The Fresh Absinthe Thujone

Absinthe thujone is the chemical found in Absinthe’s vital ingredient, the plant referred to as Common Wormwood, or Artemisia Absinthium to give it its botanical name https://absinthekit.com/articles. The chemical thujone was partly responsible for Absinthe being banned in early 1900s in lots of countries across the world and thujone is still tightly regulated today, specifically in the United States (or states united).

Thujone was considered to be similar to THC present in cannabis and Absinthe was purported to be psychoactive and have psychedelic effects triggering hallucinations and insanity. Absinthe was favored by the Bohemian set in Montmartre in Paris and several artists and writers believed that Absinthe, the Green Fairy, gave them inspiration as well as their genius. Famous 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 influence. Absinthe was even held accountable for a man murdering his family, although he had used a great many 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 alcohol addiction on the emerald liquor.

Is Absinthe Thujone Dangerous?

Today’s studies suggest that it was in fact the alcohol (ethanol) content of Absinthe which was dangerous instead of the thujone. Absinthe is doubly strong as spirits like whisky and vodka and can be 75% alcohol. Care should therefore be taken when taking in Absinthe. Thujone is simply contained in minute quantities and ought to therefore cause no major negative effects or health issues. The EU stipulates that alcohol based drinks 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 approximately 35mg/kg, it is not entirely clear which class Absinthe matches but most brands of Absinthe have much less than 35mg with a lot of 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 will have to drink a large amount of Absinthe to consume that volume of thujone and it will be impossible to drink that amount, you would be comatosed from alcohol until then!

Absinthe Materials

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 produce his famous Pernod Absinthe. The essential oil from all of these herbs is responsible for La Louche, the clouding which happens when water is included with Absinthe. These herbs particularly the aniseed and anise are responsible for the distinctive aniseed or licorice taste of Absinthe and wormwood is mainly responsible for the bitter flavor. Absinthe is oftentimes 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, however, many would claim that Absinthe is not Absinthe without Absinthe thujone and the bitter taste of wormwood. If you want real Absinthe look for brands that contain wormwood or Absinthe thujone.