Absinthe Information
Absinthe The cult drink
The first absinthe was produced in 1805 by Henri-Louise Pernod. In 1905 under the brand Pernod, more than 25.000 bottles of absinthe have been sold per day. During these times absinthe was cheaper than wine. Absinthe is an alcoholic drink which contains wormwood extract(lt. Artemisia absinthium). Usually, it is a drink of smaragd-green color with a very bitter taste which results from the wormwood and the connected thujone content. Most absinthes contain more than 50% alcohol. That is why absinthe is normally not consumed pure, but mixed with ice cubes or very cold water (cf. drink ritual). Through mixing with water, most absinthe opalize. This is due to the fact that the etheric oils dissolve not very well in water.
Wormwood
Wormwood can be found widely in Asia , North-Africa and Southern-Europe. It contains the substances Absinthin, Anabsinthin, an etheric oil and the infamous thujone, which gives absinthe the special something. Thujone causes a relaxed feeling and the effects resemble the ones of THC to some extent, according to some people. Wormwood causes the slightly bitter taste of absinthe.
History of Absinthe
Until 1915 many great artists (Verlaine, Rimbaud, Baudelair, Oscar Wilde, Maignan, Edgar Degas, van Gogh u. Picasso) drank absinthe. Some say that the ingenious creativity can be partly due to their absinthe consumption. Oscar Wilde described the three phases of drinking absinthe with the sunset. The poet Verlaine was so fond of this drink that he used it as a from of greeting. Instead of saying hello he greeted by saying I'll have it with sugar. It is said that Van Gogh cut of his hear and presented it to a prostitute after some heavy absinth excesses.
Absinthe Connoisseurs of our times
Johnny Depp
Marilyn Manson
Books on Absinthe
Absinth. Die grüne Wunderfee. von Helmut Werner
Absinth allgemein
Von Absinth bis Zabaione
The Dedalus Book of Absinthe (Dedalus Concept Books)
DVD
From Hell [Special Edition] [2 DVDs]
The Ritual
One can drink absinthe in the traditional way or mixed in a cocktail. In former times, the span between 5 and 7 pm was called the green hour. People went to the cafes with friends, drank absinthe and relaxed. Important with the ritual is not only the individual steps but also the chill-out factor: You can Stop the world for a short time, reflect about it, converse with friends; and let it go on the roll again.
The traditional ritual
Absinth Ritual 1 1. Take a glass with a big opening. Pour in 2-4cl absinthe, depending on the strongness.
Absinth Ritual 2 2. Put the absinthe spoon on the glass and a sugar cube on it. Pour slowly, very slowly cold water on the sugar. If it doesn?t dissolve quickly, wait a little. Fill the glass in the ratio 1:5.
Absinth Ritual 3 3. The rest of the sugar is dissolved by squiring the spoon. Now you can drink in little steps. Pour in water like you want now.
More information: Absinth Wikipedia
