The herbs’ natural sweetness is tempered by the herbal bitterness of wormwood. Real absinthe is flavored with aniseseed and fennel. Any absinthe that tastes like a black jelly bean is most likely what absinthe aficionados call “crapsinthe”: “vodka, sugar, artificial flavors and green dye,” said Breaux. There is zero licorice root in real absinthe. Thus, cheap absinthe was adulterated with a lot of junk, such as copper sulfate to turn it green. “The biggest problem with absinthe, back then and today, is there’s no legal definition to protect the integrity and quality of the product,” said Breaux.
As for rumors about absinthe causing Van Gogh’s insanity, Breaux believes he simply “had a lot of problems.”
“There’s not enough in there and there never was enough in there to cause any psychoactive effect whatsoever, said Breaux. The temperance movement in the early 20th century seized on the unique wormwood ingredient to get absinthe outlawed in the United States and Europe until early in this century.Īccording to Breaux, it was all a smear campaign. High doses of thujone can cause hallucinations and even seizures – but so can large concentrations of chemicals in such common herbs as fennel and hyssop. The drink is named for the herb Artemesia absinthium, also known as wormwood, which contains a substance called thujone.
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