Absinthe - Artemisia Collection ® "The Green Fairy Artemisia
The absinthe, absinthe in Italian , is part of the mode that characterized the late nineteenth century, been known since the Middle Ages, the spread was started around 1830 when he began the triumphant return home of the French troops who had conquered Algeria.
There were rumors that the absence diluted in water, they had preserved from typhoid, cholera, dysentery and even malaria. In France, the odd drink the bitter taste of anise quickly became a fad, almost a social ritual. They called Le Peril Vert, the danger of green, or even La fée verte, the green fairy, with reference to the color of the drink and the atmosphere "magic" which lost the person consuming it.
L ' absinthe is a liquor with high alcohol content of 68 º, which comes in emerald green or light green obtained from Absinthium Artemisia, a wild plant that grows in much of Europe and particularly in Italy, where it is known as "more or Roman wormwood." The medicinal properties of this plant were known to antiquity, it is quoted in an Egyptian papyrus dating back to 1600 BC, some stories can even be found in the scriptures, and according to Pliny and Plutarch in 150 BC was used as an insecticide for the fields . Lucretius wrote the songs on this beverage, in a German collection of medicinal herbs of the Renaissance (Eicones plantarum) has advised people to "bad character".
However, it is so bitter that in Scripture symbolizes the sorrows of life, so much that they used to say something "is bitter as wormwood." Splendor and neglect of 'absinthe the late nineteenth century, in France, drink the Absinthe became a very fashionable and reached the peak of success: its use combines the rich bourgeois, the artist and the proletariat; its high popularity among the people made it the most consumed drink, to the detriment of the wineries that lost large percentages of sales.
L'Absinthe Artemisia, in fact, could be a cheap Or to get drunk, and other companies (in addition to Pernod of Pontarlier) began to produce their Absinthe with a very low cost components to beat the competition with the lowest price at the expense of quality. In fact, these products were adulterated and dangerous to the health of consumers, as several producers did not hesitate to mix in their Absinthe copper sulphate to give it a more appealing color, and grain alcohol was often used instead of the one obtained by the fermentation grapes.
These small producers sell very well for the cost of their products, while Pernod-Fils absinthe producing a high quality was essentially aimed at a clientele of wealthy people, the minority of the French population.
It did not take long for this drink taste of anise is spreading throughout Europe and later the United States. L 'Absinthe was the inspiration of the bohemian lifestyle and was the favorite drink of famous artists such as Vincent Van Gogh, Toulouse Lautrec and Ernest Hemingway, who claimed to love absinthe for its effects to change ideas. As a beverage that has always been renowned for its power, the gentlemen of the infamous Moulin Rouge was famous for use of absinthe to persuade the ladies to share their idee.Oscar Wilde, referring to drunk glasses of water and sugar (not the one that has an undiluted taste bitter), wrote:
"A glass of ' absinthe, there is nothing more poetic in the world. What is the difference between a glass of absinthe and a sunset? The first stage is that of the normal drinker, the second that you begin to see monstrous and cruel things, but if you persevere, you will arrive at the third level, the one where you see things you want, strange and wonderful things. "
At the beginning of the twentieth century is already rumored that the 'absinthe property had not fully subsidiaries: its abuse and the addiction that led to its consumers began to suspect that they were some kind of drugs (even today, some believe that it is a liquor containing opium). On the other hand, its effects are unique: the moderate wine drinker tends to happiness, socialization, the beer drinker has a deeper intoxication, the drinker of absinthe is rather lost in his reverie, the His creativity also increases and this became the preferred drink among artists.
