Now that Absinthe is again legal in many countries, people are asking “What are the effects of Absinthe?”, “Will it make me hallucinate?”, “Will I meet the Green Fairy?”.

Absinthe is a mythical drink with many legends surrounding it. Orginally created in Switzerland as an elixir by Dr Pierre Ordinaire, it quickly became a best selling alcoholic beverage when Henri-Louis Pernod started distilling it in France. It overtook beer, cider and even wine as the most popular drink in France in the period known as La Belle Epoque, the golden age leading up to the First World War.

Famous drinkers of Absinthe include Van Gogh, Pablo Picasso and Oscar Wilde who said “After the first glass of Absinthe you see things as you wish they were. After the second you see them as they are not. In the end, you see things as they really are, and that is the most horrible thing in the world.”

Pernod made Absinthe from a wine base and flavored it with natural herbal ingredients such as wormwood, fennel, aniseed, and many others. Many manufacturers used additional herbs such as coriander, calamus root and mint.

What are the effects of Absinthe?

Absinthe was popular in the time known as “The Great Binge”. This was a time when beverages containing cocaine were popular and the time when heroin was thought safe to use in medicine. It was linked to these other types of drugs and was thought to be psychoactive and to cause:-

– Hallucinations
– Extreme or hyper excitibility
– Convulsions
– Damage of the intellect
– Insanity
– Addiction
– Possible damage of the brain
– Violence
– Death

Artists and writers drank Absinthe to help them get inspiration and many said they it was responsible for their genius. Famous Absinthe poetry.

Absinthe, so the prohibition led people to believe, was going to drive the French people insane, make them immoral and cause the collapse of the nation. Doctors tested wormwood and thujone, the chemical from wormwood, on animals and claimed that it was like cannabis and that it caused epileptic fits. The prohibition movement blamed Absinthe for causing a man to murder his whole family, despite the fact that he had only consumed two glasses of the drink. Drinking Absinthe was also famously blamed for Van Gogh cutting off his own ear and for his suicide.

Absinthe was thought to contain huge amounts of thujone, as much as up to 350 mg per liter. But high tech tests on original vintage bottles have proved that claims about thujone levels and the safety of Absinthe completely false. Absinthe only contained very small amounts, up to 6mg, not enough to cause anyone to even hallucinate a little. Absinthe has been shown in studies to be as safe as any other strong alcoholic drink.

Absinthe is a very strong drink which is up the 75% alcohol and it might not help you see green fairies but it will get you drink rather quickly. This mysterious blend of alcohol and herbs gives you a strange experience, a “lucid” or “clear headed” drunkenness – a completely new experience!

So, what are some of the effects of Absinthe? There are no bad effects except perhaps a hangover if you overdo it. Absinthe is to be enjoyed and to make you feel good. Buy good quality Absinthe which contains wormwood which is real or make your own with essences from AbsintheKit.come and enjoy the taste of Absinthe, also known as the Green Fairy. Absinthe kits are available from http://absinthekit.com/.