The Completely new Absinthe Thujone

Absinthe thujone is the chemical present in Absinthe’s vital ingredient, the plant identified as Common Wormwood, or Artemisia Absinthium to give it its botanical name. The compound thujone was partly responsible for Absinthe being banned during the early 1900s in lots of countries around the globe and thujone is still tightly regulated today absinthesupreme, especially in the United States (or states united).

Thujone was thought to be much like THC found in cannabis and Absinthe was speculated to be psychoactive and have psychedelic effects causing 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. 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 control . Absinthe was even blamed for a man murdering his family, despite the fact that he had used a great many other strong alcoholic drinks following the Absinthe.

Prohibition campaigners used news of the murder to campaign for the outlawing of Absinthe and blamed France’s growing problems of alcohol addiction on the emerald liquor.

Is Absinthe Thujone Unsafe?

Today’s studies suggest that it was in fact the alcohol (ethanol) content of Absinthe which 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 used when taking in Absinthe. Thujone is merely present in minute quantities and ought to therefore cause no major unwanted effects or health problems. The EU stipulates that alcoholic beverages with an ABV (alcohol by volume) level over 25% might only have a maximum of 10mg/kg of thujone, beverages classed as “bitters” can contain as much as 35mg/kg, it is not completely clear which class Absinthe suits but many brands of Absinthe have much less than 35mg with many being under 10mg/kg. In the US it is only legal to get or sell Absinthes with trace levels of thujone.

High doses of thujone can be dangerous leading to convulsions however you would need to drink a large amount of Absinthe to consume that amount of thujone and it would be impossible to drink that amount, you would be comatosed from alcohol until then!

Absinthe Ingredients

It is said that Henri-Louis Pernod, who owned the initial Absinthe distillery, employed 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 responsible for La Louche, the clouding which comes about when water is added to 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 which were developed in the ban and therefore contain no Absinthe thujone or wormwood, but some would state that Absinthe just isn’t Absinthe without Absinthe thujone and the bitter taste of wormwood. If you’d like real Absinthe try to find brands that contain wormwood or Absinthe thujone.