Now that Absinthe is again
legal in countries around the world, people are asking “What are the effects of Absinthe?”, “Will it make me trip?”, “Will I meet the Green Fairy?”.
Absinthe is a mythical drink with many legends and stories surrounding it. Created in Switzerland as an elixir or tonic by Dr Pierre Ordinaire, Absinthe quickly became a best selling alcoholic beverage when Henri-Louis Pernod started distilling it in France. It overtook beer, cider and even wine as the most popular drink in France in the period known as La Belle Epoque, the golden age leading up to the First World War.
Famous drinkers of the Green Fairy include Van Gogh, Pablo Picasso and Oscar Wilde who said “After the first glass of Absinthe you see things as you wish they were. After the second you begin to see them as they are not. Finally, you see things as they really are, and that is the one of the most horrible thing in the world.”
Pernod made Absinthe from a wine base and flavored it with many natural herbal ingredients. Many manufacturers used additional herbs such as coriander, calamus root and mint.
What are some of the effects of Absinthe?
Absinthe was popular in the time commonly known as “The Great Binge”, when beverages contained cocaine and heroin was thought safe to use in medicine. Absinthe was linked to these types of drugs and thought to be psychoactive and so cause:-
- Hallucinations
- Extreme excitability
- Convulsions and spasms
- Destroying the intellect
- Insanity
- Addiction
- Brain damage
- Violence
- Death
Artists and writers drank Absinthe saying it helped them gain inspiration and was responsible for their genius. Famous Absinthe poetry.
Absinthe, so the prohibition led people to believe, was going to the collapse of the nation. Doctors tested wormwood and thujone, the chemical from wormwood ,on animals and claimed that it was like cannabis and that it caused epileptic fits. The prohibition movement blamed Absinthe for causing a man to murder his whole family, after he had only consumed two glasses of Absinthe and copious amounts of other alcoholic beverages. The consumption of Absinthe was also famously blamed for Van Gogh cutting off his own ear and for his suicide.
Absinthe was thought to contain huge amounts of thujone, up to 350mg per liter but high tech tests on vintage bottles have proved these claims to be completely false. Absinthe only contained very small amounts, up to 6mg, not enough to cause anyone to hallucinate. Absinthe has been shown in studies to be as safe as any other alcoholic drink.
Absinthe will not help you see green fairies but it is very strong drink, up to 75% alcohol — so will get your drunk rather quckly and easily. The mysterious blend of alcohol and herbs will give you a strange drunken experience, a “lucid” or “clear headed” drunkenness – a completely new experience!
So, what are the effects of Absinthe? There are no bad effects except if you overdo it and perhaps get a hangover. Absinthe is a drink to be enjoyed and to make you have a feeling of well being. Buy Absinthe of good quality which contains real wormwood or make your own with essences from AbsintheKit.come and enjoy the exciting taste of the Green Fairy. Absinthe kits are available from http://absinthekit.com/.