Wormwood Absinthe: The real thing from Europe
Real Absinthe (sometimes also called Absinth or Absynthe) contains the herb artemisia absinthium, also known as grand wormwood. The essential oils of the wormwood plant contain the ingredient "thujone / thujon". The amount of thujone in an Absinthe is limited by law. In the US 10 mg per liter are legal, in the European Union up to 35 mg are legal. If you directly want to buy a bottle of real strong Absinthe with wormwood, just click on one of the products below. We ship real European Absinthe to the USA.
Buy real Absinthe with wormwood
At our online store, we offer a large selection of different styles of real European Absinthe for sale. In this regard these wormwood Absinthes can be considered as "strong", but have in mind Absinthe is NOT a hallucinogenic drug. You will not see pink elephants. Absinthe should primarily be consumed because of its rich culture, fascinating taste and of course its unique drinking ritual. Absinthe made with a higher amount of wormwood has a stronger Absinthe taste profile. Distilled wormwood is slightly bitter, but has as well a very delicious flowerish, perfumed taste. Therefore, you can say, that strong wormwood Absinthe differs as well tastewise from Absinthe made with less wormwood.
What is real Absinthe?
Real Absinthe is a strong liquor and must be distilled with wormwood. To be precise, it must be grand wormwood, lat. artemisia absinthium. Therefore, Absinthe and wormwood belong together like Pizza and cheese. If the latter is missing, it is not the real thing. Fennel, green anise and various other herbs can be added, depending on the specific recipe. The final, distilled spirit has an alcohol percentage of approx. 68% / 138 proof and should be naturally colored (green).
Does Absinthe nowadays still contain wormwood?
Yes! Nowadays, you can buy Absinthe with wormwood online. Some rumors exist, that Absinthe was stronger back in the days. But this is a myth. Vintage Absinthes were analyzed, and it was proven that they did not contain higher amounts of wormwood. If you find Absinthes in the net advertising with 100mg thujone or more (King of Spirits Gold for example or Century Absinthe) then this is nothing more than a rip-off. These bottles are sold for a very high price, but sometimes don't contain any wormwood at all! Read more about the Absinthe Effect here, if you are interested.
All the Absinthes we sell at our store are distilled with wormwood. But we have as well a selection of very strong Absinthes. These brands make use of the legal limit of 35 mg thujone per liter, which is legal in the European Union (in the US only 10 mg are legal). The brands we especially recommend buying are Strong68, Hamlet Classic and Hamlet Hardcore Black. You can find these brands in the Strong Absinthe section of our store.
The wormwood plant and thujone
The wormwood plant contains an essential oil with the ingredient "thujone". Thujone was blamed to cause mental illness. It was the official explanation why Absinthe should and finally was prohibited at the turn of the 19th century. It is important to know, that thujone does not only appear in the wormwood plant. It is a "monoterpenoid ketone" also appearing in sage, thuja and other plants. But often Absinthe and wormwood (thujone) are associated together.
Meanwhile, as you hopefully know, Absinthe got legalized in most countries of the world. Although it contains wormwood and thujone. Legalization took place in 1988 in the EU and 2008 in the USA. Why was it legalized? Because modern scientific studies showed, that the drink is not dangerous for your health, of course if consumed responsibly. And it was also shown, that vintage Absinthe did not have more thujone than today's brands. So why the ban? Because in the early 20th century, the drink Absinthe was blamed for creating all the social problems in society. The spirit was the scapegoat for an already developing anti-alcohol movement in Europe and the rest of the world. Remember, Prohibition was also introduced n the USA at that time. Wormwood and Absinthe was stigmatized. But as already stated, the scientific facts are different, and therefore Absinthe got legalized once again. It was proven that only very high doses of thujone are a threat to your health, but you will never have such an intake with some glasses of the green spirit.
Other drinks with wormwood
Besides its usage in Absinthe you can also brew a tea out of wormwood. Soak one teaspoon of the herbs in a cup of hot (non-boiling) water. The tea has a bitter taste, which hardly can be avoided. You can mix it with peppermint leaves or anise or add sugar, but it still will keep its significant taste. Wormwood is used medically as a tonic, stoma chic, febrifuge and anthelmintic. Wormwood is also used to give some other alcoholic beverages its taste. For example, the commonly known "Vermouth" (Martini), where dried wormwood used to give the wine is specific taste. Anyway, Martini contains no thujone, neither does a worwood tea. You have to distill the herbs to set free the active ingredients.
Where can I buy real Absinthe with wormwood?
You can easily buy a bottle of real Absinthe with wormwood online at ALANDIA. We ship worldwide, including the USA. Shipping is done via DHL Airmail. Airmail 5-10 business days. The delivery is guaranteed, therefore there is absolutely nothing you have to worry about. If your order does not arrive, whatever the reason might be, we will refund you your money. And it doesn't matter if you are looking for bottles of strong Absinthe or accessories like Absinthe spoons, Absinthe fountains, or Absinthe glasses. We offer it all for sale. ALANDIA is the World of Absinthe, here you can buy your bottle of real Absinthe.
For those of you who do not like the typical licorice Absinthe flavor there is also an alternative for sale on the market. The so called "anise-free, non-licorice Absinthes" skip anise and fennel from the recipe and replaces it with other botanicals. One non-licorice Absinthe is Gold68. This brand has a strong wormwood flavor, but not the typical licorice taste. Citrus and orange peel is part of the recipe to add a pleasant, fresh taste to the wormwood taste profile. Nevertheless, we have to mention, that real Absinthe uses (green) anise and fennel in its recipe. But if you can not stand this taste, a non-licorice Absinthe like Gold68 might be an option for you.
How do I serve the drink?
You drink Absinthe with ice-cold water and a sugar cube. You don't drink it as a shot! The taste of real Absinthe is licorice, due to fennel and anise. The wormwood plant makes Absinthe slightly bitter from its taste. That is also the reason why it is served with one or two sugar cubes, depending on your preferences. Wormwood-flavored alcoholics, particularly Absinthe, were the “drink of the age” in France a hundred years ago.
