The Irish standard., 1896-12-05


| and is purel lylVegetable in its nature, and
among the plants are some Of the most
wholesome and appetiziag known to the
botanist. For instance, one OF Its chief In
gradients is wormwood, which possesses
aromatic bitter and tonic properti ties. The
ancient Greeks used this plant for its med;
ieinal virtues, and tits cOnside red today as
a good stomachic and yermifuge. The
Wormwood employed for making absinthe
is grown in the coldest parts Of the noun
tains OF Switzerland and since absinthe
has become such fashionable drink in
Paris a great number Of people make
good living in cuitivating and gathering
the shrubs for market. .3,, 4,
The plants grow to a height OF four to
five feet, but they are usually gathered
when about three feet, as the bark and
wood reach the height of their power at
this stage When harvested they are dried
in dark rooms, and then shipped to mar.
ket in bales. BY the time the wormWood
reaches this country the price has reached
ten to fifteen cents pound. :,..f
Is Next to WormWOod, anise seed is the
most important ingredient, and this prob
ably gives the drink a more distinctive
flavor than the wormwood. When dis
guised by other aromatic herbs and seeds,
the pungent favor of the anise seed is very
delightful to the senses. and one scarcely
realizes what produces the odor and flavor.
When the heerbs are obtained they are dis
titled the same as for any other drink or
oil, and pure white, coiorless liquid is
produced. This pure absinthe is poured
into casks and kept in a dark cellar for
about six months, wien it is ready for use.
Naturally the longer that it is kept in the
wooden casks the better and stronger it
gets, and absinthe two or three years old
in the wood is worth double the price paid
for the ordinary liquid. After it is bot
tied there is 40 perceptible Improvement.
and consequently a dealer may be right in
saying that his absinthe is so many years
old. He may keep it in bottles ten years
and it would be no better than the absinthe
freshly drawn from the cask six months
old. While kept in the wood, the absinthe
decreases rapidly in bulk, and in the course
of the year it has lost fully one-tenth OF
its original quantity.
The most injurious kind of absinthe is
made from drugs, and no herbs at all are
employed in its manufacture. There are
hundreds of places where it is made in
this way, and man will make a~cask OF
absinthe in half an hour. 10 all outward
as good as that made from the herbs, and
some connoisseurs say that it is just as
delicious. But there is danger in it. The
drugs employed for its manufacture are
powerful and injurious to the stomach and
nerves, and their continuous use will
eventually break down the system. There
are many illicit distilleries in this country
and abroad where the impure absinthe is
made on large scale, but it is all done on
the sly, for the laws regulating the manu-
facture of foods and drinks would never
permit the use of the injurious drugs that
are necessary for it's .havoraand strength.
If one will drink absintae, 1T is well to
to make sure that 1T has been brew fEom
genuine herbs and not from drugs. One
cannot be certain OF this even When the
imported article is bought, for much of
this is doctored with drugs.
The American -made absinthe retails at
$4 per gallon, Or 125 per bottle, while the
foreign article sells from $3.50 to $1.75 per
bottle. 1t is nearly always imported in
bottles and rarely in wood. In Switzerland
there are hundreds Of distiieries where the
absinthe is made for export trade.-Phil-
adelphia Times. a8