The writer Émile Zola (Paris 1840-1902) he described the devastating effects on social class and the most humble social evil which resulted from: "It always ends with drunken men and pregnant girls." the poet Ernest Dowson, who died at 33 years due to alcoholism, in a letter written to his friend commented on the 'absinthe : "The truth is a mistake to fall in love absinthe. How strong alcohol is less than our old scotch. I woke up this morning with the nerves on edge and a stinking breath. I understand that the absence increases the acidity [Absinthe Makes the tart grow fonder].
is extremely harmful to the skin. I have never looked so vicious as this morning, "Faced with this huge success, was equally rapid decline of absinthe: disappeared from all European markets ed'oltre ocean in a little over a decennio.Le reasons this forgetfulness are essentially due to three: first, the strong movement which fought against alcoholism and throughout Europe in the early twentieth century, then the scientific studies that identified the neurotoxin thujone as responsible for causing seizures and death in laboratory animals and, finally, the pressure exerted by the French wine producers worried by the growing popularity of 'absinthe .
In 1905, these causes, August 28 was added a great piece of news that made headlines: in a Swiss canton, a farmer of 31 years after abusing alcohol in large amounts, including two glasses of absinthe, went home, shot at and killed his wife and two children. Just the 2 glasses of Absinthe , suspected of hallucinogenic properties, was given great prominence.
So, this cruel madness spread terror in the Swiss canton in which the people saw the nightmare that materialize in reality was not an Absinthe Green Fairy, but a poison green.
In 1907, the Ligue National Contre The Alcoolisme (National League against Alcoholism) French began a campaign against alcohol consumption in general, but the main purpose of the prohibition of 'absinthe (after the fact the record of 1905), which mocked delirium as the cause of a hallucinogen that would lead to one correspondance pour Charenton (Charenton a ticket to the insane asylum on the outskirts of Paris).
Throughout France, came up a campaign based on posters: Some promote the 'absinthe , others warned of its evils and in 1915 he was satisfied the desire of the enemies of absinthe. With World War absinthe slowly fell into oblivion. The new absinthe
In 1998, the Czech Republic Radomir Hill, looking for ideas for reviving the distillery of the family now in decline, he turned his attention to a bottle of Absinthe imported from Spain, and so the idea was to produce Hill's Absinth. Although the singular beverage has had little to do with the old absinthe consumed by the artists, it did not take much to spread it: the frenzy and the curiosity of locals and tourists in Prague, has meant that although not Hill's Absinth a real Absinthe scored a resounding success, allargatosi in London.
with the European Union, like other companies have started to produce Pernod Absinthe, with modern means limiting the concentration of thujone, the alkaloid responsible for the content nell'assenzio of addiction and hallucinations.
The charm of 'absinthe is also related to its particular mode of consumption, which constitutes a ritual. In fact, there are several ways to drink it and the flavor varies accordingly, so the choice of the preferred way is at the discretion of the consumer.
Artemisia bohemian French flambé or smooth: you can drink directly as such, preferibiolmente served in a shot glass. French: This is the classic ritual. Pour a dose of absinthe in the glass, you put a special spoon, pierced with a lump of sugar on top, and a pitcher, he is dripping ice water (5 parts per 1 part absinthe) gently to dissolve sugar. The water and sugar serve to dilute and soften the proverbial bitterness absinthe, and it is said, also increase the effects of thujone (but this is most likely an effect due to the suggestion induced by what is considered a ritual).
L ' drinking absinthe this way, and stays fresh with a sweet taste at the right point, also becomes transparent white ... otherwise, it is not absinthe: this is a property of the alkaloids of Artemisia, and is the only true way to find out if what you're drinkin absinthe or a surrogate.
After slipping the sugar in the bottom of the glass you should shake a little 'and sip slowly. flambé or bohemian: before you put the whole spoon over the glass with sugar, absinthe is poured wet the sugar cube and then closer to the liquore.Fatto this ignites the cube so that the fire caramels sugar dripping also ignites' wormwood.
Done caramelize for about fifteen seconds off the fire, and lengthens the mixture with water. This method makes the 'absinthe warm and intoxicating.
Characteristics of 'absinthe
L' Absinthe (Arthemisia absinthium), also known as the holy herb for its medicinal properties, grows in the plains and low mountain areas of central and southern Europe, including in uncultivated places.
