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94-414: Absinthe ( / ˈ æ b s ɪ n θ , - s æ̃ θ / , French: [apsɛ̃t] ) is an anise -flavored spirit derived from several plants, including the flowers and leaves of Artemisia absinthium ("grand wormwood"), together with green anise , sweet fennel , and other medicinal and culinary herbs. Historically described as a highly alcoholic spirit, it is 45–74% ABV or 90–148 proof in

188-699: A Champagne glass. Add iced Champagne until it attains the proper opalescent milkiness. Drink three to five of these slowly." Most categorical alcoholic beverages have regulations governing their classification and labelling, while those governing absinthe have always been conspicuously lacking. According to popular treatises from the 19th century, absinthe could be loosely categorised into several grades ( ordinaire , demi-fine , fine , and Suisse  – the latter does not denote origin), in order of increasing alcoholic strength and quality. Many contemporary absinthe critics simply classify absinthe as distilled or mixed , according to its production method. And while

282-503: A bottle of plain alcohol with a small amount of powdered herbs suspended within it. The lack of a formal legal definition in most countries to regulate the production and quality of absinthe has enabled cheaply made products to be falsely presented as traditional in production and composition. In Switzerland, the only country with a formal legal definition of absinthe, any absinthe product not obtained by maceration and distillation or coloured artificially cannot be sold as absinthe. Absinthe

376-586: A change of language. Estimates for the introduction of the Proto-Greek language into prehistoric Greece have changed over the course of the 20th century. Since the decipherment of Linear B , searches were made "for earlier breaks in the continuity of the material record that might represent the 'coming of the Greeks ' ". The majority of scholars date the coming of Proto-Greek to the transition from Early Helladic II to Early Helladic III (c. 2400−2200/2100 BC), with

470-523: A colourless distillate that leaves the alembic at around 72% ABV. The distillate may be reduced and bottled clear, to produce a Blanche or la Bleue absinthe, or it may be coloured to create a verte using natural or artificial colouring. Traditional absinthes obtain their green color strictly from the chlorophyll of whole herbs, which is extracted from the plants during the secondary maceration . This step involves steeping plants such as petite wormwood , hyssop , and melissa (among other herbs) in

564-472: A conflict with the adopted food and beverage regulations of the single European Market. In Switzerland, the constitutional ban was repealed in 2000 during an overhaul of the national constitution, although the prohibition was written into ordinary law, instead. That law was later repealed, and it was made legal on March 1, 2005. The drink was never officially banned in Spain, although it began to fall out of favour in

658-889: A cultural association with absinthe and is credited as the birthplace of the Sazerac , perhaps the earliest absinthe cocktail. The Old Absinthe House bar on Bourbon Street began selling absinthe in the first half of the 19th century. Its Catalan lease-holder, Cayetano Ferrer, named it the Absinthe Room in 1874 due to the popularity of the drink, which was served in the Parisian style. It was frequented by Mark Twain , Oscar Wilde , Franklin Delano Roosevelt , Aleister Crowley , and Frank Sinatra . Absinthe became associated with violent crimes and social disorder, and one modern writer claims that this trend

752-542: A cup with honey on the brim to make it drinkable. Some argue that the word means "undrinkable" in Greek, but it may instead be linked to the Persian root spand or aspand , or the variant esfand , which meant Peganum harmala , also called Syrian rue, although it is not actually a variety of rue , another famously bitter herb. That Artemisia absinthium was commonly burned as a protective offering may suggest that its origins lie in

846-463: A few drops of the oil of aniseed added." Adding to absinthe's negative reputation in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, unscrupulous makers of the drink omitted the traditional colouring phase of production in favour of adding toxic copper salts to artificially induce a green tint. This practice may be responsible for some of the alleged toxicity historically associated with this beverage. Many modern-day producers resort to other shortcuts, including

940-565: A hands-free drip, patrons could socialise while louching a glass. Although many bars served absinthe in standard glassware, a number of glasses were specifically designed for the French absinthe preparation ritual. Absinthe glasses were typically fashioned with a dose line, bulge, or bubble in the lower portion denoting how much absinthe should be poured. One "dose" of absinthe ranged anywhere around 2–2.5 fluid ounces (60–75 ml). In addition to being prepared with sugar and water, absinthe emerged as

1034-410: A harsh substance that bears little resemblance to the genuine article, and are considered inauthentic by any practical standard. Some concoctions may even be dangerous, especially if they call for a potentially poisonous inclusion of herbs, oils, or extracts. In at least one documented case, a person suffered acute kidney injury after drinking 10 ml of pure wormwood oil. In baking and in preparing

