What is absinthe?
Absinthe is a strongly alcoholic liquor made from alcohol and distilled herbs or herbal extracts, the main herbal ingredients are wormwood (Artemisia absinthium) and anise, but also usually including other herbs such as Artemisia pontica, melissa, fennel, hyssop and lemon balm.
High quality absinthes are always distilled rather than produced from herbal essences, and have a herbal and and quite floral character and underneath that the bitterness of wormwood.
Absinthes are generally a pale green in colour, sometimes with a slight yellowish tone. Upon adding water, the absinthe louches (turns milky). Then there's the clear absinthes, with no color at all - often called La Bleue or La Blanche. They are simply made without the final coloring step, and sometimes also differs a bit in the compositions of herbs. But then, not many absinthes have the exact same composition, that's what makes them unique.
The traditional strength is 55% - 72% alcohol, or 110º - 144º proof. There are modern absinthes that are stronger (Hapsburg has one that is 89%), but they taste awful and nothing but alcohol. Throughout history the very best of absinthes were always made from a base of grape alcohol. This was however somewhat expensive, and to get cheaper production, there was cheaper brands that made theirs using grain or beet alcohols instead.
Absinthe is by far the most misunderstood drink ever. So many myths and rumours. Pretty much since the day of its "birth" it was called "La Fée Verte", or "The Green Fairy". That definitely puts even more into the myths of its seductive and very intoxicating powers.
What is the history of absinthe?
Generally when we think or speak of absinthe, we think of the glittering Parisian theatres, the Moulin Rouge, the artists, the cafés and all the icons of the Belle Epoque.
However, its origin is far more subtle than that. Absinthe was first produced near Couvet in Switzerland, and nearby Pontarlier in the Doubs region of France. To many this rural part of France is still considered the home of absinthe.Supposedly it was Dr. Pierre Ordinaire who invented absinthe in 1792. It was shortly after the French revolution that he produced the first commercial absinthe.
At first it was actually a medicine, meant to cure just about anything. It was recommended for the treatment of epilepsy, gout, kidney stones, colic, headaches and worms. Another man, Major Dubied was very interested in the invention by Dr. Ordinaire, but not as a medicine, but more as an aperitif. Dubied purchased what was reputed to be Ordinaire’s original formula from two sisters called Henriod at the beginning of the 19th century and began large scale production. By 1805, the Pernod Fils absinthe company was set up in Pontarlier in the Doubs region, run by Dubied's son-in-law, Henri-Louis Pernod. It was to become one of the largest and most successful companies in France.
The French troop fighting in Algeria in the 1840's used absinthe as a fever preventative, and upon their return to France, they brought the taste for absinthe with them. It became an instant success. The bars and bistros where crowded by people drinking absinthe, and every day at around 5 p.m. it was "l'Heure Verte" - the Green Hour.
Of course, since absinthe was such a success, and so was the Pernod company, more wanted a piece of it all. There was a multitude of brands that more or less copied the name Pernod, and many of them became truly successful as well.
Absinthe hit its peak during the years from 1880-1910. It was a quintessential part of Belle Epoque French society. The French consumed far more absinthe than any other country, and absinthe drinking was one of the special marks of Paris in the 1890s and early 1900’s. Absinthe was a symbol of inspiration and daring, and became indelibly associated with the bohemian artists and writers who were revolutionising art and literature. Many famous works of art were directly inspired by the drink, including some of Degas’ and Van Gogh greatest masterpieces, and the very first cubist paintings by Picasso and Braque.
EVERYONE drank absinthe – society ladies, gentlemen-about-town, businessmen and politicians, artists, musicians, ordinary working-men. In 1874 alone, France consumed 700,000 litres of absinthe, but by 1910, this figure had exploded to 36,000,000 litres of absinthe per year. That sounds like a whole lot, but it actually accounted for only 3% of the total french alcohol consumption, whilst wine had 72% of the total. The french drank a lot!
What is it that makes absinthe so special? Will you go crazy?
The most popular misconception about absinthe is that it is a drug, or at least similar to a drug in effect. This is not true. It is said that absinthe drove people mad, and that it was absinthe that caused Van Gogh to cut off his ear. Also absinthe takes the blame for the so called "Absinthe murder".
It is quite a long story to tell, but to keep it simple, it goes something like this; It was a man named Lanfray. He killed his entire family with a shotgun, his wife who was four months pregnant and his four year old daughter. He tried to take his own life, but failed.