It 's a composite type of vegetable, perennial and deciduous, aromatic, of the Asteraceae family, blooming in July, plant in March, provided common ground for young, light and dry, and exposure to full form in sole.Cresce bush about three feet high and wide. The flowers are small, in the shape of heads gathered in the cob, yellow. The flowering tops are collected and left to dry in the shade.
The leaves are hairy, uniform, bi-tri strum, up to 10 cm in length and are greenish gray silver. In Italy there are two common species of wormwood: l 'absinthe to hedge, or wild (Artemisia vulgaris), used in herbal medicine, and wormwood gentile (Artemisia pontica), used for liqueurs, other varieties are the Alps (Valais) and tarragon (Artemisia dracuculus), but the most famous is the higher (absinthium).
Artemisia name comes from Artemis, the goddess of fertility, and reminds emmenagogue properties of the plant, while the etymology of absinthal - absinthium comes from greek "without sweetness", that is bitter to the Latin word absentium (absinthe, in fact).
For its particular pungent odor and bitter taste, is used as a flavoring or other bitter liqueurs (vermouth and pastis in France, Spain Patxatran), but also food, wine (wine artemisia) and vinegar. Preparation and properties of the liquor farmacologicheLa magic potion was marketed by Henri-Louis Pernod, which, in 1805, opened the famous distillery in Pontalier Absinthe Pernod-Fils, France, and was called Absinthe, Absinthe in Italian.
The recipe for this first commercial proposal of the "Green Fairy", dates back to 1855: Put to macerate for a minimum of 12 hours in 95 liters of alcohol (85 percent alcohol), the following dried plants 2.5 kg of Artemisia absinthium (wormwood or Roman), 5 kilograms of anise and 5 kilograms of fennel - other sources add hyssop, lemon juice, angelica, star anise (which at the time contributed to mistrà fortunes of the Marches), dittany (aromatic herb of the family Rutaceae), juniper, nutmeg and veronica. Add 45 liters of distilled water. From the resulting liquid (about 95 liters), prelevatene 40 liters, and add another kilogram of absinthe, a kilogram of hyssop and 500 kilograms of lemon juice, warmed to moderate temperature, filtered, and add the remaining 55 liters of distillate. The final hundred liters of absinthe will be brought back to an alcohol content of 75 percent with further dilution in acqua.Quando the chlorophyll of the plants was not sufficient to give the product the right shade of green, were added to copper sulphate, aniline Green, curcumin and other dyes, not all genuine and therefore share responsibility for the toxicity of the drink. The liquor can be prepared:
by distillation of the decoction;
by decantation of the branches in an alcohol solution of any kind (usually flavored liquor similar to the Grappa Ruta), by the maceration of plants during the distillation process, which is not the quickest and cheapest way to produce absinthe, but is faithful to the original recipe.
ingestion of decoction of Wormwood
, obtained by boiling and subsequent rest of the infusion or herbal tea, then filtered, must not exceed 10 g of fresh plant of absence for a single daily dose of the decoction itself, in order to avoid overload or even liver toxicity.
Formerly the decoction was used as an analgesic in foot baths to rejuvenate after a long journey.
is also used as flea control for dogs, as repellent for wool and for scale insects by parasitic garden.The medicinal properties are widely used in patients appetite (a strong appetite stimulant), with digestive problems and how vermifuge (with garlic).
The many species of Artemisia genus have a common spectrum of action: stimulating tonic-General eupeptic, emmenagogue.
It was noted a protective effect regarding hepatotoxicity absinthe animal experiments show that it cure the damage from acetaminophen poisoning with CC14 and rat (this effect appears to be due to inhibition by hepatic microsomal metabolizing enzymes absinthe drugs).
E 'contraindicated for those suffering from ulcer, gastric inflammation or individuals prone to congestion, women in pregnancy and lactation (milk is bitter), blood and bilious subjects. Both the oil (very volatile) that the essence of mother absence are the color of brown, and are usually solubilized in pharmacology and homeopathy with 20% ethanol ca.Comunque, has a good solubility in water, and should be stored tightly sealed in the dark and cool place.
