Now that Absinthe is again legal in many countries, people are asking “What are the effects of Absinthe?”, “Will it make me hallucinate?”, “Will Absinthe cause me to see the Green Fairy?”.
Absinthe is a drink with many legends and stories surrounding it. Created in Switzerland as an elixir by Dr Pierre Ordinaire, it 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.
Among the famous drinkers of the Green Fairy was Oscar Wilde who said “After the first glass of Absinthe you see things as you wish they were. In a second you see them as they are not. In the end, you see things as they really are, and that is one of the most horrible thing in the world.”
Pernod made Absinthe from a base of wine and
flavored it with natural herbal ingredients such as wormwood, fennel, aniseed, star anise, veronica, dittany, lemon balm, hyssop, nutmeg, angelica and dittany. Some manufacturers used additional herbs.
So, what are the major effects of Absinthe?
Absinthe became popular in the time known as “The Great Binge”, a time when beverages containing cocaine were popular and the time when heroin was thought safe to use in medicine. It was linked to other types of drugs and was thought to be psychoactive and to cause:-
– Hallucinations
– Hyper excitability
– Convulsions
– Damage of the intellect
– Insanity
– Addiction
– Brain damage
– Violence
– Death
Artists and writers drank Absinthe to help them get inspiration and many said they it was responsible for their genius. Famous Absinthe poetry.
The prohibition led people to believe that Absinthe was going to drive the French people insane, make them immoral and cause 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, despite the fact that he had only consumed two glasses of the drink. Consuming Absinthe was also famously blamed for Van Gogh cutting off his own ear and for his suicide.
Absinthe was thought to contain large amounts of thujone, as much as 350 mg per liter but high tech tests on original vintage bottles have proved that claims about thujone levels and the safety of Absinthe were completely false. Absinthe only contained very small amounts, up to 6mg, not enough to cause anyone to hallucinate. Studies have shown that Absinthe is just as safe as any other alcoholic drink.
I’m afraid that Absinthe won’t help you to see green fairies but it is a very strong drink, up to 75% alcohol by volume, and so will get you drunk rather quickly and easily. This mysterious blend of alcohol and herbs gives you a strange experience, a “lucid” or “clear headed” drunkenness – a completely new experience!
What are the major effects of Absinthe? There are no bad effects except perhaps a terrific hangover if you overdo it. Absinthe is a drink to be enjoyed and to make you feel good. Buy good quality Absinthe which contains wormwood which is real or make your own with essences from AbsintheKit.come and enjoy the taste of Absinthe, also known as the Green Fairy. Absinthe kits are available from http://absinthekit.com/.