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1128-457: A lot of wine and brandy before the killings, but that was overlooked or ignored, and blame for the murders was placed solely on his consumption of two glasses of absinthe. The Lanfray murders were the tipping point in this hotly debated topic, and a subsequent petition collected more than 82,000 signatures to ban it in Switzerland. A referendum was held on 5 July 1908. It was approved by voters, and

1222-689: A mild licorice flavor to soups and stews. The ancient Romans often served spiced cakes with aniseed called mustaceoe at the end of feasts as a digestive. This tradition of serving cake at the end of festivities is the basis for the tradition of serving cake at weddings. Anise is used to flavor Greek ouzo and Bulgarian mastika ; Italian sambuca ; French absinthe , anisette , and pastis ; Spanish anis de chinchón , anís , anísado , and Herbs de Majorca ; Turkish and Armenian rakı ; Lebanese, Egyptian, Syrian, Jordanian, Palestinian and Israeli arak ; and Algerian Anisette Cristal . Outside

1316-401: A modern gimmick, as it can destroy the absinthe flavour and present a fire hazard due to the unusually high alcohol content present in absinthe. In 19th century Parisian cafés, upon receiving an order for an absinthe, a waiter would present the patron with a dose of absinthe in a suitable glass, sugar, absinthe spoon, and a carafe of iced water. It was up to the patron to prepare the drink, as

1410-399: A modern resurgence in its popularity. It began to reappear during a revival in the 1990s in countries where it was never banned. Forms of absinthe available during that time consisted almost exclusively of Czech, Spanish, and Portuguese brands that were of recent origin, typically consisting of Bohemian-style products. Connoisseurs considered these of inferior quality and not representative of

1504-522: A perfuming of herbal aromas and flavours that "blossom" or "bloom," and brings out subtleties that are otherwise muted within the neat spirit. This reflects what is perhaps the oldest and purest method of preparation, and is often referred to as the French Method . The Bohemian method is a recent invention that involves fire, and was not performed during absinthe's peak of popularity in the Belle Époque . Like

1598-608: A popular cocktail ingredient in both the United Kingdom and the United States. By 1930, dozens of fancy cocktails that called for absinthe had been published in numerous credible bartender guides. One of the most famous of these libations is Ernest Hemingway 's " Death in the Afternoon " cocktail, a tongue-in-cheek concoction that contributed to a 1935 collection of celebrity recipes. The directions are: "Pour one jigger absinthe into

1692-459: A relation between Minoan, Eteocretan, Lemnian ( Pelasgian ), and Tyrsenian, inventing the name "Aegeo-Asianic" for the proposed language family. However, many Minoan loanwords found in Mycenaean Greek (e.g., words for architecture, metals and metallurgy, music, use of domestic species, social institutions, weapons, weaving) may be the result of socio-cultural and economic interactions between

1786-479: A scientific paper suggested that thujone 's structural similarity to tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the active chemical in cannabis , presented the possibility of THC receptor affinity. Counterevidence to this was published in 1999. The debate over whether absinthe produces effects on the human mind in addition to those of alcohol has not been resolved conclusively. The effects of absinthe have been described by some as mind opening. The most commonly reported experience

1880-594: A second distillery in Pontarlier , France, under the company name Maison Pernod Fils . Pernod Fils remained one of the most popular brands of absinthe until the drink was banned in France in 1914. Absinthe's popularity grew steadily through the 1840s, when it was given to French troops in Algeria as a malaria preventive, and the troops brought home their taste for it. Absinthe became so popular in bars, bistros, cafés, and cabarets by

1974-444: A simple vowel system , with either three or five monophthongs. This system consisted of either /a/, /e/, /i/, /o/, /u/, or most likely just /a/, /i/, /u/, in which /a/ varied between /a/~/e/~/o/ as a result of palatalization for /e/ and labialization for /o/. Additionally, it had at least one diphthong (/au/), and it may also have had /ou/, although this is also often explained as the sequence -arʷ- adapted in Greek as -ουρ-, since /ou/

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2068-400: A strong indication of a common early phase of Indo-European – possibly Anatolian – influence in the area, some pre-Greek loanwords still remain incompatible with Indo-European phonology while showing certain recurrent patterns that set them apart from other languages. This likely indicates that "one language, or a group of closely related dialects or languages" was

2162-457: Is a flowering plant in the family Apiaceae native to the eastern Mediterranean region and Southwest Asia . The flavor and aroma of its seeds have similarities with some other spices and herbs, such as star anise , fennel , liquorice , and tarragon . It is widely cultivated and used to flavor food, candy, and alcoholic drinks, especially around the Mediterranean . The name "anise"

