Absinthe

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**Absinthe** is a distilled highly alcoholic drink. It is 45–74% alcohol by volume / 90–148 U.S. proof) beverage. It is an anise-flavoured spirit won from herbs. The herbs including the flowers and leaves of *Artemisia absinthium* ("grand wormwood"), together with green anise, sweet fennel.

Absinthe has a natural green colour but may also be colourless. It is commonly referred to in historical literature as "''''" (the green fairy). It is not a liqueur, because it is not traditionally bottled with added sugar; therefore it is a spirit. 

Absinthe is bottled at a high level of alcohol, but it is usually diluted with water before it is drunk.
Absinthe came from Val-de-Travers, Switzerland. It was very popular in late 19th and early 20th century France. Parisian artists and writers drank it. The romantic associations with the drink still lingers in popular culture. At the end of 1900 the French were drinking over 2 million litres of absinthe a year. By 1910 this had increased to 36 million litres. Ernest Hemingway, James Joyce, Charles Baudelaire, Paul Verlaine, Arthur Rimbaud, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, Amedeo Modigliani, Pablo Picasso, Vincent van Gogh, Oscar Wilde, Aleister Crowley, Erik Satie and Alfred Jarry were all known absinthe drinkers.

Absinthe has often been thought a dangerous addictive psychoactive drug and hallucinogen. The chemical compound thujone, although present in the spirit in only trace amounts, was blamed for its alleged harmful effects. By 1915, absinthe had been banned in the United States and in much of Europe, including France, the Netherlands, Belgium, Switzerland and Austria-Hungary. 

However, it has not been shown to be any more dangerous than ordinary spirits. Recent studies have shown that absinthe's psychoactive effects (apart from the alcohol) have been exaggerated.

In the Netherlands, the old law banning absinthe was successfully challenged by the Amsterdam wine seller Menno Boorsma. In July 2004 it became legal to make absinthe again.

In Switzerland, the constitutional ban on absinthe was removed in 2000 during an overhaul of the national constitution. The ban was written into ordinary law instead. Absinthe is now not only sold in Switzerland, but is once again distilled in its Val-de-Travers birthplace.

In the United States the laws banning absinthe are hard to understand. In some states it is legal have a bottle of absinthe, but not to buy or to produce it.

## Preparation
Traditionally, absinthe is put into a glass. A sugar cube is then placed in the bowl of a special spoon. Ice-cold water is poured or dripped over the sugar until the drink is diluted. During this process, the parts that are not soluble in water make the liquid cloudy. The resulting milky opalescence is called the *louche*.

## Production
The main herbs used to produce absinthe are green anise, florence fennel and grande wormwood, often called the 'holy trinity'. Many other herbs may be used as well, such as hyssop, melissa, star anise, petite wormwood (*Artemisia pontica* or Roman wormwood), angelica root, Sweet Flag, dittany leaves, coriander, veronica, juniper, nutmeg, and various mountain herbs.

The herbs are first soaked, a step called "maceration". Heat is added in the process of distillation which extracts a pure liquid. Wormwood, anise, and Florence fennel produce a colorless liquid or distillate that is about 72% alcohol. The distillate can be bottled clear, to produce a *Blanche* or *la Bleue* absinthe. A second step can add color to the liquid using artificial or natural coloring. 

## Other websites
*The Virtual Absinthe Museum — An online museum of absinthe history, lore, art and antiques.
*Absinthe.se — A collection of absinthe reviews and information.

## References