Archive for the ‘Back to basic’ Category
Why was Absinthe banned ?
On October 08, 2007 in Back to basic
Because that stuff makes you crazy!! After all, the French slogan goes “Absinthe rend fou!”, and they ought to know, right?
One French politician who supported the ban claimed that if absinthe remained legal, half the population would eventually be employed in fitting the remaining half with straightjackets as a result. The facts are less lurid. A number of purportedly scientific studies performed in France in the latter half of the 19th century claimed to prove that absinthe was harmful to human health. The foremost of the researchers who carried out these studies was one Dr. Valentin Magnan, whose specialties were alcoholism and insanity. Due in large part to the efforts of Dr. Magnan and his supporters, a political struggle ensued between the liquor industry on one side and prohibitionists on the other. The prohibitionists were eventually victorious, forcing the passage of laws that banned the manufacture and sale of absinthe in Switzerland in 1910, in France in 1915, and in many other western countries in which it was popular, including the United States in 1912. It must be noted that in some countries, such as Spain, Portugal, and Britain, absinthe was never banned.
What the hell is Absinthe ?
On October 08, 2007 in Back to basic
Absinthe is a formerly banned spirit drink that is made with Artemisia absinthium (wormwood) and other herbs. Also known as la fée verte (the green fairy), absinthe was originally formulated during the 18th century by the French-born Dr. Pierre Ordinaire in Switzerland as a digestive tonic. During the 19th century absinthe became a very popular drink in France. Often associated with artists and writers, absinthe was consumed by such figures as Edgar Allan Poe, Vincent van Gogh, Oscar Wilde, and Ernest Hemingway. After being illegal for many years, true absinthe is once again legal in many countries. There are many different types of absinthe, some much more authentic and of higher quality than others. Absinthe is traditionally prepared and enjoyed according to the absinthe ritual.
Absinthe is the French word for wormwood. It’s pronounced ab´- sant. Wormwood is a plant, or to be more precise, a number of plants classified within the genus Artemisia.
Liquid preparations made from the Artemisias have been used as medicines and tonics for as long as human history has been recorded. Once such medicine, based upon the plant Artemisia absinthium (known to the French as grande absinthe, literally, “tall wormwood”, but usually given in English as Common Wormwood) came to be so greatly appreciated in France and Switzerland in the 18th and 19th centuries that people took to drinking it for pleasure. That elixir, a distillate of wormwood and other herbs in alcohol, was called “extrait d’absinthe” (wormwood extract), or, less formally, absinthe. An ever-growing demand for this medicine turned aperitif as the 19th century rolled into the 20th engendered an enormous absinthe industry in Switzerland and France. Absinthe became an emblem of Belle Epoque France, and was intimately associated with the explosion of literary and artistic activity that characterized the era. The industry and the era ended with the prohibition of absinthe manufacture and sale in Switzerland and France, in 1910 and 1915 respectively.
Separating Myth from Reality
On October 07, 2007 in Back to basic
Absinthe has always had an ambivalent history, on one hand it was praised as ‘The Green Muse’ by its devotees, and on the other it was condemned by it detractors as a cause of madness and moral degeneracy. But is there any scientific or medical basis for either position? Evidence for mind-altering effects is largely anecdotal and the frequently quoted first-hand descriptions of its mind-altering effects have come from artists and poets who may be expected to describe events in a fanciful manner.
Imbibers of alcohol have always described their favourite tipple in extravagant terms, whether it be Burns on whisky or Yeats on wine. The case for its harmful effect is largely based on research on laboratory animals conducted at the behest of the prohibitionist lobby and assumptions drawn from examinations of mental patients in the late 19th century.The origins of absinthe can be traced back to the end of the 18th century, when Pierre Ordinaire, a French doctor, used wormwood (Artemisia absinthium) together with anise, fennel, hyssop and various other herbs distilled in an alcoholic base as a herbal remedy for his patients.
Ordinaire’s recipe eventually found its way into the hands of Henri-Louis Pernod who established the Pernod fils dynasty when he opened his first distillery in 1805, and very soon ‘Extrait d’absinthe’ stopped being a local curiosity and started on its route to becoming a national phenomenon in France, and by the end of the 19th century it had been embraced by the Bourgeoisie and demi-monde alike with over 2 million litres being consumed annually in France.
So what is the published scientific evidence for the harm or benefits of absinthe? Wormwood has had a long history in folk medicine dating back as far as ancient Greece when it was variously prescribed for rheumatism, jaundice, menstrual pains and as an aid in child birth, but it only attracted scientific attention in the mid-19th century. At this time there was a powerful prohibitionist lobby gaining public attention throughout France and it should be noted that research was rarely totally independent and was conducted to support a particular position, for or against the banning of alcohol. The first published evidence for absinthe’s harmful effects in animals dates from the 1860s (Magnan V. Epilepsie alcoolique; action spéciale de l’absinthe: épilepsie absinthique. Comptus Rendu des Seances et Memoires de la Société de Biologie (Paris) 1869; 5(4th series): 156-61); (Amory R. Experiments and observations on absinthe and absinthism. Boston Medicaland Surgical Journal 1868; 7: 8:68-71, 83-5).