2256-689: Is a "clear-headed" feeling of inebriation – a form of "lucid drunkenness". Chemist, historian and absinthe distiller Ted Breaux has claimed that the alleged secondary effects of absinthe may be because some of the herbal compounds in the drink act as stimulants , while others act as sedatives , creating an overall lucid effect of awakening. The long-term effects of moderate absinthe consumption in humans remain unknown, although herbs traditionally used to produce absinthe are reported to have both painkilling and antiparasitic properties. Anise Anise ( / ˈ æ n ɪ s / ; Pimpinella anisum ), also called aniseed or rarely anix ,

2350-574: Is a food plant for the larvae of some Lepidoptera species ( butterflies and moths ), including the lime-speck pug and wormwood pug . Anise was first cultivated in Egypt and the Middle East , and was brought to Europe for its medicinal value. It has been cultivated in Egypt for approximately 4,000 years. Anise plants grow best in light, fertile, well-drained soil. The seeds should be planted as soon as

2444-581: Is a key ingredient in Mexican atole de anís and champurrado , which is similar to hot chocolate . In India and Pakistan , it is taken as a digestive after meals, used in brines in the Italian region of Apulia and as a flavoring agent in Italian sausage , pepperoni and other Italian processed meat products. The freshly chopped leaves are added to cheese spreads, dips or salads, while roots and stems impart

2538-483: Is derived via Old French from the Latin words anīsum or anēthum from Greek ἄνηθον ánēthon referring to dill . An obsolete English word for anise is anet , also coming from anīsum . Anise is an herbaceous annual plant growing to 60–90 centimetres (2–3 feet) or more. The leaves at the base of the plant are simple, 1–5 cm ( 3 ⁄ 8 –2 inches) long and shallowly lobed, while leaves higher on

2632-459: Is generally considered a rare feature characteristic of pre-Greek. It is, however, unlikely that voicing or consonantal aspiration were distinctive features, as pre-Greek loanwords in Greek vary freely between plain, voiced and aspirated stops (e.g. ἀσφάραγος/ἀσπάραγος, aspháragos/aspáragos , 'asparagus'). The observation of such variants for a particular word is often a strong indication of substrate-derived etymology. Furthermore, while

2726-450: Is good against belchings and upbraidings of the stomach, alaieth gripings of the belly, provoketh urine gently, maketh abundance of milke, and stirreth up bodily lust: it staieth the laske ( diarrhea ), and also the white flux ( leukorrhea ) in women. According to Pliny the Elder , anise was used as a cure for sleeplessness, chewed with alexanders and a little honey in the morning to freshen

2820-508: Is observable on Ancient Greek and Anatolian languages, is taken by a number of scholars to be an Indo-European language related to the Anatolian Luwian language, and to be responsible for the widespread place-names ending in -ssa and -nda in western Asia Minor, and -ssos and -nthos in mainland Greece. For instance, the name of the mount Parnassos in Greece has been interpreted as

2914-451: Is often seen with an /r/. The phonology of pre-Greek likely featured a series of both labialized and palatalized consonants, as indicated by Mycenaean inscriptions in Linear B . These features were found not only in stops , but in resonants as well (presumably including even the rare modified approximants /jʷ/ and / wʲ /), which was different from Indo-European languages at the time and

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3008-480: Is put on fishing lures to attract fish . Pre-Greek substrate Based upon toponymic and lexical evidence, it is generally assumed that one or several languages were once spoken in both the Greek peninsula and western Asia Minor before Mycenaean Greek and the attested Anatolian languages ( Hittite and Luwian ) became predominant in the region. Various explanations for this phenomenon have been given by scholars. One substrate language, whose influence

3102-462: Is regarded as inferior for the same reasons that give cause for cheaply compounded gin to be legally differentiated from distilled gin. The cold mixing process involves the simple blending of flavouring essences and artificial colouring in commercial alcohol, in similar fashion to most flavoured vodkas and inexpensive liqueurs and cordials. Some modern cold-mixed absinthes have been bottled at strengths approaching 90% ABV. Others are presented simply as

3196-621: Is traditionally prepared from a distillation of neutral alcohol, various herbs, spices, and water. Traditional absinthes were redistilled from a white grape spirit (or eau de vie ), while lesser absinthes were more commonly made from alcohol from grains, beets, or potatoes. The principal botanicals are grande wormwood , green anise , and florence fennel , which are often called "the holy trinity". Many other herbs may be used as well, such as petite wormwood ( Artemisia pontica or Roman wormwood), hyssop , melissa , star anise , angelica , peppermint , coriander , and veronica . One early recipe

3290-763: Is very common in pre-Greek and characteristic when it shows up as an s -mobile. Certain characteristic consonant clusters associated with pre-Greek phonology as reflected in words inherited into Greek, as listed by Beekes according to their frequency in the PIE language: Not possible in PIE Rare in PIE Possible in PIE Various categories of words have been suggested to be pre-Greek (or "Aegean") loanwords: Possible Anatolian or "Parnassian" loanwords include: There are other substrate proposals. Some fringe theories ranging from