Since he was quite the drinker, it was said that it was absinthe that drove him to commit this hideous crime. No one took any notice to the fact that Lanfray during that day had more alcohol than anyone would consider healthy. And not only absinthe. Absinthe actually accounted only for a very small part of it all.
In the morning he started off with two absinthe, before he went to work. On the way there, he, his father and his brother stopped at a café where he had a Crème de menthe and a Cognac. At lunch break at his work in the vineyards, he had no less than six glasses of "Piquette", a heady local wine. In the afternoon, just before he ended work, he had another glass of wine.
At their way back from work, they again stopped at a café, and had a cup of coffee laced with brandy. In the evening Lanfray and his father each had another liter of "Piquette". And that wasn't enough. Lanfray poured himself some coffee and laced it with his own powerful homemade brandy.
So, in the morning he had two absinthes. Those were the ones that took the blame for his crime. Not the brandy, not the wine.
Absinthe differs from almost all other drinks in containing a higher percentage of alcohol, and of course in containing extract of wormwood, or Artemisia absinthium, to give it its correct Latin name. Wormwood is a herb related to the daisy family that grows wild in many areas of Europe. From ancient times it has been prized as one of the most valuable medicinal herbs. An Egyptian papyrus from 1600BC recommends wormwood as a stimulant and tonic, an antiseptic, and a remedy for fevers and period pains. Pythagoras thought that wormwood leaves in wine would ease childbirth, and Hippocrates also recommended it for period pains, as well as anemia and rheumatism. Today, wormwood oil, the oil obtained from Artemisia absinthium, is used as a counter irritant in many common over-the-counter pharmacy products.The chemical name for the active ingredient in wormwood is thujone. Thujone is a terpene and is related to menthol, which of course is known for its healing and restorative qualities. Thujone – pronounced "thoo-jone" with a soft 'J' – is a naturally occurring substance, also found in the bark of the Thuja, or white cedar, tree, and in other herbs besides wormwood - including tansy and the common sage used in cooking. Aside from absinthe, other popular liquors, including Chartreuse and Benedictine, also contain small amounts of thujone.
Extremely high doses of thujone are however dangerous, and have been shown to cause convulsions in laboratory animals, but the concentration of thujone actually found in absinthe is many thousands of times lower than this. Thujone's mechanism of action on the brain is not fully understood although certain structural similarities between thujone and Tetrahydrocannabinol (the active component in marijuana) have led some to hypothesize that both substances have the same site of action in the brain. More recent scientific research however has completely discredited this idea.
What does absinthe taste like?
Of course, taste is an individual thing. And, it all comes down to what absinthe it is you're tasting. But an absinthe that is properly distilled and carefully manufactured is by no means overwhelmingly bitter.
There are many modern absinthes that are, but then again, all you have to do, is to move on to another brand. Even though wormwood is the main herbal ingredient, absinthe contains so much more. The anise gives its sort of licorice taste, but must not be to strong. Then there's lemon balm and melissa and many other herbs. So apart from the bitter wormwood, you have the taste of anise, and also a slight taste of citrus.
Those are the tastes most people can detect. Then, the mix of other herbs give each absinthe its own unique taste.
How do you drink absinthe?
The traditional french way calls for serving absinthe diluted with iced water slowly dripped over a sugar cube dissolving it into the glass.
This not only sweetens the drink and counters the subtly minty bitterness, but in well made absinthes seems also to subtly improve the herbal
flavour-profile of the drink. Many modern reproductions are however sweetened already.As mentioned, the classic French absinthe ritual involves placing a sugar cube on a flat perforated spoon, which rests on the glass containing a measure of absinthe. Iced water is then very slowly dripped on to the sugar cube, which gradually dissolves and drips, along with the water, into the absinthe, causing the green liquor to louche into an opaque opalescent white as the essential oils precipitate out of the alcoholic solution. Usually three to four parts water are added to one part of 65% absinthe. Some requires more water, some less.
Antique perforated spoons for use with absinthe are prized collectors items. There are hundreds of variants, some issued to commemorate historic events like the opening of the Eiffel Tower in 1889, others with engraved advertising for one of the famous brands of the day. Almost all have been exhaustively catalogued by Marie Claude Delahaye, the leading French authority on absinthe and absinthiana, and the author of numerous books on the subject.
