It was once widely believed that excessive absinthe consumption caused effects recognizable by those related to alcoholism, a belief that led to the invention of the term absintheism. One of the first bashings of absinthe followed an 1864 experiment in which Magnan simultaneously exposed a guinea pig to high doses of pure absinthe vapor and another to alcohol vapors. The guinea pig exposed to wormwood vapor suffered convulsions, unlike the animal exposed to alcohol. Magnan later blamed the natural chemical thujone (wormwood) for these effects. [98] Édouard Manet`s first major painting, Le Buveur d`absinthe, was controversial and was rejected by the Paris Salon in 1859. Despite the adoption in 1988 of far-reaching European food and drink legislation that effectively legalized absinthe, a decree was passed the same year maintaining a ban on products explicitly labelled as «absinthe», while imposing strict restrictions on fenchone (fennel) and pinocampam (hyssop),[115] in an apparent but unsuccessful attempt to prevent a possible return of absinthe-type products to be prevented. French manufacturers have circumvented this regulatory barrier by referring to absinthe as a plant-based spirit of absinthe («vermouth-based spirits»), many reducing fennel and hyssop or eliminating it altogether from their products. A legal challenge to the scientific basis of this decree led to its repeal (2009),[116] opening the door to the official French relegalization of absinthe for the first time since 1915. The French Senate voted in mid-April 2011 to lift the ban.
[117] What is absinthe and why was it once considered so dangerous that it was not even allowed to be purchased? Absinthe is a grain alcohol of Swiss origin produced by maceration of herbs and spices, the main ones being fennel, anise and wormwood. The first two give absinthe its characteristic licorice flavor, while absinthe gives a bitter flavor and is the source of absinthe`s famous mysticism and jade-green hue. Absinthe is traditionally made from a distillation of neutral alcohol, various herbs, spices and water. Traditional absinthes were redistilled from a white grape brandy (or brandy), while smaller absinthes were more often made from alcohol from grains, beets or potatoes. [61] The most important plants are great wormwood, green anise and fennel from Florence, often referred to as «the Holy Trinity.» [62] Many other herbs can also be used, such as delicate wormwood (Artemisia pontica or Roman wormwood), hyssop, lemon balm, star anise, angelica, peppermint, coriander, and veronica. [63] Traditional wormwoods get their green color exclusively from chlorophyll from whole herbs extracted from plants during secondary maceration. In this stage, plants such as delicate wormwood, hyssop and lemon balm (among other herbs) are soaked in the distillate. The chlorophyll of these herbs is extracted and gives the drink its famous green color. Thujone, once widely considered an active chemical in wormwood, is a GABA antagonist, and although it can produce muscle spasms in high doses, there is no direct evidence that it causes hallucinations. [91] In previous reports, concentrations of thujone in wormwood have been estimated to be 260 mg/kg. [99] More recently, published scientific analyses of samples of various original wormwoods have refuted previous estimates and shown that only a trace of the thujone present in vermouth actually becomes properly distilled absinthe when historical methods and materials are used to produce the spirit.
As a result, most traditionally produced absinthes, whether vintage or modern, fall under current EU standards. [100] [101] [102] [103] Most countries do not have a legal definition of absinthe, while the method of production and content of spirits such as whisky, brandy and gin are defined and regulated worldwide. Therefore, manufacturers are free to label a product as «absinthe» or «absinthe» regardless of any specific legal definition or quality standard. While Magnan`s experiments relied on high doses of pure wormwood oil and thujone, there isn`t really much thujone in wormwood alcohol. Gas chromatography tests on vintage absinthe bottles made in the 19th century yielded average thujone levels of 25 mg/L. Some had concentrations as low as 0.5 mg/L. Today, the thujone content of wormwood is limited to 10 mg/L in the United States and 38 mg/L in Europe. This means that, according to the Wormwood Society, you would die of alcohol poisoning before consuming enough wormwood to be poisoned by 30 mg of thujone.
This was already true in Magnan`s time. Modern interest in absinthe has spawned a number of absinthe kits from companies claiming to make homemade absinthe. Kits often require soaking herbs in vodka or alcohol, or adding a liquid concentrate to vodka or alcohol to make a replacement absinthe. Such practices usually result in a hard substance that bears little resemblance to the actual article and is considered inauthentic by any practical standard. [70] Some preparations can even be dangerous, especially if they require supplementation with potentially toxic herbs, oils, and/or extracts. In at least one documented case, a person suffered acute kidney injury after drinking 10ml of pure wormwood oil – a much higher dose than wormwood. [71] Until 13. In July 2013, a special permit was technically required for the importation and sale of wormwood because «wormwood oil, an essential oil derived from plants of the genus Artemisia, and preparations containing wormwood oil» were listed in Section 12A, Schedule 8, Rule 5H of the Customs (Prohibited Imports) Regulations, 1956 (Cth).