and insanity. Absinthe was popular with the Bohemian set in Montmartre in Paris and lots of artists and writers believed that Absinthe, the Green Fairy, gave them inspiration in addition to their genius. Well-known Absinthe drinkers include Oscar Wilde, Ernest Hemingway, Van Gogh, Gauguin, Degas, Baudelaire and Verlaine. Some point out that Van Gogh’s madness was due to Absinthe and that he cut off his ear under its effect www.alcoholplant.com. Absinthe was even held accountable for a man murdering his family, even though he had used a number of other strong alcoholic drinks right 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 Unsafe?
Today’s studies suggest that it was actually the alcohol (ethanol) content of Absinthe which was dangerous rather than the thujone. Absinthe is twice as strong as spirits like whisky and vodka and can be 75% alcohol. Care should therefore be utilized when consuming Absinthe. Thujone is simply found in minute quantities and should therefore cause no major negative effects or health problems. The EU stipulates that alcoholic beverages with an ABV (alcohol by volume) level over 25% may possibly contain a maximum of 10mg/kg of thujone, beverages classed as “bitters” can contain approximately 35mg/kg, it isn’t completely clear which class Absinthe fits into but many brands of Absinthe have much less than 35mg with many being under 10mg/kg. In the US it is simply legal to buy or sell Absinthes with trace levels of thujone.
High doses of thujone may be dangerous triggering convulsions however you would need to drink a substantial amount of Absinthe to consume that volume of thujone and it would be impossible to drink that amount, you’d be comatosed from alcohol before then!
Absinthe Materials
It is known that Henri-Louis Pernod, who owned the very first Absinthe distillery, utilized the herbs wormwood, aniseed, fennel, lemon balm, hyssop, angelica root, dittany, star anise, nutmeg, juniper and veronica to make his famous Pernod Absinthe. The essential oil from these herbs is mainly responsible for La Louche, the clouding which comes about when water is included with Absinthe. These herbs especially the aniseed and anise are accountable for the distinctive aniseed or licorice taste of Absinthe and wormwood is liable for the bitter flavor. Absinthe is oftentimes used as bitters in cocktails.
There are many brands of Absinthe or Absinthe substitutes which were developed over the ban and therefore 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’d like real Absinthe search for brands containing wormwood or Absinthe thujone.