This purportedly shows that wormwood oil and alcohol produce a synergistic effect which leads to epileptiform convulsions. Magnan extended his studies to acute alcoholics and concluded that absinthe produced symptoms in humans that were distinct from alcoholic delirium tremens and manifest themselves as epileptic convulsions. However, it is now accepted that Magnan’s interpretations were oversimplified and alarmist. He not only concluded that absinthe caused medical and psychological troubles not associated with the high consumption of alcohol, he argued that absinthe’s deleterious effects were hereditary. Magnan was preoccupied with the degeneration of the French race, which he blamed on alcohol and in particular, absinthe. There should be no surprise at the correlation of absinthe drinking amongst the destitute and alcoholics, it was the cheapest way of buying strong alcohol. On the other hand, millions of French people enjoyed the occasional glass of absinthe after work without any ill effects.
Wormwood has also been shown to be a hepatoprotective. Gilani and Janbaz found that an extract of Artemisia absinthium protected against acetaminophen and carbon tetrachloride-induced hepatotoxicity in mice. The presence of antioxidants and calcium-channel blockers in wormwood also probably contributes to its hepatoprotective effects. (Gilani AH; Janbaz KH., Preventative and curative effects of Artemisia absinthium on acetaminophen and CCl4-induced hepatotoxicity, Gen. Pharmacol, 1995, 26(2):309-315; Gilani AH. Search for new calcium channel blocking drugs from indigenous plants, International Congress on Natural Products Research, 1994, August 1-5, Halifax 0:29). Recent studies have demonstrated that extracts of wormwood (and other plants used in absinthe) have CNS cholinergic receptor binding activity and therefore contrary to accepted wisdom, absinthe may actually improve cognitive function (Wake et al, J Ethnopharmacol, 2000 Feb;69(2):105-14.
In conclusion, there is no evidence that absinthe ever contained the high concentrations of thujone that would have led to detrimental effects or that it has hallucinogenic or mind altering properties. The health problems experienced by chronic users were likely to have been caused by adulterants in inferior brands and by the high levels of alcohol present. Claims for beneficial effects must also be treated with some scepticism as again, the detrimental effects of the alcohol would presumably outweigh any benefits. It seems likely that the phenomenal success of absinthe during the 19th century was due to one factor, the French love of aniseed drinks. The modern equivalent of absinthe, pastis, is by far the most popular distilled spirit in France with 125 million litres being consumed annually. Perhaps the reason that so much absinthe was consumed, and absintheurs waxed so lyrically about it was simply because it tasted good.
source: feeverte.net
How to made ?
On October 07, 2007 in Back to basic
The main herbs used are grande wormwood, florence fennel and green anise, often called the “holy trinity.” Many other herbs may be used as well, such as hyssop, melissa, star anise and petite wormwood (Artemisia pontica or Roman wormwood). Various recipes also include angelica root, Sweet Flag, dittany leaves, coriander, veronica, juniper, nutmeg, and various mountain herbs.The simple maceration of wormwood in alcohol without distillation produces an extremely bitter drink, due to the presence of the water-soluble absinthine, one of the most bitter substances known. Authentic recipes call for distillation after a primary maceration and before the secondary or “coloring” maceration. The distillation of wormwood, anise, and Florence fennel first produces a colorless distillate that leaves the alembic at around 82% alcohol. It can be left clear, called a Blanche or la Bleue (used for bootleg Swiss absinthe), or the well-known green color of the beverage can be imparted either artificially or with chlorophyll by steeping petite wormwood, hyssop, and melissa in the liquid. After this process, the resulting product is reduced with water to the desired percentage of alcohol. Over time and exposure to light, the chlorophyll breaks down, changing the colour from emerald green to yellow green to brown. Pre-ban and vintage absinthes are often of a distinct amber color as a result of this process.
Nontraditional varieties are made by cold-mixing herbs, essences or oils in alcohol, with the distillation process omitted. Often called “oil mixes”, these types of absinthe are not necessarily bad, though they are generally considered to be of lower quality than properly distilled absinthe and often carry a distinct bitter aftertaste.
Alcohol makes up the majority of the drink and its concentration is extremely high, between 45% and 89.9%,[3] though there is no historical evidence that any commercial vintage absinthe was higher than 74%. Given the high strength and low alcohol solubility of many of the herbal components, absinthe is usually not imbibed “straight” but consumed after a fairly elaborate preparation ritual.