3384-800: The Luwians ". From the distribution of the names, it appears that this language was spoken during the Early Helladic II period, which began around 2800 BC. However, since many clusters of sounds are possible in both pre-Greek and Indo-European, it is difficult in most cases to distinguish between possible "Parnassian" loanwords and shared pre-Indo-European substrate words. For instance, terms like τολύπη ( tolúpē ; 'clew, ball of wool ready for spinning') show typical pre-Greek features while being related to Anatolian words (in this case Luwian and Hittite taluppa/i- 'lump, clod') with no other attested Indo-European cognate, suggesting that they were borrowed from

3478-642: The chlorophyll gradually becomes oxidized, which has the effect of gradually changing the color from green to yellow green, and eventually to brown. The colour of absinthe that has completed this transition was historically referred to as feuille morte ("dead leaf"). In the pre-ban era, this natural phenomenon was favourably viewed, for it confirmed the product in question was coloured naturally, and not artificially with potentially toxic chemicals. Predictably, vintage absinthes often emerge from sealed bottles as distinctly amber in tint due to decades of slow oxidation. Though this colour change presents no adverse impact to

3572-518: The essential oil of anise, anethole , is found in both anise and an unrelated spice indigenous to South China called star anise ( Illicium verum ) widely used in South Asian , Southeast Asian and East Asian dishes. Star anise is considerably less expensive to produce and has gradually displaced P. anisum in Western markets. While formerly produced in larger quantities, by 1999 world production of

3666-516: The 1860s that the hour of 5 pm was called l'heure verte ' the green hour ' . It was favoured by all social classes, from the wealthy bourgeoisie to poor artists and ordinary working-class people. By the 1880s, mass production had caused the price to drop sharply, and the French were drinking 36 million litres (9,500,000 US gal) per year by 1910, compared to their annual consumption of almost 5 billion litres (1.1 × 10 imp gal; 1.3 × 10 US gal) of wine. Absinthe

3760-670: The 1940s and almost vanished into obscurity. Catalonia has seen significant resurgence since 2007, when one producer established operations there. Absinthe has never been illegal to import or manufacture in Australia, although importation requires a permit under the Customs (Prohibited Imports) Regulation 1956 due to a restriction on importing any product containing "oil of wormwood". In 2000, an amendment made all wormwood species prohibited herbs for food purposes under Food Standard 1.4.4. Prohibited and Restricted Plants and Fungi. However, this amendment

3854-517: The 1990s, following the adoption of modern European Union food and beverage laws that removed long-standing barriers to its production and sale. By the early 21st century, nearly 200 brands of absinthe were being produced in a dozen countries, most notably in France, Switzerland, Austria , Germany , the Netherlands, Spain , and the Czech Republic . The French word absinthe can refer either to

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3948-502: The 19th-century spirit. In 2000, La Fée Absinthe became the first commercial absinthe distilled and bottled in France since the 1914 ban, but it is now one of dozens of brands that are produced and sold within France. In the Netherlands, the restrictions were challenged by Amsterdam wineseller Menno Boorsma in July 2004, thus confirming the legality of absinthe once again. Similarly, Belgium lifted its long-standing ban on January 1, 2005, citing

4042-469: The Americas, notable absinthe drinkers included Ernest Hemingway , James Joyce , Lewis Carroll , Charles Baudelaire , Paul Verlaine , Arthur Rimbaud , and Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec . Absinthe has often been portrayed as a dangerously addictive psychoactive drug and hallucinogen , which gave birth to the term absinthism . The chemical compound thujone , which is present in the spirit in trace amounts,

4136-520: The Bohemian method involves allowing the fire to extinguish on its own. This variant is sometimes referred to as "cooking the absinthe" or "the flaming green fairy". The origin of this burning ritual may borrow from a coffee and brandy drink that was served at Café Brûlot, in which a sugar cube soaked in brandy was set aflame. Most experienced absintheurs do not recommend the Bohemian Method and consider it

4230-472: The French brand Lucid became the first genuine absinthe to receive a Certificate of Label Approval for import into the United States since 1912, following independent efforts by representatives from Lucid and Kübler to overturn the long-standing U.S. ban . In December 2007, St. George Absinthe Verte produced by St. George Spirits of Alameda, California became the first brand of American-made absinthe produced in

4324-406: The French method, a sugar cube is placed on a slotted spoon over a glass containing one shot of absinthe. The sugar is soaked in alcohol (usually more absinthe), then set ablaze. The flaming sugar cube is then dropped into the glass, thus igniting the absinthe. Finally, a shot glass of water is added to douse the flames. This method tends to produce a stronger drink than the French method. A variant of

