No doubt you have already heard of absinthe and it has most likely piqued your curiosity. Mom and dad sure as hell didn't drink absinthe, so what is it all about anyway? The real scoop on Absinthe is that it was aboriginally made and sold as a health tonic, which accounts for its odd bitter licorice taste and its green color.

You see, back in the 1700s when absinthe was first developed, tonics and any medicines for that matter were considered ineffective unless they had at least a mildly harsh taste.However; that isn't to say that it tastes bad, it merely suggests that it is defiantly an acquired taste to say the least.

As a liquor, absinthe can be fairly strong with some varieties containing as much as 80% alcohol, which is twice the amount of standard liquors such as whiskey or vodka. There are some absinthe cocktail recipes that have been and are being developed and available on the net but it really is a drink that is best tossed back quickly in a shot and then chased with something sweet and carbonated.

What about the fact that absinthe does have something else in it besides alcohol that contributes to the total intoxicating effect. Its called thujone and it comes from the wormwood that is used in the making of absinthe. Its a a substance that has psychoactive properties and you will definitely feel its effects.

The thujone won't put you into the stratosphere though, so don't worry, because the alcohol in the absinthe will make you sick long before you can ingest enough thujone to have you seeing colors. The effects of the thujone in absinthe has been described as being similar to marijuana only more stimulating then marijuana that tends to make some people tired.