What's Your Poison?

Today's happy hour special is Absinthe by Pandora Gorey

Although I personally have not indulged in the consumption of Absinthe, I'm sure that many of you are as curious as I am about its origins, tastes and effects. I therefore present to you the following information, some of which comes courtesy of a very detailed article written by Jasmine Sailing with additional material from Lorelei Dot, from the American magazine Morbid Curiosity published last year (1997) by Aotomatism Press, PO box 170277, San Francisco, California 94117.

So, put your hand up if you've wondered why the hell a giggling Prince Vlad and Mina were pouring a green liquid onto a sugar cube and into a glass of water in that Coppola film? It all looked so exotic didn't it? Well I certainly wanted to know what that was all about ( the green liquid, not the film) and much later discovered that this was standard practice for the consumptio of the banned drink absinthe.

Just as that scene is set, in the notorious nineteenth century, many illicit substances were used and misused by the decadent populace. We have all heard of opium dens, 7%solutions and morphine/laudanum addicts: all of which have their dangerous and yet strangely romantic connotations. Still more romantic and far more exotic is the emerald green, bitter tasting, incredibly alcoholic drink absinthe. A bsinthe was deemed illegal at the turn of that century in many countries, probably by the same party poopers who eventually took the "coke" out of Coca-Cola! However, you may still apparently obtain this legendary substance in Spain, Portugal, Prague and Denmark (occasionally in handy one pint bottles, just right for concealing on one's person when returning to the UK). *

Absinthe's association with abohemian lifestyle and its reputation included attributesassocaited with marijuana and various opiates. The evocation of creative powers, mind\expansion and a "high" feeling so prized amongst the artistic types who partook of the drink in the last century, most notably Van Gogh, Baudelaire and Wild. But due to sharing a popularity along the lines of such addictive substances like opium, by the middle of the century, absinthe begin to have its fair share of opponents who waged a propaganda war against it. The chronic use of Absinthe was said to caause "absinthism", a syndrome characterised by addiction, hyper-excitability and hallucinations. nany theories bandied about included the fear that any traits acquireed by absinthists would be passed on to their children. (This old chestnut was used against many indulgences of the nineteenth century). So, much like marijuana, absinthe suffered the fate of illegality despite little scientific evidence of any true damaging properties in a moderate consumption of it. It would seem that the powers of hearsay, rumours and the whims of the moral majority will always come before true enlightenment, then and now.

It's the real thing! "Henri-Louis Pernod - an individual who ran an absinthe factory in France in the eaarly 1800s - used aniseed, fennel, hyssop, and lemon balm, along with lesser amounts of angelica, star anise, dittany, juniper, nutmeg and veronica. these ingredients were crushed together with wormwood plants. After leaving the mixture to sit, water was added and the mixture was distilled. Dried herbs, including more wormwood, were added to the distillate, which was then diluted with alcohol to give a concentration of about 75% alcohol by volume."

What makes aab sinthe so special is its key ingredient, extract of wormwood (Artemisia absinthium), which is also responsible for the extremely bitter taste. This where the ritual of pouring the green liquid over a sugar cube in a special spoon (not unlike a tea strainer) into a glass of water comes in. The concoction will turn cloudy, much like a glass of ouzo, as the essentialoils prcipitate out of the alcoholic solution. It is the wormwood, however, which gives the drink its real kick as it contains thujone which is considered a convulsant. "Thujone's mechanism of action is not known, although structural similarities between it and tetrahydracannabinol (i.e.THC, the active component in marijuana) have led some to hypothesise that both substances have the same site of action in the brain." Thujone is also present in a number of other plants including sage and white cedar. Studies on the toxicity of thujone and absinthe rely mostly on case reports from the beginning of the century, or before.

Thujone has long been considered to be the neurotoxic caauses of absinthism. Alcohol, however composes 75% of the ingredients of absinthe and, therefore, its effects tend to limit the amount of thujone one can ingest. Unless you have an incredibly high tolerance of alcohol, yu would become overtly drunk before ingesting hazardous levels of thujone. The symptoms of absinthism are, coincidentally, very similar to those of alcoholism: hallucinations, sleeplessness, tremors, paralysis and convulsions. This suggest that the syndrome "absinthism" may well have been caused by alcohol.

