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Forget what you think you know about absinthe. It won’t trigger hallucinations, it won’t drive you mad, and it certainly doesn’t taste like jelly beans doused in cough syrup. Absinthe is a potent, anise-flavored botanical spirit historically derived from wormwood, fennel, and green anise. This notorious spirit was once the most popular drink in 19th-century Europe before it spent decades in the shadows of a global ban. Today, the Green Fairy is back, and it’s time to separate the poetic myths from the potent reality.
While history remembers the Green Fairy as the choice of tortured geniuses like Vincent van Gogh, Pablo Picasso, and Oscar Wilde, its reach extended far beyond the Parisian avant-garde. For every poet seeking an emerald muse, thousands of ordinary citizens were enjoying it as the definitive drink of the era. However, this close association with eccentric artists fueled the dangerous rumors that eventually led to its downfall.
I tend to think that this connection to artists has as much to do with the idea that it was enjoyed by those with a special temperament and who didn’t mind, or even welcomed a risky psychological effect, if not an outright dangerous one. One modern brand of absinthe, called Absente, displays a portrait of Vincent Van Gogh on the box label.
Absinthe Taste
This spirit is a slightly sweet, herbaceous liquor containing anise, fennel, and wormwood. Like liqueurs d’anis, including anisette, the chief taste of this spirit is anise, however, unlike these liqueurs, true absinthe undergoes secondary distillation after the herbs are macerated in alcohol. It also has a slight but not overpowering bitter taste. The overall flavor of anise will vary depending on the botanicals used.
You may have heard that Absinthe will remind you of a black licorice jelly bean dipped in Vick’s cough syrup. This is not true, at least to my taste. It may definitely remind you of a black licorice jelly bean, but not in a bad way. The bottle of St. George I tried tasted exactly like a black licorice jellybean with a slightly herbal and bitter undertone. If you hate the flavors of anise and fennel, either of which is reminiscent of licorice, then you will not enjoy the drink. Depending on the other herbs used many other flavors can be present, including grassy and minty notes.
This spirit, otherwise known as the green fairy or the emerald muse, is a part of the classic New Orleans drink, the Sazerac.
In a rush? Skip to the Absinthe Truths: At a Glance at the bottom of the article or view the FAQ section for quick answers to your questions. But don’t forget to bookmark this page and come back later, or you’ll be missing a lot of information!
Absinthe Beginnings
Absinthe originated in the 1700s as a medicinal preparation. Later in 1798, the first commercial distillery was opened in Switzerland by Major Daniel Henri Dubied with the help of Swiss distiller Henri Louis-Pernod.
In 1805, Pernod opened his own larger Maison Pernod-Fils distillery in France. Other distillers soon followed with their own versions, but Pernod was the most popular brand of the drink throughout the 1800s, until it was banned.
🎨 The Green Muse: Artists, Puns, and Walking Canes
This commercial success was mirrored by a near-religious devotion among the era’s elite, creating a cultural feedback loop where the drink became synonymous with the ‘tortured genius’ archetype. For the painter Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, the devotion was literal; he reportedly carried a hollowed-out walking cane filled with a reservoir of the spirit. His colleagues at the Académie Française even turned his absence into a pun: they joked he didn’t just absent himself (s’absente), he ‘absinthed’ himself (s’absinthe).
The Sunset View: Oscar Wilde famously noted the poetic progression of the drink: “The first stage is like ordinary drinking, the second when you begin to see monstrous and cruel things, but if you can persevere, you will enter in upon the third stage where you see things as you wish they were”.
This ‘Emerald Muse’ persona provided the perfect cover for what was essentially a massive marketing delusion, one that persists today in the ‘Dorian Gray’ portrayals seen in modern media.
🎬 Pop Culture & The “Dorian Gray” Delusion
Modern media continues to feed the legend of the “Green Fairy” as a hallucinogenic gateway to madness. A prime example is the television show Penny Dreadful, where the character of Dorian Gray, a man defined by hedonism and debauchery, is seen indulging in the spirit and sharing it with the Ethan Hawke character, with quite a heady result. As your friendly CulinaryLore author, I have certainly enjoyed my fair share of authentic absinthe over the years, and I can safely say: I’m no Dorian Gray!
Banning of Absinthe
The United States banned this quite innocent liquor in 1915, along with France and some other countries, mostly due to the presence of wormwood. The spirit takes its name from the scientific name of this plant, Artemisia absinthium. Notably, wormwood is not hallucinogenic, as is widely believed.