4418-474: The Luwian parna- ('house') attached to the possessive suffix -ssa- . Both Hittite and Luwian texts also attest a place-name Parnassa , which could be related. Philologist Martin L. West has proposed to name this unattested Anatolian language "Parnassian", and has argued for "a parallel movement down from Thrace by a branch of the same people as entered Anatolia, the people who were to appear 1,500 years later as

4512-696: The Mediterranean region, it is found in Colombian aguardiente and Mexican Xtabentún . These liquors are clear, but on addition of water become cloudy, a phenomenon known as the ouzo effect . Anise is used together with other herbs and spices in some root beers , such as Virgil's in the United States. The main use of anise in traditional European herbal medicine was for its carminative effect (reducing flatulence ), as noted by John Gerard in his Great Herball , an early encyclopedia of herbal medicine: The seed wasteth and consumeth winde, and

4606-678: The Minoans and Mycenaeans during the Bronze Age, and may therefore be part of a linguistic adstrate in Greek rather than a substrate. A Tyrsenian /Etruscan substratum was proposed on the basis of the Lemnos funerary stele : four pottery sherds inscribed in Etruscan that were found in 1885 at Ephestia in Lemnos . However, the Lemnos funerary stele was written in a form of ancient Etruscan , which suggested that

4700-489: The US. Absinthe traditionally has a natural green color but may also be colorless. It is commonly referred to in historical literature as la fée verte ' the green fairy ' . While sometimes casually referred to as a liqueur , absinthe is not traditionally bottled with sugar or sweeteners. Absinthe is traditionally bottled at a high level of alcohol by volume, but it is normally diluted with water before being consumed. Absinthe

4794-711: The United States since the ban. Since that time, other micro-distilleries have started producing small batches in the United States. The French Absinthe Ban of 1915 was repealed in May 2011 following petitions by the Fédération Française des Spiritueux , which represents French distillers, and the French Senate voted to repeal the prohibition in April 2011. In Switzerland, the village of Môtiers , Val-de-Travers , near Neuchâtel , became

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4888-406: The absinthe. The final preparation contains 1 part absinthe and 3–5 parts water. As water dilutes the spirit, those components with poor water solubility (mainly those from anise , fennel , and star anise ) come out of solution and cloud the drink . The resulting milky opalescence is called the louche (Fr. opaque or shady , IPA [luʃ]). The release of these dissolved essences coincides with

4982-503: The alcoholic beverage, or less commonly, to the actual wormwood plant. Absinthe is derived from the Latin absinthium , which in turn comes from the Greek ἀψίνθιον apsínthion ' wormwood ' . The use of Artemisia absinthium in a drink is attested in Lucretius ' De Rerum Natura (936–950), where Lucretius indicates that a drink containing wormwood is given as medicine to children in

5076-526: The ancient Greeks. Moreover, some evidence exists of a wormwood-flavoured wine in ancient Greece called absinthites oinos . The first evidence of absinthe, in the sense of a distilled spirit containing green anise and fennel, dates to the 18th century. According to popular legend, it began as an all-purpose patent remedy created by Dr. Pierre Ordinaire, a French doctor living in Couvet , Switzerland, around 1792 (the exact date varies by account). Ordinaire's recipe

5170-556: The author had emigrated from Etruria in Italy , rather than the Greek sphere, and the Homeric tradition makes no mention of a Tyrrhenian presence on Lemnos. If Etruscan was spoken in Greece, it must have been effectively a language isolate , with no significant relationship to or interaction with speakers of pre-Greek or ancient Greek, since, in the words of Carlo De Simone , there are no Etruscan words that can be "etymologically traced back to

5264-481: The bottle, creating an irreversible precipitate, and adversely impacting the original flavour. Absinthe has been frequently described in modern times as being hallucinogenic , a claim refuted by modern science. The belief that absinthe induces hallucinogenic effects is rooted, at least partly, in the findings of 19th century French psychiatrist Valentin Magnan , who carried out ten years of experiments with wormwood oil. In

5358-431: The breath, and, when mixed with wine, as a remedy for asp bites ( N.H. 20.72). In 19th-century medicine, anise was prepared as aqua anisi ("Water of Anise") in doses of an ounce or more and as spiritus anisi ("Spirit of Anise") in doses of 5–20 minims . In Turkish folk medicine, its seeds have been used as an appetite stimulant, tranquilizer or diuretic . Anise essential oil can be obtained from

5452-408: The classic New Orleans-style Sazerac cocktail , anise-flavored liqueurs and pastis have often been used as a substitute if absinthe is unavailable. The traditional French preparation involves placing a sugar cube on top of a specially designed slotted spoon, and placing the spoon on a glass filled with a measure of absinthe. Iced water is poured or dripped over the sugar cube to mix the water into

