Recently there’s been a good amount written about one of the coolest products I know of – Absinthe. Until this year it was banned in the U.S. because it is so addictive, strong and all around fabulous as a Party Goddess product – in my humble opinion. (Considering that this is like my tenth blog on booze this week you can see what my mind is on. You’re probably all happy that I have abandoned the throw pillow dialogue and have temporarily given up on Kate Hudson calling.)
Check out Wikipedia’s really great explanation of Absinthe because it’s always good to know the facts. “Absinthe is a distilled, highly alcoholic (45%-75% ABV), anise-flavored spirit derived from herbs, including the flowers and leaves of the Artemisia absinthium plant, also called “wormwood.” Absinthe is typically of a natural green color but is also produced in both clear and artificially colored styles. It is often called “the Green Fairy.”
Although it is sometimes mistakenly called a liqueur, absinthe is not bottled with added sugar and is therefore classified as a spirit.[1] Absinthe is uncommon among spirits in that it is bottled at a high proof but is historically diluted with water when it is drunk.
Absinthe originated in Switzerland. However, it is better known for its popularity as an alcoholic drink in late 19th- and early 20th-century France, particularly among Parisian artists and writers. Due in part to its association with bohemian culture, absinthe was opposed by social conservatives and prohibitionists. It was portrayed as a dangerously addictive, psychoactive drug. The chemical thujone, present in small quantities, was blamed for its alleged harmful effects. By 1915 absinthe had been banned in most European nations and the United States. Although absinthe was vilified, no evidence has shown it to be any more dangerous than ordinary liquor. Its psychoactive properties have been much exaggerated.
A revival of absinthe began in the 1990s, when countries in the European Union began to reauthorize its manufacture and sale. As of February 2008, nearly 200 brands of absinthe were being produced in a dozen countries, most notably France, Switzerland, Spain, and the Czech Republic.[2]
Photo courtesy of Wikipedia – a truly FABULOUS resource.
Leave a Reply