The density is about 1 - 1.3 g / ml, dry residue 8-13% w / v and pH between 4 and 5.5. The maximum dose is 20-40 drops with meals (the toxic effect is certainly not above a threshold of 60 drops per day), syrup, 2%, 20% dye. Dell'assenzioL'assenzio pharmacological action, is a liqueur with special properties, since the grass used is a psychoactive substance. Absinthe is included in Annex (Law of January 6, 1931, No. 99) of medicinal plants not sold in herbal medicine.
The dose varies from person to person, but do not exceed the equivalent of two cups full of whiskey that diluted (as in the classic ritual) becomes a significant amount.
should bear in mind that you may have poisoning from absinthe, and then you have to avoid abuse, partly because only one glass of Artemisia should be sufficient to produce the intended effects.
The active ingredients of absinthe Artemisia are the thujone and the bitter glucoside (who have bipolar altering properties of the central nervous system, psychotropic slightly, with a permissive effect on catecholamine, mydriasis, increased heart rate, euphoria, property aphrodisiac), the dimeric guaranolide, and some narcotic analgesics such as codeine and idrobromuro desotrometorfano (Romil). The active ingredient is a and b-thujone, the scientific name is: 4-Methyl-1-(1-methylethyl) bicyclo [3.1.0] Hexam-3-one, the formula: C10H16O Toxicity: LD50 (rat, sc) 134 mg / kgMeccanismo action: presynaptic serotonin antagonist such as THC.
Absinthe contains a chemical called thujone (also contained in sage) which is very similar to the active chemical in cannabis, THC (tetrahydrocannabinol).
Studies in the 60s and 70s show that both chemicals are terpenoids. This - According to an article on similarities between the psychological attributes and those of marijuana absinthe (2) - means that both thujone and THC exert their psychotomimetic agents interacting with a common receptor in the central nervous system. The thujone acts on the central nervous system (1) counteracting the action of gamma-aminobutyric acid or GABA, an inhibitor of the electrical activity of neurons.
Nerve cells, no longer protected by GABA, would suffer the bombing of a chaotic multitude of pulses, and this would lead to a state of euphoria, accompanied by apparent lucidity, but also by hallucinations, convulsions and delirium. Adverse effects: gastrointestinal disorders, gastroenteritis, nervousness, muscle problems, convulsions, stupor, death, defecate involuntarily, abnormal breathing, foaming at the mouth, red urine, kidney congestion, visual and auditory hallucinations.
The toxic effect is certain in taking long-term chronic, or in abuse over a threshold of 60 drops per day. Effects "positive": various healing powers (mostly boast), then: aphrodisiac, stimulates creativity, hallucinogenic, psychoactive, deworming.
Diposizioni legislativeLa infamous drink of the nineteenth century was banned during the period of the Italian monarchy and recently legalized in most of Europe and the USA. In Italy, where the plant grows abundant and widespread, is known as wormwood and as a medicinal herb officinale, is sold only by pharmacists in farmacia.Le reference are two laws: CONSOLIDATED LAWS OF PUBLIC SAFETY RD June 18, 1931, No 773 TULPS - published in the Official Gazette June 26, 1931, No 146. Article 105 - (Section 103 TU 1926) No person shall manufacture, import into the State, the sale of any amount and the deposit for the sale of liquor on the market called "wormwood."
Subject to the provisions of the sanitary laws, are excluded from this prohibition drinks that having an alcohol content less than 21% of the volume contains an infusion of wormwood as a flavoring. Directive 88/388/EWG of 22 June 1988 the European Council expects the quantities of waste materials unwanted details, which may be present in some flavorings added to food for consumption.
in alcoholic beverages with an alcohol content exceeding 25% vol., We can detect a maximum amount of thujone than 10 mg / kg in bitters will instead be allowed 35 mg / kg. The thujone can not be added to food as such, it must in fact be contained in a natural way, or following addition of flavors, made from natural raw materials base.