5546-400: The coloring process, the resulting product is diluted with water to the desired percentage of alcohol. The flavor of absinthe is said to improve materially with storage, and many distilleries, before the ban, aged their absinthe in settling tanks before bottling. Many modern absinthes are produced using a cold-mix process. This inexpensive method of production does not involve distillation, and

5640-409: The course of this research, he studied 250 cases of alcoholism and concluded that those who abused absinthe were worse off than those who abused other alcoholic drinks, experiencing rapid-onset hallucinations. Such accounts by opponents of absinthe (like Magnan) were cheerfully embraced by famous absinthe drinkers, many of whom were bohemian artists or writers. Two famous artists who helped popularise

5734-424: The distillate. Chlorophyll from these herbs is extracted in the process, giving the drink its famous green color. This step also provides a herbal complexity that is typical of high-quality absinthe. The natural coloring process is considered critical for absinthe ageing, since the chlorophyll remains chemically active. The chlorophyll serves a similar role in absinthe that tannins do in wine or brown liquors. After

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5828-407: The diversification into a southern and a northern group beginning by approximately 1700 BC. This has been criticized by John E. Coleman, who argues that this estimate is based on stratigraphic discontinuities at Lerna that other archaeological excavations in Greece suggested were the product of chronological gaps or separate deposit-sequencing instead of cultural changes. Coleman estimates that

5922-630: The entry of Proto-Greek speakers into the Greek peninsula occurred during the late 4th millennium BC (c. 3200 BC) with pre-Greek spoken by the inhabitants of the Late Neolithic II period. Although no written texts exist or have been identified as pre-Greek, the phonology and lexicon have been partially reconstructed from the many words borrowed into Greek; such words often show a type of variation not found in inherited Indo-European Greek terms, and certain recurrent patterns that can be used to identify pre-Greek elements. The pre-Greek language had

6016-1070: The essential oil of anise was only 8 tons , compared to 400 tons of star anise. As with all spices, the composition of anise varies considerably with origin and cultivation method. These are typical values for the main constituents. In particular, the anise seeds products should also contain more than 0.2 milliliter volatile oil per 100 grams of spice. Anise is sweet and aromatic , distinguished by its characteristic flavor. The seeds, whole or ground, are used for preparation of teas and tisanes (alone or in combination with other aromatic herbs), as well many regional and ethnic confectioneries, including black jelly beans (often marketed as licorice-flavored), British aniseed balls , aniseed twists and "troach" drops, Australian humbugs , New Zealand aniseed wheels, Italian pizzelle and biscotti , German Pfeffernüsse and Springerle , Austrian Anisbögen , Dutch muisjes , New Mexican bizcochitos and Peruvian picarones . The culinary uses of anise are not limited only to sweets and confections, as it

6110-430: The existence of word-initial approximants /w/ and /j/ can be safely inferred from common motifs in inherited words (e.g. the ἰα‑ from *ja- in ἴαμβος, Ἰάσων) or even retained in early and dialectal forms (e.g. *wa- in the cases of ἄναξ-ϝάναξ, Ὀαξός-ϝαξός, ὑάκινθος-ϝάκινθος), word-initial aspiration probably did not exist, with /h/ considered by Beekes a non-native phoneme in pre-Greek. The initial consonant σ- /s/ or /z/

6204-463: The final e ) is a spelling variant most commonly applied to absinthes produced in central and eastern Europe, and is specifically associated with Bohemian-style absinthes . The precise origin of absinthe is unclear. The medical use of wormwood dates back to ancient Egypt and is mentioned in the Ebers Papyrus , around 1550 BC. Wormwood extracts and wine-soaked wormwood leaves were used as remedies by

6298-401: The flavour of absinthe, it is generally desired to preserve the original colour, which requires that naturally coloured absinthe be bottled in dark, light resistant bottles. Absinthe intended for decades of storage should be kept in a cool ( room temperature ), dry place, away from light and heat. Absinthe should not be stored in the refrigerator or freezer, as the anethole may polymerise inside

6392-486: The focal point of production and promotion of the liquor after a ban of nearly 100 years was lifted. The national Maison de l'Absinthe (Absinthe Museum) is located in the former courthouse, where absinthe distillers were formerly proscecuted. The 21st century has seen new types of absinthe, including various frozen preparations, which have become increasingly popular. Most countries have no legal definition for absinthe, whereas

6486-400: The former is generally considered far superior in quality to the latter, an absinthe's simple claim of being 'distilled' makes no guarantee as to the quality of its base ingredients or the skill of its maker. Absinthe that is artificially coloured or clear is aesthetically stable, and can be bottled in clear glass. If naturally colored absinthe is exposed to light or air for a prolonged period,

