Get the knowledge of history of Absinthe. In the late 18th century a French doctor created Absinthe as an elixir for his patients. By 1805 the Absinthe recipeshad got into the hands of Henri-Louis Pernod who started distilling it in his factory in Pontarlier in France.

Original Absinthe Recipes

Pernod’s Absinthe, Original Pernod Fils, was distilled from wine and contained many natural herbs and essential oils from plants including grande wormwood, aniseed, melissa, fennel, lemon balm, dittany, angelica root, hyssop, star anise, nutmeg and juniper.

There were no similarities in the recipes and ingredients of different manufacturers of the Green Fairy. Absinthe is also prepared using the herbs like calamus root, mint, cloves, nutmeg, roman wormwood, anise seed, coriander, sweet flag and licorice. The herb wormwood, Artimesia Absinthium, was always used in the making of pre-ban Absinthe because it was the ingredient that gave Absinthe its characteristic bitter taste, as well as its name.

Wormwood contains the chemical thujone which was thought to be similar to THC in the drug cannabis. Psychedelic effects are caused because of high intake of thujone content. Anise seed and fennel seed both contain anethole which is said to be psychoactive and Angelica root is grown as a drug in Lapland. Absinthe is a mysterious mix of sedatives and stimulants which gave artists and writers their genius and inspiration! “A clear headed drunkenness” is description on being drunk on Absinthe.

Absinthe was claimed to be dangerous for the society so it was illegalized in France in 1915. However, studies have shown that drinking Absinthe is just as safe as drinking any of the other strong alcoholic drinks such as whisky and vodka. Absinthe is mainly alcohol and only contains minute quantities of wormwood and the other herbs so, if consumed in moderation, is no real health risk.

Homemade Absinthe Recipes

There are many Absinthe recipes on the Internet using different herbs and different methods – steeping, filtering etc. but making Absinthe at home from plants, dried herbs or essential oils is not to be recommended. Why?
- Absinthe should not be used without distillation.
- A person have no way of knowing the thujone content of the intaken Absinthe.

It is far better to buy either a quality Absinthe, making sure that it’s got the vital ingredient wormwood, or to buy an Absinthe kit which consists of Absinthe essences that have already been distilled.

Breaux’s label “Lucid” is easily available in the USA.

AbsintheKit.com does great Absinthe kits which consist of:-

- Absinthe essence – choose from classic, white (which makes clear Swiss style Absinthe, Strong 55 (with a 55mg thujone content) and Orange (flavored with orange oil).
- Accurate measure.
- Absinthe bottles can be decorated by Artistic Labels.

One can produce 14 bottles of Absinthe from one bottle of essence!

To make Absinthe using these kits you simply mix 20ml of the Absinthe essence with a neutral alcohol such as Everclear or vodka and that’s it – finished, your won bottle of Green Fairy.

These essences are simple and easy to use and a safe, top-quality product.

There are numerous cocktail Absinthe recipes onlie for example Ernest Hemingway’s famous “Death in the Afternoon” – Absinthe and champagne. Have fun in finding and mixing the cocktails.