The hallucinations, or rumors of similar effects, may have been spread due to improper distillation techniques involving harmful chemicals, propaganda, social conditioning or acute alcoholism. 1 – Absinthe Causes Hallucinationsįalse – Absinthe was originally thought to cause hallucinations due to the compound “thujone” found in wormwood that is used to make the infamous spirit.įact: Thujone is a toxic substance, but studies have shown that no significant amount of thujone is present in absinthe after the distillation process to produce any hallucinogenic effects. Video courtesy of Moonshine University’s Botanicals Workshop. TTB will include the following qualification statement on all approved COLAs showing the term “absinthe” on a label: “The finished product must be ‘thujone-free’ pursuant to 21 CFR 172.510.”.Any artwork or graphics on the label, advertising, and point of sale materials using the term “absinthe” may not project images of hallucinogenic, psychotropic, or mind-altering effects.The term “absinthe” may not stand alone on the label it must be accompanied by additional or dispelling information so as not to appear as the class and type designation.
In there words, if it contained less than this amount it was considered “ thujone free” and was therefore legal.Īt a recent Absinthe release party at Copper & Kings, Assistant Distiller Travis Thompson explained that you would have to drink approximately three bottles of Absinthe to feel the effects of the thujone. In October 2007 the TTB issued new guidelines that made Absinthe containing thujone legal as long as the bottle contained less than 10 parts per million of thujone. Technically speaking, the government never banned Absinthe but they banned the thujone inside the Absinthe. The wormwood is the source for “thujone”. The key ingredient is wormwood or Artemisia absinthium, the scientific name.
#ABSYNTH ALCOHOL FREE#
Stay Informed: Sign up here for the Distillery Trail free email newsletter and be the first to get all the latest news, trends, job listings and events in your inbox. Traditionally, the alcohol is infused a second time before bottling to intensify the flavor and create the signature green color. It can be many botanicals but the three main herbs used in production of absinthe are Grande Wormwood, Green Anise and Sweet Fennel. It’s a high-proof neutral spirit generally 110 to 144 proof and is infused with a blend of botanicals. Finally you see things as they really are, and that is the most horrible thing in the world.”Ībsinthe is produced much like gin.
After the second you see them as they are not. “After the first glass of absinthe you see things as you wish they were. But, as is often the case with the TTB and the FDA, there were several “buts.” In fact, that ban remained in effect until 95 years later when the TTB along with the FDA authorized the sale of Absinthe in the U.S. When the 21st Amendment ended Prohibition in 1933 the ban on Absinthe remained. The Absinthe ban was based on a belief that the green liquid inside the bottle was hallucinogenic. in 1919 this often misunderstood green spirit – Absinthe, La Fee verte or The Green Lady – was banned in 1912. Years before the 18th Amendment, best known as Prohibition was ratified in the U.S. Few other distilled spirits have lived the long hard, magical, mystical life of Absinthe.