Different Absinthe Recipes
Absinthe has an interesting history. In the late 18th century a French doctor created Absinthe as an elixir for his patients. By 1805 the Absinthe recipes had got into the hands of Henri-Louis Pernod who started distilling it in his factory in Pontarlier in France.
Original Absinthe Recipes
Pernod’s Absinthe, Original Pernod Fils, was distilled from wine and contained many natural herbs and essential oils from plants including grand wormwood, aniseed, melissa, fennel, lemon balm, dittany, angelica root, hyssop, star anise, nutmeg and juniper.
The recipes and ingredients were not same for the Green Fairy Absinthe. Absinthe production also includes herbs like calamus root, mint, cloves, nutmeg, roman wormwood, anise seed, coriander, sweet flag and licorice. Artimesia Absinthium was the main content of pre-ban Absinthe because it gave Absinthe its characteristic bitter taste and name also.
People believed that the thujone chemical and THC in the drug cannabis have the same effects. Consumption of high amount of thujone can cause psychedelic effects. Anethole is said to be psychoactive which is content of anise seed and fennel seed and Lapland grow Angelica root in the form of drug. Absinthe is a mysterious mix of sedatives and stimulants, no wonder that artists and writers like Van Gogh and Oscar Wilde claimed that it gave them their genius and inspiration! Being drunk on Absinthe has been explained in “A clear headed drunkenness”.
Absinthe was banned in France in 1915 when Prohibitionists claimed it’s harmful effects. Absinthe is safe same as other strong alcoholic drinks like whisky and vodka. Absinthe is mainly alcohol and only contains minute quantities of wormwood and the other herbs so, if consumed in moderation, is no real health risk.
Homemade Absinthe Recipes
There are many Absinthe recipes on the Internet using different herbs and different methods – steeping, filtering etc. Absinthe production from plants, dried herbs or essential oils at home is not preferred. Why?
– It is important to use distilled Absinthe.
– The thujone content cannot be known of consumed Absinthe.
It is far better to buy either a quality Absinthe, making sure that it’s got the vital ingredient wormwood, or to buy an Absinthe kit which consists of Absinthe essences that have already been distilled.
One can purchase Breaux’s label “Lucid” in the USA.
AbsintheKit.com does great Absinthe kits which consist of:-
- Absinthe essence – choose from classic, white (which makes clear Swiss style Absinthe, Strong 55 (with a 55mg thujone content) and Orange (flavored with orange oil).
– A measure.
– Artistic Labels are important to decorate Absinthe bottles.
One bottle of essence is efficient for preparing 14 bottles of Absinthe!
To make Absinthe using these kits one has to make solution of 20ml of the Absinthe essence and a neutral alcohol like Everclear or vodka to get own bottle of Green Fairy.
As these essences are the very same as the ones sold to distilleries so one will definitely get a safe, top-quality product.
Ernest Hemingway’s famous “Death in the Afternoon” – Absinthe and champagne are among the various cocktail Absinthe recipes found online. A person can enjoy searching and mixing of cocktails.
Tags: Absinthe bottles, Absinthe kits, Absinthe Recipes
This entry was posted on Tuesday, October 6th, 2009 at 10:02 pm and is filed under food and wine. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.