Not a single holiday in our life is complete withoutalcoholic beverages. And no matter how much doctors insist that "drinking is harmful to health", there is no less alcohol from this phrase. It can be purchased in a grocery store, a drugstore, and even in household goods departments, with the inscription "cleaning agent"!? Of course, not everyone is like unbridled drunkenness and buys inappropriate drinks for oral administration. Far from everyone .... You can even say that Russian people still know the measure and try to buy high-quality vodka, cognac aged for many years, or expensive fragrant wine. The variety of alcoholic beverages has long crossed the line when a few bottles of cheap Port stood alone on store shelves. Now, if we want, we can try real French wine, American whiskey, English scotch, and the most mysterious of all drinks in the world - absinthe. In this article, we will talk about it and learn how to drink absinthe correctly. No other alcohol is associated with so many mysteries, myths, and misinterpretations. And no other drink has won so many famous admirers - Van Gogh, Hemingway, Picasso - these great people were known as avid lovers of absinthe, as they were then called - absinthe drinkers. And to understand all the secrets of this drink, you need to delve a little into its history.
How it all began
Absinthe... Its predecessor is considered to be wormwooda tincture that was used as a medicine by the ancient Greeks. In 1792, a man named Pierre Ordinier wrote a recipe for absinthe, thereby becoming its discoverer. From the very beginning of its existence, this drink was used only for medical purposes, was considered a panacea for all diseases, and was called the "Green Fairy". It was used to treat people with poor appetite, as well as digestive problems. As an alcoholic drink, absinthe became known all in the same 18th century, it was made from wormwood tincture and alcohol, adding other herbs. The tincture was distilled in a special still. Since then, the taste and aroma of the drink has not changed at all - it has a bitter aftertaste and a strong aroma of wormwood and anise. The beginning of industrial production of absinthe came in 1797, when a relative of the creator of absinthe - Henry-Louis Pernod opened the first plant for its production. Absinthe was best received in France. At that time, the French used the drink for other purposes: it was used as a preventive measure for wounds and tropical diseases in the French army. This was relevant, since France was at war with the tribes of North Africa. Years passed, and by the beginning of the 19th century, absinthe gradually began to gain popularity in other countries, and soon won fame in the upper classes, receiving the name "the drink of bohemia". Its fans were writers and poets, who in their works more than once mentioned absinthe - how to drink it, when to drink it, and what to drink it with. Artists and sculptors also did not ignore the bohemian drink, for example, Picasso made a bronze sculpture and called it "A Glass of Absinthe".
Disputes and doubts
With the onset of the 20th century, absinthe began to fall intodisfavor. Gradually, the opinion was formed that excessive consumption of this drink affects people's mental health, and those who do not know how to drink absinthe correctly will inevitably develop a nervous disorder or, even worse, incurable alcoholism. The sale and production of the drink began to cease, and in many European countries it was banned altogether. And indeed, doctors who observed people who drank absinthe in large quantities confirmed that the drink leads to hallucinations and, as a consequence, to the development of schizophrenia. For example, farmer Gene Lanfray, under the influence of absinthe and other alcohol, shot his family. Thujone, an essential substance contained in absinthe, was blamed for the occurrence of this disease. However, over time, they came to the conclusion that this statement is fundamentally wrong. It turns out that it was not thujone that was causing harm to the body, but the poor quality of the alcohol used to create the drink and, of course, its excessive strength - absinthe contained almost 72 percent alcohol. The ban on the production and consumption of absinthe in the EU countries was lifted only in 1981. It is worth noting that Switzerland - the birthplace of this drink - lifted the restriction only at the beginning of the 21st century, but with one condition - the content of thujone in the drink should not exceed a certain norm.