For years, a popular ‘scientific’ theory suggested that because the thujone
molecule is structurally similar to THC (the active compound in cannabis), it must produce a similar high. Scientific analysis has since shredded this comparison. While the shapes are vaguely similar, thujone has a very low affinity for cannabinoid receptors. Instead, its primary action is on GABA receptors, where it acts as an antagonist. It doesn’t make you ‘high’ in the way cannabis does; if anything, at high enough doses, it acts as a convulsant, the literal opposite of a mellow trip.
A Thujone Molecule is Not a Potent Toxin!
However, in large amounts, wormwood can be toxic. You will often see sources (and even automated search snippets) describe thujone as a ‘known potent neurotoxin.’ This is a classic example of alarmist shorthand that ignores the fundamental law of toxicology: The dose makes the poison.
While thujone is technically a neurotoxin, calling it ‘potent’ in the context of absinthe is scientifically dishonest. To reach a level where thujone would actually be toxic to a human, you would have to consume enough 144-proof alcohol to kill you several times over. The alcohol is the actual ‘potent’ danger in the bottle, not the wormwood. Thujone actually has some beneficial effects at low doses like those found in a tea, but should not be consumed in excess. It was banned in the U.S. from 1902 to 2007.
It is now legally available again, and once again, the amount of thujone in a dram of the drink is not dangerous!
Absinthe is the most notorious of the anise-flavored spirits. A more benign neighbor is Anisette, also sweet.
Fake Absinthe and Propaganda
During the 1990s, the reputation of the spirit as a dangerous drink that could make you go crazy, cause hallucinations, and perhaps send you on a spirit-ride was bolstered by a lot of shady marketers who offered counterfeit versions that were made with nothing more than grain spirits, artificial flavors, and green coloring.
While the genuine article was banned, Pastis came to be used as a replacement. Pastis are sweeter and do not have the sophisticated flavor of absinthe, most notably due to the lack of wormwood.
Return of The Green Fairy
Several producers claim to be the first brand to be introduced back into the United States after the ban was enforced. In fact, the brand Lucid, brought by French absinthe historian and chemist Ted Breaux in 2007, is actually the first brand to have been approved for export into the U.S. after the ban. It was approved on March 3, 2007.
When Lucid was first being developed, the ban was still in place. Breaux and his fellow researchers realized that the ban did not really specify absinthe at all, but simply thujone in amounts greater than 10 parts per million. They tested various old bottles and found that they all contained less than the banned amount.
Indeed, it turns out that absinthe never contained enough thujone to justify it being banned in the first place, and neither do any new offerings. It is legal for it to contain trace amounts of thujone as well as fenchone (wormwood, fennel), and pino camphone (hyssop). Some absinthes are made with sage, another thujone-containing herb.
St. George Verte claims to be the first legal American-made brand to be released (2007) after the ban was lifted.
Ingredients in Absinthe
The main ingredients needed to make a true, authentic version are:
- Grande wormwood
- Green anise
- Fennel
Other herbs that might be used are:
- Coriander
- Angelica
- Hyssop
- Star Anise
- Peppermint
- Elecampane
- Dittany
- Petite Wormwood
- Lemon Balm
These spirits do not usually contain added sugar, although they certainly can. The slight sweetness comes from the herbs themselves. Also, high-quality versions do not contain licorice. Any licorice flavor comes from the fennel and anise.
The color of the liquid can vary from deep green to amber to clear, depending on the combination of herbs used and whether additional herbs are macerated into the post-distillation product. The color does tend to mellow with age.
Tequila is to Mezcal as to Anisette is to Absinthe, or like Bourbon is the Whiskey. If you’ve been told different, you’ve been misinformed. Read About the Difference Between Tequila and Mezcal.
How Absinthe is Made
Technically, absinthe qualifies as a spirit or liquor. r. However, its production process often aligns it with the definition of a liqueur in the eyes of the consumer, largely because of modern ‘fake’ makers. These producers skip the complex secondary distillation entirely, creating what is essentially a flavored vodka. By simply macerating herbs in a base spirit and adding green food coloring to mimic the traditional hue, they bypass the biochemistry
that defines a true Maison Pernod-Fils style product. Always check the label for coloring additives before you buy.
To create the drink in the traditional way, producers macerate specific botanicals in a warmed base spirit, typically derived from wine. They then redistill the mixture in a copper pot still. Finally, many distillers add a second round of herbs to the distillate to reinforce the flavor profile and impart that signature emerald hue.
