Since Absinthe is once again legal in many countries around the world, people are asking “What are the effects of Absinthe?”, “Will it make me trip and hallucinate?”, “Will Absinthe cause me to see the Green Fairy?”.

Absinthe is a mythical drink with many legends and stories surrounding it. Created in Switzerland as an elixir or tonic by Dr Pierre Ordinaire, Absinthe 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 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. The second you see them as they are not. Finally, you see things as they really are, and that can be the most horrible thing in the world.”

Pernod made Absinthe from a base of wine which he then flavored with natural herbal ingredients such as wormwood, fennel, aniseed, star anise, veronica, dittany, lemon balm, hyssop, nutmeg, angelica and dittany. Some manufacturers used additional herbs such as coriander, and calamus root.

What are the major effects of Absinthe?

Absinthe became popular in the time known as “The Great Binge”, 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
– Hyper excitability
– Spasms
– Weakening the intellect
– Insanity
– Addiction
– Causes of brain damage
– Violence
– Death

Artists and writers who drank Absinthe say it helped them gain inspiration and was responsible for their genius. Famous Absinthe poetry.

Absinthe, so the prohibition led people to believe, was going to drive the French people 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. The prohibition movement blamed Absinthe for causing a man to murder his whole family. Drinking Absinthe was also famously blamed for Van Gogh cutting off his own ear and for his suicide.

Absinthe was thought to contain large amounts of thujone, as much as 350 mg per liter but high tech tests on original vintage bottles have proved that claims about thujone levels and the safety of Absinthe were completely false. Absinthe contained very small amounts, up to 6mg, not enough to cause anyone to even hallucinate a little. Studies show that Absinthe is just as safe as any other alcoholic drink.

I’m afraid that Absinthe won’t help you to see green fairies but it is a very strong drink, up to 75% alcohol by volume, and so will get you drunk rather quickly and easily. The mysterious blend of alcohol and herbs will give you a strange experience, a “lucid” or “clear headed” drunkenness – a completely new and different experience!

So, what are 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 real wormwood or make your own with essences from AbsintheKit.come and enjoy the great taste of Absinthe also called the Green Fairy. Absinthe kits are available from http://absinthekit.com/.