Also avidly collected are glasses, carafes, and water fountains made specifically for use with the absinthe ritual.Today, modern absinthes are often marketed in conjunction with the so-called Bohemian absinthe ritual. This is not a traditional method, but a modern innovation inspired by the success of flaming Sambuca and such like. A shot of absinthe is poured into a glass, and a teaspoonful of sugar is dipped into it. The alcohol soaked sugar is set alight and allowed to burn until it bubbles and caramelises. The spoon of melted sugar is then plunged into the absinthe and stirred in, which usually sets the absinthe itself alight. Ice water is then poured in, dousing the flames. This method, has become increasingly popular, especially since it was shown in the film "Moulin Rouge", but is a historical travesty, and would have horrified any Belle Epoque absintheur.
Please see the section called "the absinthe ritual".
Is modern Pernod or Ricard absinthe?
Pastis has similarities and is related to absinthe, but is not, contrary to popular belief, basically absinthe without the wormwood.
Most pastis manufacturers such as Ricard and Pernod use far higher concentrations of star anise (which accounts for pastis’ overwhelming aniseed taste) together with lots of added sugar, and bottle at around 40%-45% alcohol. Pastis contains many herbs not found in absinthe, and also sometimes spices, which are never used in absinthe.
Real absinthe has a herbal/floral character, without any predominant aniseed character, is dry and slightly bitter (as a result of the wormwood, one of the bitterest organic substances known) and is bottled at at least 55% alcohol (any lower and the wormwood oils precipitate out).
However it is true that the Pernod Fils company changed their absinthe formula after the ban of absinthe, and that eventually became what we today know as the Pernod pastis. The road there was long and certainly not straight, with several regulations and changes in laws even for anise liqueurs along the way. But, they have now released a new absinthe, the Pernod 68. Sadly a disgrace to what was once the best absinthe available.
So, why was absinthe banned?
Absinthe was originally fairly expensive, and largely a drink of the upper-middle classes. However, by the second half of the nineteenth century it had fallen dramatically in price, both because of increasing economies of scale in its production, and because most producers had switched from grape alcohol to far cheaper grain and beet alcohols. At the same time the number of brands exploded, with many catering for the very cheapest end of the market.
Absinthe became increasingly popular amongst all classes of French society, and began to displace wine as the standard drink of the French working class. During this period the French wine industry was struggling with the crippling effects of both oidium (a kind of mildew) and phyloxera (an incurable beetle infestation deadly to vines). Almost all the French national vineyard had to be replanted, a process that took decades and resulted in a prolonged shortage of wine, and a consequent rise in wine prices. Increasingly, absinthe was the affordable, and far more alcoholic, alternative to wine. This was both a major reason for its enormous popularity, and ultimately the root cause of its downfall. When the wine industry began to recover in the last decades of the nineteenth century, the politically well-connected grape growers, seeking to recover the market share they had lost, began to agitate for the prohibition of what they termed “unnatural” products like absinthe.In the 1880's, there was for the first time concern about the results of chronic abuse of absinthe. Chronic use of absinthe was believed to produce a syndrome, called absinthism, which was characterized by addiction, hyper excitability, and hallucinations. The science, or pseudo-science behind these reports was dubious and often obviously flawed – but the reports were published in the popular press of the day and widely believed. It is now thought that the symptoms of “absinthism” were due primarily to the effects of the alcohol itself, and also perhaps to the many sometimes extremely dangerous chemical adulterants used in cheap absinthes of the time. Well-made absinthes used chlorophylic colouration from herbs to achieve their characteristic green colour. This however was an expensive and difficult to control process, so unscrupulous low cost producers substituted chemicals such as copper sulphate to achieve the same effect. Antimony chloride – another highly poisonous substance - was also used to help the drink become cloudy when added to water.
During the late 19th & early 20th centuries France, together with many western countries, was under pressure from various temperance movements and their constituents to curb alcohol consumption on a governmental level as it was seen to morally corrupt its citizens. In the midst of this prohibitionist excitement, the word "absinthism" came to lose its specific meaning. Absinthism and alcoholism were confused, and an alcoholic was simply deemed an "absinthe drinker". This confusion of meaning seems to have been deliberately encouraged by the prohibitionist movement. Wine was believed to be healthy and natural, since it came from the land and was a time-honored tradition, not to mention a major source of revenue. Absinthe, however, was made with industrial alcohol, and was moreover by far the most alcoholic of all liquors. It’s not surprising, that by the 1890’s, absinthe had become the primary target for the French temperance movement.