6580-581: The fruits by either steam distillation or extraction using supercritical carbon dioxide . The yield of essential oil is influenced by the growing conditions and extraction process, with supercritical extraction being more efficient. Regardless of the method of isolation the main component of the oil is anethole (80–90%), with minor components including 4-anisaldehyde , estragole and pseudoisoeugenyl-2-methylbutyrates amongst others. (Alternately found by Orav et al. 2008 to be 2–6% extracted oil by weight of raw seed material, 74–94% being trans -anethole and

6674-455: The future of the country. Edgar Degas 's 1876 painting L'Absinthe can be seen at the Musée d'Orsay epitomising the popular view of absinthe addicts as sodden and benumbed, and Émile Zola described its effects in his novel L'Assommoir . In 1905, Swiss farmer Jean Lanfray murdered his family and attempted to kill himself after drinking absinthe. Lanfray was an alcoholic who had drunk

6768-428: The ground warms up in spring. Because the plants have a taproot , they do not transplant well after being established so they should either be started in their final location or be transplanted while the seedlings are still small. Western cuisines have long used anise to flavor dishes, drinks, and candies. The word is used for both the species of herb and its licorice -like flavor. The most powerful flavor component of

6862-401: The inclusion or omission of sugar was strictly an individual preference, as was the amount of water used. As the popularity of the drink increased, additional accoutrements of preparation appeared, including the absinthe fountain , which was effectively a large jar of iced water with spigots , mounted on a lamp base. This let drinkers prepare a number of drinks at once – and with

6956-422: The method of production and content of spirits such as whisky , brandy , and gin are globally defined and regulated. Therefore, producers are at liberty to label a product as "absinthe" or "absinth" without regard to any specific legal definition or quality standards. Producers of legitimate absinthes employ one of two historically defined processes to create the finished spirit – distillation or cold mixing. In

7050-489: The mild (e.g., Egyptian ) to the extreme (e.g., Proto-Turkic ) have been proposed but have not been adopted by the broader academic community. The English archaeologist Arthur Evans proposed a Minoan ( Eteocretan ) substratum, based on an assumption of widespread Minoan colonisation of the Aegean, policed by a Minoan thalassocracy . Raymond A. Brown, after listing a number of words of pre-Greek origin from Crete , suggests

7144-402: The notion that absinthe had powerful psychoactive properties were Toulouse-Lautrec and Vincent van Gogh . In one of the best-known written accounts of absinthe drinking, an inebriated Oscar Wilde described a phantom sensation of having tulips brush against his legs after leaving a bar at closing time. Notions of absinthe's alleged hallucinogenic properties were again fuelled in the 1970s, when

7238-632: The popularity of pastis , and to a lesser extent, ouzo , and other anise-flavoured spirits that do not contain wormwood. Following the conclusion of the First World War, production of the Pernod Fils brand was resumed at the Banus distillery in Catalonia , Spain (where absinthe was still legal), but gradually declining sales saw the cessation of production in the 1960s. In Switzerland, the ban served only to drive

7332-554: The production of absinthe underground. Clandestine home distillers produced colourless absinthe ( la Bleue ), which was easier to conceal from the authorities. Many countries never banned absinthe, notably the United Kingdom, where it had never been as popular as in continental Europe. British importer BBH Spirits began to import Hill's Absinth from the Czech Republic in the 1990s, as the UK had never formally banned it, and this sparked

7426-553: The prohibition of absinthe was written into the Swiss constitution. In 1906, Belgium and Brazil banned the sale and distribution of absinthe, although these were not the first countries to take such action. It had been banned as early as 1898 in the colony of the Congo Free State . The Netherlands banned it in 1909, Switzerland in 1910, the United States in 1912, and France in 1914. The prohibition of absinthe in France eventually led to

7520-475: The reconstructed Proto-Indo-European language root * spend , meaning "to perform a ritual" or "make an offering". Whether the word was a borrowing from Persian into Greek, or from a common ancestor of both, is unclear. Alternatively, the Greek word may originate in a pre-Greek substrate word, marked by the non-Indo-European consonant complex -νθ -nth . Alternative spellings for absinthe include absinth , absynthe , and absenta . Absinth (without

7614-490: The remaining fraction estragole (methylchavicol), anisaldehyde and γ-himachalene .) Anethole is responsible for anise's characteristic odor and flavor. Builders of steam locomotives in Britain incorporated capsules of aniseed oil into white metal plain bearings so the distinctive smell would give warning in case of overheating. Anise can be made into a liquid scent and is used for both drag hunting and fishing . It

