True Absinthe Recipe?

[Daevorn]

Hey all,

Does anyone know the true absinthe recipe, its just that theres so many different ones, im not sure which one was used in the times of absinthe,

it would be good information to add to the records..

Thanks

daevorn

[Guest electro]

i would suggest that many different recipees were used ... (by different manufacturers)

many of them contained heavy metals to give the bright green colouring ... something we dont want back

[smogs]

heres one that i have bookmarked although i cant remember why exactly

http://www.erowid.org/chemicals/absinthe/a...he_recipe1.shtm

[Stroodes]

The recipe i ended up using (after looking at many different ones at sites including http://homedistiller.org and http://www.feeverte.net/bedel/) was: Dried Wormwood:25g, Aniseed:30g, Star Anise:13g, Fennel:30g, Coriander:5g, Alcohol (90%):850ml, Water:420ml

Bruise all herbs, and place them in the alcohol. Leave for 36-48 hours, then add the water

(making 1250ml) and distill (VERY VERY SLOWLY ON LOW HEAT - I TOOK 13 HOURS TO DISTILL MINE NO KIDDING!!!) with the herbs in the still, collecting the first 1L.

This comes out with a slight green tinge to it, but if desired, you can colour with indigo blue and caramel yellow food dyes. As you said electro, yes they did use heavy metals (copper salts) in recipes (only the cheaper ones though)... which arent particularaly healthy!!!

Many recipes also called for aditional herbs such as hyssop and angelica, but at the time i couldnt have been bothered to get them (only small amounts are necissary).

ENJOY!!! Its a very tasty drop.

[Benzedrine]

One true recipe does not exist. Many absinthes had opium added to them, also different artemisias were used. The best absinthes were really herbal liquers made from pure ethanol and the herbs while more common cheaper absinthes were made like whiskey with artemisia added to the original product and than brewed with a single distill run. Also dynamite was often added to fermenting barrels to stimulate stagnant yeast, so some original absinthe would have had a heart stimulant(dynamite) in the mix. Later absinthes also sometimes had ether added.

My mind boggles at all the sorts of "different" absinthes there would have been for sale in paris alone. I think its better to think of absinthe as a type of alcoholic drink rather then a specific one. Absinthe like whiskey covers too large a range to pin down to specific recipe or even specific ingredients.

[Zu]

I have lots of recipes for absinthe essences. They are all obviously for commercial purposes (as you'll see by the volumes). They require oils and are taken from a very old book that I took photocopies from but didn't write reference details. I'm not sure what you do with the essence.

Anyway, here are a couple:

=========================================

Absithe Essence a la Turine No.1

3gm. Oil Angelica

5gm. Oil Anise

5gm. Oil Fennel

1gm. Oil Cardomom

5gm. Oil Coriander

3gm. Oil Marjoram

6gm. Oil Star Anise

3gm. Oil Wormwood

10kg 95% Alcohol

Vienna Absinthe Essence No.1

1.5gm. Oil Angelica

2gm. Oil Anise

1.5gm. Oil Fennel

1gm. Oil Ginger

1.5gm. Oil Marjoram

2gm. Oil Star Anise

3.5gm. Oil Wormwood

10kg 95% Alcohol

Swiss Absinthe Essence No.2

2gm. Oil Angelica

5gm. Oil Anise Russian

3gm. Oil Fennel

20gm. Oil Calamus

3gm. Oil Caraway

5gm. Oil Marjoram

2gm. Oil Mace

1gm. Oil Clove

20gm. Oil Orange

.5gm. Oil Pimento

2gm. Oil Juniper Berry

25gm. Oil Wormwood

3gm. Oil Lemon

10kg 95% Alcohol

=========================================

Swiss no.2 looks like the most interesting to me.

[ 05. February 2004, 21:12: Message edited by: Zu ]

[theobromos]

For the 20g of calamus and a little mace, I suppose?

[Fenris]

Some time last year I performed a steam distillation on a large heaped handfull of wormwood. The oil that came accross(about 0.1 mL)was royal blue which I transferred to the organic phase.

I slowly evaporated until I had blue oil again at which point I eluted in 50mL of 96% EtOH.

To my suprise the colour changed from blue to a light olive green. Nowhere near as green as absinthe but still green.

[planthelper]

http://www.zauberpilz.com/forum/index.php?...y;threadid=3278

[2b]

gotta love any reciepe that calls for 10kg of 95% alcohol :D :D PH my German is non-exixtant , cool pics though !! sort of ' ethno-porn'

[Fractalhead]

Gonzo, I carried out a similar experiment a couple of years ago, and observed the same blue/green oil (soluble in alcohol but not water). Not sure what this stuff is. I tried drinking an alcoholic solution of this stuff (maybe 50 ml) but didn't notice anything special. Need to try more.

[friendly]

Dale Pendell in Pharmako/Poeia (pg 112) gives the following:

30.0g Wormwood

8.5g Hyssop

1.8g Calamus

6.0g Melissa

30.0g Anise seed

25.0g Fennel seed

10.0g Star Anise

3.2g Coriander seed

to color the distillate of the above add:

4.2g Mint

1.1g Melissa

3.0g Wormwood

1.0g Citron peel

4.2g Licorice root.

I have had his absinthe 'mouth wash' and do not care for it; it gave me a headache.

However, the headache may be due to the fact that he makes his own alcohol by concentrating cheap wine full of sulfites.

None the less, I never tried his mouthwash again, preferring to give away rest of the bottle to someone more desirous of the experience.

[2b]

So which recepie makes the Absinthe wich goes cloudy when water is added ? I am not sure if this is for real , but in the Hemigway books I've read (eg: ' For whom the bell tolls' ) he always goes on about it turning cloudy when water is added ? Kinda like ouzo , maybe it's the Fennel ? :confused:

[friendly]

Pendell's will. He also makes batches with many more herbs in them, but he has not disclosed that recipe to me.

[Stroodes]

My recipe further up goes cloudy with water added . Its caus of all the anise and fennel oils coming out of solution... makin it a milky cloudy colour. In fact, i would think pretty much all absinthe made properly would become cloudy (mabye unless its made from essential oils instead of distilling the herbs themselves).

[simon_marklar]

2benubee:

So which recepie makes the Absinthe wich goes cloudy when water is added ? I am not sure if this is for real , but in the Hemigway books I've read (eg: ' For whom the bell tolls' ) he always goes on about it turning cloudy when water is added ? Kinda like ouzo , maybe it's the Fennel ?   :confused:  

this happens with the normal store bought pernod absynth. tastes nice, but dont expect to hallucinate.

%simon

[cosmic.sam]

I've read mixed reports about "la fee" absinthe. I didn't know it was sold here - so might have a go and I'll keep you posted.

[spiders]

Its important to realise that it is a misconception that the wormwood and/or thujone content of the liquor gave rise to its perceived 'effects'. Thujone itself is only threshold active at a level far exceeding that was contained even in the strongest absinthes.

Most drinkers - particularly those in the know at the la feverte website linked above - suggest that it is the other herbs - aniseeds, fennels, etc that give rise to this window effect before alcohol intoxication takes over.