Like all over-proof spirits, always drink it in reasonable amounts (and diluted but more of that later). But studies have shown these tiny amounts can’t affect you and the reason people got sick and slightly deranged from absinthe abuse is because it has an incredibly strong alcohol content. The craziness is said to derive from thujone, which is present in trace amounts. The base ingredients will create a clear spirit (which is sold as ‘Absinthe Blanche’) but the addition of these herbs turns the concoction green and adds more flavour to the over-riding liquorice flavour of the anise. It’s a flavoured spirit, featuring an infusion of herbs and flowers including sweet fennel, green anise and grande wormwood, plus a possible selection of other herbs such as hyssop, peppermint and coriander. Though Wormwood infused wine had been in the drinks cabinets of the Ancient Greeks. Like Coca Cola, Cornflakes and Irn-Bru (probably) absinthe may have started life as a medicinal tonic, brewed by a French doctor living in Switzerland. So it’s not as dangerous as some fear, but it is still strong… and delicious! If you prepare it correctly. The levels of neotoxins contained in the drink and thought to affect mental cognition are too small to cause any trouble. It’s even illegal, right? No, not for years. The ‘green fairy’ that poisons the drinker’s mind with Wormwood and causes hallucinations, wooziness and even madness. The legends surrounding absinthe have been swirling around for generations. It is considered the scariest thing sitting behind the bartender’s head.
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