Let's return to the present
Modern absinthe still has the same 70 degrees.strength, but in its production they use alcohol and other high-quality ingredients. Of course, this does not mean that you can drink it without thinking about the doses. Any alcohol in large quantities will not lead you to good. Modern absinthe can be yellow, transparent, brown, red, but most often this drink is light emerald in color. Before drinking absinthe, it is diluted with water, and this makes it cloudy, acquiring a slightly "unappetizing" appearance. Absinthe brands differ significantly in quality. The best and most expensive drink is made from grape alcohol, cheaper varieties include regular alcohol with wormwood leaves soaked in it, the cheapest is absinthe made from alcohol with the addition of the necessary extracts. There are also counterfeits on sale, proudly calling themselves absinthe. You can recognize a fake by the strength of the drink. There is "absinthe" with a strength of 55 degrees. It is simply a sweetened wormwood tincture that does not contain essential oils and has nothing in common with real absinthe. And yet, such a drink, compared to vodka, is easy to drink. This is its only advantage. When planning to try absinthe, it is better not to spare money and buy a good drink from a well-known manufacturer, because health, as we know, is more valuable than any money.
How to drink absinthe properly
So, you decided to try the most mysteriousalcoholic drink in the world? If this is going to happen in a company, first you need to study a few rules and understand how to drink absinthe correctly, so as not to get into trouble in front of knowledgeable people. First, note for yourself that absinthe is a rather bitter drink, especially industrially produced. Of course, you can make absinthe yourself, then it will taste more pleasant, but this is a rather complicated procedure that requires certain skills, abilities, and the availability of special devices. With traditional use, cold water is added to absinthe. It is poured into a glass through a special perforated spoon, on which there is a piece of sugar. Sugar kills the bitterness a little, and drinking the drink becomes more pleasant. The most correct percentage solution for diluting absinthe is 1:5, that is, one part of the drink and five parts of water. A slice of lemon helps to completely get rid of the bitter taste in the mouth. The real effect of absinthe is not at all like intoxication. Everyone feels it differently. Someone just relaxes, someone, on the contrary, can move mountains. Some people feel excessive happiness, and a smile never leaves their face. Much depends on the person's mood and personality. Therefore, before drinking absinthe, release all tension, calm down, and tune in to a good rest.
Several ways to prepare absinthe
The method that came to us from France is fromThe traditional method differs only in the proportions of water. Pour one part of absinthe into a glass, take a special spoon, put sugar on it and pour in three parts of cold water. The Czech method completely excludes adding water. It is necessary to heat the spoon and, putting a sugar cube on it, pour in the absinthe. The result is a cocktail of melted sugar and the drink. This cocktail is drunk slightly warm. There is also a Russian way of drinking absinthe. Sugar syrup is prepared separately and diluted with the drink in the right proportion. This cocktail softens the taste of absinthe best. The drink can be undiluted, but before drinking absinthe in its pure form, it must be cooled strongly. The pure drink is drunk in small doses, about 30 grams.
Can absinthe be dangerous?
As mentioned above, absinthe containsincludes thujone, a substance found in wormwood. In large quantities, this substance can become a dangerous drug. Even at the time of the appearance of absinthe, scientists conducted experiments, in connection with which it became clear that in some people the use of this drink can cause an epileptic seizure, severe damage to the nervous system, convulsions, and other unpleasant things. Some doctors claimed that absinthe is addictive, comparable to heroin addiction, and even the process of its preparation is somewhat similar to the intravenous administration of heroin. However, most of these statements were made at a time when science had not yet reached its current heights. And the reputation of absinthe was largely formed by reports of famous people who used it. Maybe they did not know how to drink absinthe correctly, or maybe they were simply mentally unstable people. After all, being famous is not easy! For example, there is a myth that Vincent Van Gogh cut off his ear under the influence of absinthe, but at the same time, if you study the artist's life, you can find information that mental disorders were inherited in his family. And he drank not only absinthe, he also abused other alcohol quite heavily, and once even tried to drink turpentine. All this makes us, modern people, look at these statements more or less skeptically. Is absinthe really a drug, you still ask? Yes and no. It all depends on the "fullness of the poured glass." Therefore, to drink or not to drink is up to you. The main thing is to know how to drink absinthe correctly and remember that you need to know the measure in everything, not to overdo it with its use. After all, no one can know how exactly your body will react to a fair amount of this drink.
