absinthe is a distilled neutral spirit flavored with Artemisia absinthium—a species of wormwood—and aniseed, with other botanicals playing supporting roles. It is intended for dilution and imbibing as a light drink to cleanse the palate and stimulate the appetite. It contains no added sugar and so is not a liqueur, but rather an aperitif spirit.
Due to controversies over public health issues, absinthe was banned in much of the world for most of the twentieth century. These health concerns have since been solidly debunked by modern scientific analysis and historical research. Absinthe has enjoyed a resurgence in interest and manufacture during the first decades of the twenty-first century.
Origins
Absinthe takes its name from the Artemisia absinthium plant, a member of the sagebrush genus. Absinthe reached its peak popularity in France, where the name under which absinthe was sold in the 1800s was extrait d’absinthe, “wormwood extract,” alluding to its concentrated strength. It began, however, as a medicinal tonic in late-medieval Europe. It has been claimed that Switzerland is its birthplace; however, it is more accurate to say that France and Switzerland are absinthe’s adopted homes.
Wormwood has been in medicinal use since the times of the ancient Egyptians. The use of A. absinthium together with aniseed for gastrointestinal health goes back to at least the mid-1600s, and formulas for “aqua absinthii” appear in pharmacopeias from all over Europe, England, and the United States. In 1653, the English herbalist Nicholas Culpeper gave a formula consisting only of A. absinthium and aniseed. This could be regarded as the earliest known absinthe recipe. By the late 1700s the popularity of the combined flavors of wormwood and aniseed evolved into beverage use, and several French and Swiss entrepreneurs began promoting it as a “health drink,” bridging the gap between therapeutic tonic and recreational beverage. By the early 1800s absinthe had taken on a new life as a fashionable and healthy drink.
Controversy
The popularity of absinthe grew in France during the early 1800s. By the mid-1840s it had become a favorite among the soldiers of the French campaign to colonize Algeria (1844–1847). Its abuse among many of the soldiers—owing to its great strength—led to criticism from temperance activists. Yet at the same time absinthe became associated with victorious veterans, and it acquired a rakish, patriotic appeal.
To complicate matters, in the mid-to-late 1850s the grape vine parasite phylloxera decimated the vines in France and threatened the wine industry with collapse. Increased wine costs drove up the price of grape spirits, causing most producers of liqueurs to switch to a more economical beet-sugar spirit base, thereby bringing the price of absinthe within the budget of the common person, even impoverished artists.
As demand for absinthe increased, inferior faux absinthes were created using flavor extracts and harmful colorings such as copper arsenate, a popular but poisonous dye known as Scheele’s Green. These faux absinthes, consumed habitually in quantity and at higher than recommended strength, likely resulted in a great number of illnesses and deaths.
While these faux absinthes were in the extreme minority, the concerned wine interests and the nascent temperance movement did not hesitate to denounce all absinthe as the cause of the illnesses, and the national problem with alcoholism in general. This was made easier by the unique ingredient, wormwood, which made a convenient scapegoat. Despite the fact that millions of people drank genuine absinthe every day for over a century with no apparent ill effect, a decades-long campaign of politically motivated sensational propaganda accompanied by false science manipulated public opinion and finally resulted in a ban on absinthe in nearly every country where it had become popular. Absinthe was banned in Belgium in 1906, the Netherlands in 1909, Switzerland in 1910, the United States in 1912, and France in 1915.
Manufacture
Botanicals are macerated in a base of neutral spirits, traditionally grape spirits, which is then re-distilled, during which the volatile botanical oils vaporize along with the ethanol vapor and are re-condensed. The resulting clear distillate is infused, or “finished,” with other herbs, providing additional flavors and aromas as well as the green color for which absinthe is famous, a result of chlorophyll extracted from the leaves. The canonical pre-ban absinthe ingredients were grand wormwood (A. absinthium), aniseed, and fennel seed, for the maceration/distillation stage, and petite wormwood (A. pontica), lemon balm, and hyssop for the finishing infusion. See macerate; distillate; and infusion. Absinthe is bottled at high proof in order to better preserve the infused constituents, particularly the chlorophyll. Typically bottled at 55–72 percent ABV, absinthe is customarily diluted at a ratio of approximately five parts water to one part absinthe, as shown on absinthe labels from the pre-ban era. This makes a drink at 11–15 percent ABV, about the same range typical of wine. Classic absinthes are formulated with this dilution in mind. Alternatively, absinthe is used in small amounts as a cocktail ingredient, much like bitters. Its concentrated flavors make it a poor choice as a base spirit in cocktails, as it easily overwhelms any other ingredients.
Modern Myths
Aside from the early-era apprehensions about absinthe being poisonous, there is a commonly-held modern misbelief that absinthe is or was a sort of hallucinogenic or psychedelic drug. However, no evidence has been found to suggest that anyone at the time regarded absinthe as a drug as we would define it today, with recreational effects beyond those of alcohol. The ingredients of nineteenth-century absinthe are known and well-documented in historical texts, and none of them are hallucinogens or psychedelics.
Thujone, a compound found in wormwood, is often cited for absinthe’s alleged effects. Thujone is a lethal neurotoxin in high concentrations, but such concentrations would not exist in properly made absinthe, owing to thujone’s resistance to distillation. Absinthes dating from the early 1900s, as well as modern absinthes made to the same formulas and standards, have been analyzed and found to be well within normal and safe limits for all ingredients used.
See also aperitif and digestive, health and spirits; and wormwood.
Conrad, Barnaby, III. Absinthe: History in a Bottle. San Francisco: Chronicle Books, 1988.
Nathan-Maister, David. The Absinthe Encyclopedia. Burgess Hill, UK: Oxygenee Press, 2009.
Wormwood Society. http://www.wormwoodsociety.org (accessed January 7, 2021).
By: Gwydion Stone