Absinthe thujone is the chemical present in Absinthe’s vital ingredient, the plant known as Common Wormwood, or Artemisia Absinthium to give it its botanical name absinthekit. The compound thujone was partly accountable for Absinthe being banned during the early 1900s in lots of countries across the globe and thujone remains tightly regulated today, specifically in the United States (or states united).
Thujone was considered to be much like THC seen in cannabis and Absinthe was speculated to be psychoactive and have psychedelic effects triggering hallucinations and insanity. Absinthe was popular with the Bohemian set in Montmartre in Paris and many artists and writers claimed 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 due to Absinthe and that he cut off his ear under its effect. Absinthe was even held responsible for a man murdering his family, even though he had taken many other strong alcoholic drinks after the Absinthe.
Prohibition campaigners used news of the murder to campaign for the banning of Absinthe and blamed France’s growing problems of alcoholism to the emerald liquor.
Is Absinthe Thujone Harmful?
Today’s research suggests that it was in fact the alcohol (ethanol) content of Absinthe that’s dangerous rather than the thujone. Absinthe is twice as strong as spirits like whisky and vodka and can be 75% alcohol. Care should therefore be utilized when consuming Absinthe. Thujone is merely contained in minute quantities and must therefore cause no major negative effects or health conditions. The EU stipulates that alcoholic beverages with an ABV (alcohol by volume) level over 25% may only consist of a maximum of 10mg/kg of thujone, beverages classed as “bitters” can contain up to 35mg/kg, it’s not entirely clear which class Absinthe fits into but many brands of Absinthe have much less than 35mg with a lot of being under 10mg/kg. In the US it is simply legal to purchase or sell Absinthes with trace quantities of thujone.
High doses of thujone can be dangerous leading to convulsions nevertheless you would need to drink a great deal of Absinthe to consume that amount of thujone and it will be impossible to drink that amount, you’d be comatosed from alcohol until then!
Absinthe Ingredients
It is said that Henri-Louis Pernod, who owned the very first 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 mainly responsible for La Louche, the clouding which occurs when water is included with Absinthe. These herbs especially the aniseed and anise are responsible for the distinctive aniseed or licorice taste of Absinthe and wormwood is responsible for the bitter flavor. Absinthe is oftentimes used as bitters in cocktails.
There are several brands of Absinthe or Absinthe substitutes that have been developed during the ban and thus contain no Absinthe thujone or wormwood, however, many would say that Absinthe just isn’t Absinthe without Absinthe thujone and the bitter taste of wormwood. If you wish real Absinthe look for brands that contain wormwood or Absinthe thujone.