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Thujone Free

  • Mar. 12th, 2008 at 9:16 PM
Hannibal Happy Trail - gunneralchemist
 So, not too long ago when I heard from a friend that the ban on absinthe in the U.S. had finally been lifted, I got all tingly and excited. Like quite a few people, I’ve always wanted to decipher the myths and legends about the spirit myself....And, also, in a shallow way, I’ve had a morbid fascination with absinthe, since so many creative minds have been linked with the alcohol ( Picasso, Van Gogh, Hemingway, Manet....).

So, I was all excited that I could finally try it....until I read this and a few other articles that read the same....

"There is a chemical in traditional absinthe called Thujone, this chemical is banned in food products by the FDA. This one chemical is what makes absinthe illegal to sell. Generally Thujone comes from an herb called wormwood that is used in the production process of absinthe.

Companies and the liquor industry have found that by filtering out this chemical they can legally sell their brand of absinthe in the USA.

Seeing dollar signs many distillers and companies are now on a public relations campaign to downplay the role of Thujone and gain acceptance of this form absinthe by the American public. Many are writing articles or launching sites that promote this new view of absinthe in an effort to gain acceptance. Some make statements such as that of Lucid one of the leading brands to enter the us market states "Prohibition is finally over" giving consumers the perception that laws have changed. They are eager to promote the fact they use Grand Wormwood but downplay the removal of Thujone. It all makes for good marketing and others like Kubler and Absinte seem to be following."

So, I suppose I’m still going to have to find my way to the Czech Republic to try real absinthe....Bah!

Comments

[info]vapeur wrote:
Apr. 28th, 2008 07:59 am (UTC)
The PR campaign is the other way around. It is the Czechs, who pimp that artificial blue-green rot-gut garbage they claim to be 'absinth' who have not taken it lightly that recent scientific testing revealed that vintage absinthes were not hallucinogenic, 'thujone heavy' drinks. This revelation threatens to evaporate what market they have left. After all, the notion that their 'absinth' is hallucinogenic is a complete farce and a lie (which anyone who has had it can confirm), and there is not even one credible scientific reference that indicates thujone is hallucinogenic (another often repeated lie). Not to mention, most Czech 'distillers' aren't even in possession of a still, so what does that make them?

As for 'filtering out thujone', that's impossible. No such process exists.

Get the facts. Educate thyself:
http://pubs.acs.org/cgi-bin/abstract.cgi/jafcau/asap/abs/jf703568f.html

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