Historically, there were five grades of absinthe: ordinaire, demi-fine, fine, supérieure and Suisse (which does not denote origin), in order of increasing alcoholic strength. Most absinthes contain between 60% and 75% alcohol. It is said to improve materially with storage. In the late 19th century, cheap brands of absinthe were occasionally adulterated by profiteers with copper, zinc, indigo plant, or other dyes to impart the green color, and with antimony trichloride to produce or enhance the louche effect (see below). It is also thought that the use of cheaper industrial alcohol and poor distillation technique by the manufacturers of cheaper brands resulted in contamination with methanol, fusel alcohol, and similar unwanted distillates. This addition of toxic chemicals is quite likely to have contributed to absinthe’s reputation as a hallucination-inducing or otherwise harmful beverage.
Source: wikipedia.org
Absinthe Controversy - Absinthism and Thujone
On October 07, 2007 in Back to basic
It was thought that excessive absinthe drinking led to effects which were specifically worse than those associated with overindulgence in other forms of alcohol - which is bound to have been true for some of the less-scrupulously adulterated products, creating a condition called absinthism. Undistilled wormwood essential oil contains a substance called thujone, which is a convulsant and can cause renal failure in extremely high doses, and the supposed ill effects of the drink were blamed on that substance in 19th-century studies. Many of these studies were flawed, such as a study by Dr. Magnan in 1869 that exposed a guinea pig to large doses of pure wormwood oil vapor and another to alcohol vapors. The guinea pig exposed to wormwood had seizures while the other did not. Based on this it was concluded absinthe was more dangerous than alcohol. These studies were further taken advantage of as the French word for wormwood is “absinthe,” and it was incorrectly stated that absinthe, the drink, had caused these problems.Past reports estimated thujone levels in absinthe as high, possibly up to 350 mg/kg. More recent studies have shown that very little of the thujone present in wormwood actually makes it into a properly distilled absinthe, even one recreated using historical recipes and methods. Most proper absinthes, both vintage and modern, are naturally within the EU limits. A recent French distiller has had to add pure essential oil of wormwood to make a “high-thujone” variant of his product. It can remain in higher amounts in oils produced by other methods than distillation, or when wormwood is macerated and not distilled, especially when the plant stems are used, where thujone content is the highest. Tests on mice show an LD50 of around 45 mg thujone per kg of body weight, much higher than what is contained in absinthe and the high amount of alcohol would kill a person many times over before the thujone became a danger. Although direct effects on humans are unknown, many have consumed thujone in higher amounts than present in absinthe through non-controversial sources like common sage and its oil, which can be up to 50% thujone. Long term effects of low wormwood consumption in humans is unknown as well.
The effects of absinthe have been described by artists as mind-opening and even hallucinogenic and by prohibitionists as turning good people mad and desolate. Both are exaggerations. Sometimes called “secondary effects”, the most commonly reported experience is a “clear-headed” feeling of inebriation - a “lucid drunk”, said to be caused by the thujone. The placebo effect and individual reaction to the herbs make these secondary effects subjective and minor compared to the psychoactive effects of alcohol.
A study in the Journal of Studies on Alcohol concluded that a high concentration of thujone in alcohol has negative effects on attention performance. It slowed down reaction time, and subjects concentrated their attention in the central field of vision. Medium doses did not produce an effect noticeably different from plain alcohol. The high dose of thujone in this study was larger than what one can get from current beyond-EU-regulation “high thujone” absinthe before becoming too drunk to notice, and while the effects of even this high dose were statistically significant in a double blind test, the test subjects themselves could still not reliably identify which samples were the ones containing thujone. As most people describe the effects of absinthe as a more lucid and aware drunk, this suggests that thujone alone is not the cause of these effects. The deleterious effects of absinthe as well as its hallucingenic properties are a persistent myth often repeated in modern books and scientific journals with no evidence for either.
Absinth or Absinthe ?
On October 07, 2007 in Back to basic
The French word absinthe can refer either to the liquor or to the actual wormwood plant (grande absinthe being Artemisia absinthium, and petite absinthe being Artemisia pontica).
The word derives from the Latin absinthium, which is in turn a stylization of the Greek αψινθιον (apsinthion). Some claim 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 may have been, rather, Peganum harmala, a variety of rue, another famously bitter herb. That this particular plant was commonly burned as a protective offering may suggest that its origins lie in the reconstructed Proto-Indo-European root *spend, meaning “to perform a ritual” or “make an offering.” Whether the word was a borrowing from Persian into Greek, or rather from a common ancestor, is unclear.
Absinth (without the “e”) is a spelling variation of absinthe often seen in central Europe. Because so many Bohemian-style products use it, many groups see it as synonymous with bohemian absinth, even though that is not always the case.
Source: wikipedia.org