Absinthe Research Paper

Melody Sharpe
Alana Baker
English 111
October, 21 2012 Absinthe, the truth Absinthe, a well-known drink prohibited in antiquity is an uncommonly misunderstood drink and as the old rhyme goes, “don’t judge a book by its cover.” One must at least rationalize the actual possibility of the truth of this alcoholic beverage. The history of absinthe and current trends are to be considered when foreshadowing to understand what absinthe is today. Grasping the background information on absinthe is necessary to know what it is today. First created in 1792 by Pierre Ordinaire, the intentions he had for its purpose would now at times be considered laughable (Fever 1).
Pierre was a French doctor who used a substance closely related to absinthe as a remedy for his patients. It wasn’t until 1797 when Dr. Ordinaire and his son-in-law, Henri-Louis Travers collaborated that it became a commercial production. Not until the 1850’s did it really become a successful protocol (2). Hence it was launched in France, guess where it was first successful? Yes, in France it was originally nick-named the, “Green Fairy” and became a popular pastime for aristocracy. Absinthe Fever.com tells us, “In France, absinthe quickly caught on as the favorite aristocracy”. But later on in the 1870’s it was finally a common practice for all classes of society. Furthermore, its popularity struck Americans too, leading up to the prohibition of it in 1912 (2). Eventually in 2007 the ban was miraculously lifted when European distillers pressured American officials to conduct real research for it. Absinthe is chemically conjured liquor that gets most of its oomph from an herb called wormwood. “It is an emerald green alcoholic drink, bitter in taste”, states drinksmixer.com. Some of the herbs that give it its flavor are licorice, anise, hyssop, veronica, angelica, lemon balm and wormwood (Absinthe herbal 1). It has a sort of a, “don’t tell don’t spread” kind of aspect in America with all the regulations it goes under today. As soon as the government finds out a group of people are continually consuming Thujone based products, hide the stash. The research taken to condone these regulations is often found to be lacking logical reasoning. For example, “it was not until 1970’s when the FDA passed the legislation that forbids the importation and sale of any alcoholic beverages containing Artemisia absinthium, also known as wormwood”, proclaims a website called Green Devil (2). This makes it easier to believe to as why they would ban this wide known substance, hippies most likely over used it so much they scared society. In other words, wormwood started to be known as giving people the same effects as doing acid. In a Time Magazine Arts article it is quote on quote said to be, “one of the worst enemies of man” (Time 2). Thoughts like these tricked people into believing that wormwood has more affects than it literally does. If anyone drank too much moonshine, what could many assume that person would feel? In other words if this drink would have been drank more wisely, the government might have not even banned it. This drink is still a store bought thing in America today. The wrap is it must be thujone-free. Yes, as stated from TTB/FDA regulations and USA-approved absinthe must pass as thujone-free; otherwise it would not be sold here (MsJekyll 1).

“In order to determine thujone content, an official method for thujone analysis was prescribed. Although the information has been published and accessible since the 1960s, prior to 2007 it was not widely known that the threshold of tolerance-the fudge factor-for this method was ten parts per million, about 10 mg/L”, states an information network known as the Wormwood Society(Education 1).
Unfortunately the wormwood plants’ natural oils are thujone so a lot of the flavor has been taken out of the product. In a Time article published November 2007 titled Absinthe is Back, one infers that with new brands: “They are playing pretend. It is nothing like the old stuff” (4). Makes one consider what the governments’ done while legalizing weed. In an article on MsJekyll.com it states, “thujone to absinthe is what caffeine is to coffee” (2). So, it was said to give people a buzz that other drinks didn’t. In hindsight this popular drink was once known as a drink among all cultures and classes of society, even famous artists were spoken of partaking in this, “Green Fairy” (Public health 2). Little would it surprise one though, a lot of artists savored in alcoholic beverages, absinthe would not be any different. No trippy side-affects, maybe just a tangy taste one could come accustomed to.
One of the first changes made to absinthe was the manufacturing of it.
The prices dropped because the original grape flavoring had been replaced switching to alcohol from beets and grain. This had only occurred because phylloxera, a pesty insect, had plagued French vineyards. In the 1880’s the price was also dropped for the lower class of the French people to afford. Research was continuous happened over time and eventually scientist debated a specific disorder was caused from the users of absinthe. In 1874 research was recorded of Dr. Valentin Magnum conducting an experiment on a dog to prove a similar theory. The dog was first given regular alcohol, in another test a large dose of absinthe. Following this the dog had lost consciousness, fell to the floor, convulsions occurred, snapped its jaws, foam escapes its mouth (sometimes bloody), biting its’ tongue, and evacuation of urine, fecal matter and sometimes semen (Public health 2). Either way, this is a dog; studies do not show humans reacting similar ways to dogs. Truthfully people should just regulate the way they drink. Absinthes.com declared, “as long as it is drunk in moderation (as all other alcohol should be), absinthe is totally harmless” (General, no page number found). Maybe absinthe isn’t in fact a health concern and shouldn’t be regulated on how it is made but how much is sold in
stores. Absinthe has been legal since around the 1930’s and is not a big issue today (Education 1). The diminished version of it now is still sold in stores all around the US today. No one can depreciate the aspects of it today, because the government will always regulate what is a scare to them or society.