The exclusion of prohibition for less than 21% percent alcohol by volume allows, for example, to market the bitter Lucan, composed of 9 herbs: angelica, rue, wormwood, sage, elderberry, thyme, lesser centaury, juniper, gentian, bitter artemisia.Accanto this certainly harmless, you can find on the market for high-alcoholic absinthe alcoholic.
This liquor, like any other liquor can not be sold (or produced) in pharmacy, but maybe you could find some casual liquor dealer.
To understand how it is possible, it must be from France, where despite the ban extension, you can sell absinthe produced in other countries, because when the ban was enacted in 1915 the French government retaining a license to export only, to allow disposal (mea mors your life) in the rivers of absinthe after the ban remained.
in 1910 were sold in France thirty-six million liters of absinthe. The annual sales figure rose to two hundred and twenty million liters in 1912, but by 1915 this figure fell to zero, as the absinthe became a prohibited substance.
E 'for this decision to a very limited number of "institutions" such as the Savoy Hotel in London was able to fill their cellars with wormwood. The Savoy Cocktail Book
, published for the first time in the '30s is full of cocktails containing absinthe (but in this case, it is certainly more cost use an equivalent product).
In France, Decree 88-1024 of November 2, 1988 upheld the law March 16, 1915 restoring the ban on the sale of absinthe and similar liquors and listing the substances whose presence raises the liquor ban in the same category of ' wormwood.
The law speaks of "no sale" and therefore ruled that the production and export license are available to date, has opened the way for marketing (within the limits imposed by EU directive) absinthe French, but only in countries outside of France.
In Italy, the monarchy had not (see box above) absinthe after a referendum in 1931; but in 1998, the importers British had found that the European Union Law would allow the sale of absinthe in the United Kingdom.
Continuing their research, they got the issue of European Union Legislative Decree No. DL 25/01/1992 107 (specifications relating to flavorings for use in foodstuffs and to source materials for their production - GU n. 39 of 02.17.1992), which - in spite of an article of law is not repealed - it seems to permit the sale of 'absence in Italy (in e-commerce), to meet and exceed the free movement of goods within the EU
The European Court of Justice has ruled that a product lawfully manufactured and marketed in State of the Union must be able to move freely in other states and our Constitutional Court has affirmed the principle that EU law takes precedence over Italian law.
The free movement of goods is one of the fundamental principles of the internal market. The rules of the EC Treaty (Articles 28-30), together with the European Court of Justice, require Member States to refrain from hindering imports from and exports to other Member States, unless there are objective reasons of public policy (such as health or safety) that justify the restrictions.
In this case, in line with current legislation (RD June 18, 1931, n. 773 TULPS), we shows a clear asymmetry with the French law on the sale of absinthe in part on its territory, but this asymmetry is' exceeded its free movement of goods.
As regards non-EU area, include two countries that have an explicit law Absinthe: In Norway, June 2, 1989 Act strengthens the provisions of the previous ban on imports of alcoholic beverages (for alcoholic beverage is any drink containing more than 2.5% alcohol by volume and age consumers from 0.70 to 2.5%) The Swiss Federal Constitution (May 29, 1974), chap. 1 (General Provisions) Article 32-c. - [Added in 1900] The manufacturing importation, transportation, sale and possession for sale of liquor known as absinthe, are prohibited throughout the federal government.
This prohibition extends to all beverages, all under a single name, is an imitation of absinthe. Remain unaffected in transit transport and the use of absinthe pharmaceutical purposes. The federal government has the right to enact the same prohibition by statute for all other drinks containing absinthe which constitute a public danger.
The Federal Council with effect from 1 March 2005 has been withdrawn and approved the necessary amendments to the Ordinance: to protect the health of consumers, Department of the Interior limited thujone content allowed, like the bitter and in line with European rules.
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