But that doesn’t mean that this spirit isn’t incredibly strong. You probably won’t see a green fairy if you drink it. In short: Absinthe is not a hallucinogen. “They were experimenting with drugs and everyone was drinking out of leaded glasses. “All those artists were drinking absinthe, but they were doing other stuff, too,” Johnson said. The myth of the spirit’s power also comes from artists like Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, Vincent van Gogh, and Oscar Wilde. And even in high doses, there’s no hard evidence that thujone causes hallucinations. One distiller estimated that a person would have to drink three bottles to feel the effects of thujone. But this is practically impossible from drinking the spirit casually.Ī devotee of the green fairy is much more likely to suffer alcohol poisoning well before overdosing on thujone. Thujone can cause convulsions and even death in high enough concentrations. The drink gets its hallucinogenic reputation from the chemical thujone, which occurs naturally in the drink.

The effects of absinthe as portrayed in Moulin Rouge. But is absinthe really a hallucinogen - or are its effects exaggerated?

Anyone who has seen Moulin Rouge knows about La Fée Verte (the green fairy) and the spirit’s allegedly hallucinogenic properties. Those are the basics of the spirit, but the drink’s allure comes from how it makes people feel. So, if someone hates black licorice, he recommends something else. While absinthe doesn’t taste exactly like black licorice, the flavor is said to be somewhat similar. “The first thing I ask people is, ‘How do you feel about black licorice?'” noted Matt Johnson, who owns a bar in Portland, Oregon. The anise is an important ingredient - it gives the drink its distinctive taste. Absinthe verte gets its famous Tinkerbell-green color from those herbs. Traditionally, absinthe is made from a white grape-based spirit, wormwood, anise, fennel, and some other herbs. The spirit comes in two forms: absinthe verte (which is green) and absinthe blanc (which is white). Ernest Hemingway, Charles Baudelaire, Paul Verlaine, Arthur Rimbaud, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, Amedeo Modigliani, Vincent van Gogh, Oscar Wilde, Aleister Crowley, Erik Satie and Alfred Jarry were all known absinthe drinkers.Wikimedia Commons Aside from being strong, absinthe can also be deceptively sweet - perhaps making it even more powerful.Īt its most basic, absinthe is a spirit with very high alcohol content - generally between 110 and 144 proof. Owing in part to its association with bohemian culture, the consumption of absinthe was opposed by social conservatives and prohibitionists. It arose to great popularity as an alcoholic drink in late 19th- and early 20th-century France, particularly among Parisian artists and writers. Absinthe is traditionally bottled at a high level of alcohol by volume, but is normally diluted with water prior to being consumed.Ībsinthe originated in the canton of Neuchâtel in Switzerland in the late 18th century. Although it is sometimes mistakenly referred to as a liqueur, absinthe is not traditionally bottled with added sugar, and is therefore classified as a spirit. It is commonly referred to in historical literature as 'la fée verte'. Absinthe traditionally has a natural green colour but may also be colourless. It is an anise-flavoured spirit derived from botanicals, including the flowers and leaves of Artemisia absinthium, together with green anise, sweet fennel, and other medicinal and culinary herbs. Freebase (0.00 / 0 votes) Rate this definition:Ībsinthe is historically described as a distilled, highly alcoholic beverage.

Absinthe meaning