Classic versions were usually quite strong, typically falling into the 110 to 144 alcohol proof range, or roughly 55% to 72% alcohol by volume. This high concentration is necessary to keep the botanical essential oils in suspension until the water is added for the louche.
How It’s Served
Connoisseurs traditionally enjoy this drink by slowly dripping cold water over a sugar cube. You can dispense with the sugar cubes unless you want the additional sweetness. However, the need for a sugar cube may vary with the brand. Some versions are already quite sweet.
Ice-cold water slowly added to the spirit causes a reaction that turns the absinthe cloudy. The slowly forming trails of cloudiness are called the ‘louche.’ This cloudiness is caused by certain compounds crystallizing out of solution. This brings out the subtle herbal notes and aromas that true absinthe lovers desire.
More louche does not necessarily mean that the absinthe is better, however, as it could also mean that the drink contains too much anise, which is quite astringent and numbing to the tongue, and so will ruin the taste.
Many brands are now readily available in liquor stores in the United States, including the now revived Pernod Absinthe, which opened its new post-ban distillery in 2014, located in Thuir, France.
Frequently Asked Questions
- Is absinthe legal in the United States?
- Yes, the drink has been legal in the U.S. since 2007, provided it contains less than 10ppm of thujone.
- Does absinthe cause hallucinations?
- No. While 19th-century propaganda claimed the spirit caused madness and visions, modern science shows that the amount of thujone present is not enough to cause psychoactive effects.
- What does absinthe taste like?
- It is a herbaceous liquor dominated by the flavor of anise (similar to black licorice), fennel, and wormwood.
- How do you drink absinthe traditionally?
- The most traditional method is the Absinthe Drip, where ice-cold water is slowly dripped over a sugar cube into the spirit.
- Is it true that absinthe makes you see things differently than other alcohols due to psychoactive properties?
- Scientific studies show that the “secondary high” often attributed to the drink is likely due to the combination of very high alcohol content and the stimulating effects of the herbal botanicals, rather than any hallucinogenic properties.
- Do you have to light the sugar cube on fire?
- No! Lighting the sugar on fire is a modern marketing gimmick known as the “Bohemian Method.” The authentic, traditional way is to slowly drip ice-cold water over the sugar to properly release the aromas.
- Is modern absinthe the same as the 19th-century version?
- Yes. Chemical analysis of well-preserved vintage bottles shows that historical versions contained roughly the same levels of herbs and thujone as the high-quality, authentic brands produced today.
Absinthe Truths: At a Glance
- Absinthe is a well-known botanical spirit with a sweet, herbaceous “licorice” flavor containing anise, fennel, and wormwood. It tastes chiefly of anise, and has a slight but not overpowering bitter taste.
- Other herbs might be used in the spirit, including coriander, angelica, hyssop, star anise, peppermint, and more.
- These spirits do not usually contain added sugar, and high-quality absinthes do not contain licorice.
- Absinthe was invented in the 1700s as a medicinal preparation. The first commercial absinthe distillery was opened in Switzerland in 1798.
- Pernod was the most popular brand of absinthe throughout the 1800s, until it was banned.
- In 1915, Absinthe was banned in the United States, France, and some other countries because of the presence of wormwood, which contains a toxic compound called thujone. However, the amount of thujone in a dram of the spirit is not dangerous.
- During the 1990s, shady marketers bolstered the reputation ofThe Green Fairy as a dangerous drink and offered fake absinthes made with grain spirits, artificial flavors, and green coloring.
- Absinthe is no longer banned in the US. It is now legally available again. Lucid Absinthe, distilled by French absinthe historian and chemist Ted Breaux in 2007, was the first brand to be approved for export into the U.S. after the ban.
- Producers make the spirit by macerating the botanicals warmed spirit, usually based on wine. The resulting spirit is then redistilled in a copper pot still, and more herbs are added to the distillate to reinforce the flavor and impart the distinctive green color.
- The green color of absinthe is unstable and becomes a light brownish color after the absinthe sits in the bottle for a while. An absinthe that stays bright green probably contains artificial coloring.
- Traditionally, absinthe is enjoyed by slowly dripping cold water off a sugar cube. The slowly forming trails of cloudiness are called the ‘louche.’
Further Reading
- The Tequila Worm Legend: From Poltergeist II to Mexican Delicacy
- Where Did Whiskey Come From? The History of the Word and the Spirit
- Is There an Angostura Bitters Substitute?