Other possible ingredients of absinthe are methanol, calamus, nutmeg, peppermint flavouring and artificial colourings. Should the shade of green generated by the chlorophyll in the main ingredients not be appetising enough, artificial colourings would be added, like copper sulphate, indigo, turmeric and aniline green. Additionally, antimony chloride could be used to help the drink become cloudy when added to water. Wormwood is apparently still used as a flavouring in vodka in Sweden.

"..........like being drunk and on speed simultaneously"

Jasmine Sailing reports yhat the "basic happy effects" of absinthe for her are "..like being drunk and on speed simultaneously.L ike floating in a distracted chill while my brain sloshes around." She also states "Supposedly, absinthe can make you hallucinate. That never happened to me or anyone I know. Many people feel that homemade absinthe isn't worth the drinking experience."

Lorelei Dot speaks of her experiences, "we stared the tradition of drinking absinthe on New Year's Eve in 1993. We invited a few friends over .... We drank a shot of absinthe to to each 8 oz glass of tap water, sweetened by two sugar cubes. Mixed down, it made the most beautiful opalescent green colour. The flavour was vaguely spicy, with a minty licorice aroma. As we drank, red flushed our faces. It seemed as is someone twirled our volume knobs. For the first time in my life, I saw pwople becoming drunk in front of my eyes."

"Just a drop past my lips burned like poison. the fire attached itself to my palate. there was no flavour, only pain, sharp and tender as a sunburn. I couldn't bring myself to touch the rest of the shot. Thankfully, someone handed me a glass of water. In the morning, my head like it had been drop-kicked down stairs. Luckily the absinthe left a sweet taste in my mouth."

Lorelei's friends brought back some Partus absinthe, "le Vrai Absinthe", from Madrid in Spain. "A single shot in 6 ounces of water made a very pale opaque pearly green. The ghostly green had a yellowish tinge which made me think of ectoplasm. Mixed at those proportions, tje Partus absinthe had an aanise scent as strong as a warning. There was a herbal sweetness to it, but I couldn't smell the cube of sugar I'd dissolved in the glass. The first sip was warmer than I expected, even though the filtered water had come out of the fridge. The flavour lingered on my tongue for a long time, surprisingly pie-y or juniper-y like gin. On the next gulp, I could taste peppermint or spearmint, which made me think of candy. It didn't taste like alcohol at all. this would make a great breath sweetener, I thought. It fairly slid down my throat."

Also known as a 'ladies' drink', absinthe has the reputation for being much harsher on its male consumers. Claire, a sound-person working on a music tour in Prague a few years ago, remembers purchasing the drink quite openly over the bar in a chic club. The club's atmosphere was as relaxed as a pub and full of artistic Europeans who were also enjoying a sip or two with a cigarette. She recalls that the drink burned the lips and went straight to her head but with no serious effects the next morning. The males in her party, however, did not fare quite so well. The absinthe caused their faces to go bright red and they felt as if they were having heart attacks.

ready, steady,cook

Many of you are familiar with the variations of absinthe which exist today such as Pernod or Ricard, which are basically absinthe without the wormwood, and aniseed is substantially added as a substitute. Vermouth (in German, "wermuth" or wormwood) is made from wormwood flower heads, and Chartreuse and Benedictine all possess small amounts of thujone. Howevre, should you wish to attempt to brew your own, then you can start your own treasure hunt for the ingredients at a good health food store.

If you're game, try to obtain some steam distilled oil of wormwood from a reputable essential oil supplier although the following recipes all call for dried wormwood. Caution should be taken each step of the way as some oils can contain significant levels pharmacoligically active and/or toxic elements.

Also, as pointed out in large type in the original articles is the message:

"note it is assumed that those of you reading this take responsibility for your
own actions. This material is presented purely for educational reasons"

So, remember, kiddies, the LVG takes no responsibility, blah blah, and don't try this at home!

"Absinthe recipes propagate much like urban legends"

The original Chronicles article followed with examples of recipes

*since this was written the drink has become quite freely available in Britain.....but you need to look for it.