This narrow focus on absinthe was of course entirely in the interests of the powerful wine industry lobby. After all, under the growing threat of Prohibition, how better to draw attention away from your own alcoholic product –wine - than to make people believe that it is the healthy, natural exception to the "bad" rule? Adding to the political agitation against absinthe was its popularity not just with the working class, but also with the radical bohemian set – young artists like Van Gogh and Toulouse Lautrec, writers like Baudelaire, Rimbaud and Verlaine, to name just a few. Their scandalous lifestyles and debauched behaviour shocked and outraged the establishment, and absinthe, their favourite drink, came to encapsulate in the public mind everything that had gone wrong with conservative France.
Like a vice slowly tightening, the pressure to ban absinthe inexorably increased. The last straw was a series of particularly brutal family murders which were – largely unfairly – blamed on absinthe consumption. The most notorious of these was the celebrated Lanfray case, which riveted the European press in 1905. Jean Lanfray, a Swiss peasant of French stock, having drunk two glasses of absinthe, shot his pregnant wife and two daughters, before attempting to kill himself. He failed, and was found the next morning collapsed across their dead bodies. Public reaction to the case was extraordinary, and it focused on just one detail – the two glasses of absinthe he had drunk beforehand. Forgotten was the fact that Lanfray was a thoroughgoing alcoholic who habitually drank up to 5 litres of wine a day. Forgotten also, was that on the day of the attack he had consumed not only the two absinthes before going to work – hours before the tragedy – but also a Crème de menthe, a cognac, six glasses of wine to help his lunch down, another glass of wine before leaving work, a cup of coffee with brandy in it, an entire litre of wine on getting home, and then another coffee with Marc in it. People were in no doubt. It must have been the absinthe that did it. Within weeks, a petition demanding that absinthe be banned in Switzerland was signed by over 82 000 local people. The momentum to ban the drink was now unstoppable.
Absinthe was finally banned in Belgium in 1905, in Switzerland in 1910, in the USA in 1912 and finally in France – distracted and shell-shocked by the first defeats of World War I - in 1915. In the end this magical and historic elixir that had once captivated, delighted and inspired a nation, went out not with a bang, but with the merest whimper. Most of the great absinthe-producing firms went bankrupt, or amalgamated, or switched to producing pastis. Some firms transferred their production to Spain, where absinthe was never banned, and where it continues to be made on a small scale. In the Val de Travers region of Switzerland, production went underground, and large scale bootlegging operations still exist today. In many countries though absinthe was never formally prohibited – it just faded from sight.
Absinthe has never been banned in the UK, nor in much of Southern and Eastern Europe.
What about the modern absinthes?
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Although absinthe continued to be made on a small scale in Spain, its modern revival really has its origins in the collapse of the Iron Curtain, and Czechoslovakia's 1989 "Velvet Revolution". A Czech entrepreneur, Radomil Hill, having inherited a small family distillery dating from the 1920’s, decided, with the return of a free market economy, to start producing absinthe again as his grandfather had done before him.
Sales took off, especially in the UK, where an innovative publicity campaign soon made absinthe a must-have drink in trendy nightclubs and bars. Other manufacturers in Czechoslovakia and elsewhere soon followed suite, and soon absinthe was made again not only in Spain, Czechoslovakia and Germany, but also in the region where it was once born, the French Jura. Eventually, after legalisation in Switzerland (March 2005) the legal production of absinthe began again and an ever increasing flow of brands of various quality are available.
Unfortunately a lot of the modern absinthes, including - as a disgrace to the name - Pernod absinthe, are artificially coloured oil-mixes of dubious quality. Most Czech and German brands in particular, are a travesty of what true absinthe should be, with almost no traditional herbal and floral character or resemblance to an authentic absinthe.
Genuine absinthes are available though and more come out all the time. Since absinthe have become more and more popular, more distilleries have actually taken up absinthe production once again such as Combier with the Jade Liqueurs absinthes, the Emile Pernot distillery with their Un Emiles, the Devoille distillery with their Verte and Blanche de Fougerolles, Lemercier with the range of Abisinthe and the Guy distillery of Pontarlier with Francois Guy. In Switzerland the most notable distillery is Blackmint with their Kübler-brand and of course a wide range of former clandestine distillers turned legal after the legalisation. A look in the vendors listing will give you a hint on where to find the best brands. |
 Un Emile 68% |
Conclusion...
Absinthe will not make you crazy. Absinthe is not a drug, no more than any other drink containing alcohol. However, I can agree to the fact that one WANT all the myths to be true, and while sitting there, preparing your absinthe, the mind wonders of to those old days at the Parisian cafés.
Sources and references for the information found here, come from; Oxygenee's Absinthiana and the book "Absinthe" written by Barnaby Conrad III.