Absinthe

A spirit with a characteristic green colour using the mugwort plant "Artemisia absinthum", which is also used in Vermouth. The first mentions of an absinthe-like drink come from ancient Greece. Pythagoras (570 to 510 B.C.) and Hippocrates (460 to 377 B.C.) reported on its healing power, its effect as an aphrodisiac and the increase in creativity they experienced from the drink. The original recipe for absinthe did not contain aniseed. It actually had a medicinal, invigorating effect in mind and was made from wormwood oil, sage oil, lemon balm, violet root oil, cinnamon, some secret ingredients and chlorophyll extract (hence "the green fairy"). It was Henri-Louis Pernod (1776-1851) who also added aniseed, after buying the recipe towards the end of the 18th century and setting up production first in Switzerland and then also in France. After the ban on absinthe at the beginning of the 20th century, Pernod had to change the recipe; the spirit now no longer contained absinthe.

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Roman Horvath MW
Domäne Wachau (Wachau)

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Absinthe

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