7708-410: The same probably non-Indo-European source. Some scholars have thus proposed that at least part of the pre-Greek substrate was brought to Greece by pre-Indo-European settlers from Asia Minor, and that we should distinguish between different layers of loanwords coming successively or concurrently from different families of languages. While the correlations between Anatolian and Greek placenames may be

7802-445: The sole country (Switzerland) that does possess a legal definition of absinthe, distillation is the only permitted method of production. Distilled absinthe employs a method of production similar to that of high-quality gin. Botanicals are initially macerated in distilled base alcohol before being redistilled to exclude bitter principles, and impart the desired complexity and texture to the spirit. The distillation of absinthe first yields

7896-479: The source of another, possibly earlier, layer of pre-Indo-European loanwords in the region. Of the few words of secure Anatolian origin, most are cultural items or commodities which are likely the result of commercial exchange, not of a substratum. Some of the relevant vocabulary can also be explained as linguistic exchange between Greek and Anatolian languages across the Aegean Sea without necessarily originating from

7990-439: The stems are feathery or lacy, pinnate , divided into numerous small leaflets . Both leaves and flowers are produced in large, loose clusters. The flowers are either white or yellow, approximately 3 millimetres ( 1 ⁄ 8  in) in diameter, produced in dense umbels . The fruit is a dry oblong and curved schizocarp , 4–6 mm ( 1 ⁄ 6 – 1 ⁄ 4  in) long, usually called "aniseed". Anise

8084-469: The use of artificial food coloring to create the green color. Additionally, at least some cheap absinthes produced before the ban were reportedly adulterated with poisonous antimony trichloride , reputed to enhance the louching effect . Absinthe may also be naturally coloured pink or red using rose or hibiscus flowers. This was referred to as a rose (pink) or rouge (red) absinthe. Only one historical brand of rose absinthe has been documented. Absinthe

8178-508: 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 , yet it has not been demonstrated to be any more dangerous than ordinary spirits. Recent studies have shown that absinthe's psychoactive properties (apart from those attributable to alcohol) have been exaggerated. A revival of absinthe began in

8272-472: Was created in the canton of Neuchâtel in Switzerland in the late 18th century by the French physician Pierre Ordinaire. It rose to great popularity as an alcoholic drink in late 19th- and early 20th-century France, particularly among Parisian artists and writers. The consumption of absinthe was opposed by social conservatives and prohibitionists, partly due to its association with bohemian culture. From Europe and

8366-503: Was exported widely from France and Switzerland and attained some degree of popularity in other countries, including Spain, the United Kingdom, the United States, and the Czech Republic. It was never banned in Spain or Portugal, and its production and consumption have never ceased. It gained a temporary spike in popularity there during the early 20th century, corresponding with the Art Nouveau and Modernism aesthetic movements. New Orleans has

8460-400: Was found inconsistent with other parts of the pre-existing Food Code, and it was withdrawn in 2002 during the transition between the two codes, thereby continuing to allow absinthe manufacture and importation through the existing permit-based system. These events were erroneously reported by the media as it having been reclassified from a prohibited product to a restricted product. In 2007,

8554-493: Was historically bottled at 45–74% ABV. Some modern Franco–Suisse absinthes are bottled at up to 83% ABV, while some modern, cold-mixed bohemian-style absinthes are bottled at up to 89.9% ABV. The modern-day interest in absinthe has spawned a rash of absinthe kits from sellers claiming they produce homemade absinthe. Kits often call for soaking herbs in vodka or alcohol, or adding a liquid concentrate to vodka or alcohol to create an ersatz absinthe. Such practices usually yield

8648-409: Was included in 1864's The English and Australian Cookery Book . It directed the maker to "Take of the tops of wormwood, four pounds; root of angelica, calamus aromaticus, aniseed, leaves of dittany, of each one ounce; alcohol, four gallons. Macerate these substances during eight days, add a little water, and distil by a gentle fire, until two gallons are obtained. This is reduced to a proof spirit, and

8742-575: Was passed on to the Henriod sisters of Couvet, who sold it as a medicinal elixir. By other accounts, the Henriod sisters may have been making the elixir before Ordinaire's arrival. In either case, a certain Major Dubied acquired the formula from the sisters in 1797 and opened the first absinthe distillery named Dubied Père et Fils in Couvet with his son Marcellin and son-in-law Henry-Louis Pernod. In 1805, they built

8836-412: Was spurred by fabricated claims and smear campaigns, which he claims were orchestrated by the temperance movement and the wine industry. One critic claimed: Absinthe makes you crazy and criminal, provokes epilepsy and tuberculosis, and has killed thousands of French people. It makes a ferocious beast of man, a martyr of woman, and a degenerate of the infant, it disorganizes and ruins the family and menaces

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