Absinthe: what is it, how to buy the right one, what is it and brands by country

1) What is absinthe?
2) How to buy the right absinthe?
3) Absinthe of which country is the best?
4) What color is absinthe??
5) Swiss absinthe
6) Czech absinthe
7) Spanish absinthe
8) French absinthe
9) Italian absinthe
10) German absinthe

What is absinthe?

Absinthe - is a drink with an alcohol content of 50 to 89.9 percent by volume, the most important ingredient of which is wormwood.

The essential oils of wormwood contain the substance thujone, which in certain concentrations causes psychedelic visions and hallucinations.

Thujone or monoterpine (chemical. formula: C10H16O) is a colorless substance with a characteristic odor reminiscent of menthol. It is believed that the higher the strength of the absinthe, the better the thujone is retained in the drink, but this is not accurate.

To give a more refined taste, absinthe can also be added: Roman wormwood, anise, fennel, burdock, mint, lemon balm, licorice, angelica and some other herbs.

How to buy the right absinthe?

The volume of alcohol in absinthe

Always above 50%. Why it's important.
Thujone content

It is believed that it is possible to achieve a psychedelic effect at a level of 260 ml/l.

Absinthe is usually sold on store shelves up to 25 ml/liter, anything higher is prohibited by law in many countries.

Definitely do not take absinthe without thujone, it has no soul.

Everything above 100 ml/liter is extremely interesting, but it is difficult and expensive to buy such absinthe.
Type of alcohol

Ideal if made on the basis of grape alcohol, but not critical.

Absinthe of which country is the best?

Switzerland

Produces mainly extremely strong, highly thujone-rich absinthe, but in very limited, virtually non-commercial quantities.
Czech Republic

Primarily specializes in extremely strong varieties with varying degrees of thujone saturation, produced in huge batches.
Spain

Not just produces absinthe on an industrial scale, but tries to please both fans of a less strong drink with a low thujone content and their opponents.
France

The second homeland of absinthe stands apart - France. As you know, French producers have completely abandoned the use of bitter wormwood in their products, replacing it with star anise, which makes the drinks they offer only a semblance of absinthe.

There are, however, such brands of absinthe containing thujone as "La fee" and "Lucid", which are positioned as being produced in France. But at the same time, the first of them is produced by the British company Green Utopia, and the second - by the American company Viridian Spirits LLC.
Other countries

Secondary countries that produce absinthe or drinks close to it in terms of content are: Italy, Germany, the United States and the Netherlands.
Russia, Ukraine, and Bulgaria are also trying to join the club of absinthe-producing countries.

You can find the list of brands by country at the end of the article.

What color is absinthe??

Green (from light green to emerald)

Classic (chlorophyll) color of absinthe.
Red (light ruby)

Achieved by adding pomegranate extract to the drink.
Black (dark brown)

The roots of bitter wormwood devoid of chlorophyll and dark infusion of black acacia are used in the manufacture.
Blue absinthe (blue)

This absinthe is obtained by adding coloring agents (artificial or natural) and, sometimes, flavoring additives.
Yellow (amber)

It is obtained due to the gradual "aging" of chlorophyll cells.
White absinthe (clear)

During the period of prohibition, there was the so-called white or "secret" absinthe ("La Bleue") - a drink containing thujone, but for the purpose of disguise, deprived of its characteristic color due to a slightly modified production technology.