With so many people taking a closer look at absinthe and considering sending off for their first try of this mysterious tonic, many are wondering about a few things such as its reputed “bitter" taste. They are also wondering about the effects of absinthe due to the fact that it contains thujone a psychoactive “ingredient".



Absinthe was first formulated and marketed as a therapeutic tonic and medical elixir back in the late 1700s in Switzerland. Back then, if a drug, tonic or medicine didn't taste bad then people would assume when they took their first sip that it was ineffective. This meant that the bitter taste of absinthe was considered a positive attribute when people first tasted it.

Its the wormwood that is responsible for its mildly bitter taste and also for its “different" intoxicating effects that are the result of thujone that is contained in the wormwood. Don't worry either, because wormwood doesn't any have worms in it. It originaly got its name, because people used it to kill intestinal parasites. Anyway, while the taste is somewhat bitter, it is only mildly so.

It is for this reason that Absinthe doesn't really work well as a liquor to be mixed in any type of mixed drink. There is a traditional way of drinking absinthe that involves drizzling dissolved sugar into it and then downing it in a “shot". However; you will probably find that it is best drank as a quick shot and then followed by a drink of a carbonated soda.

Absinthe is green and has a taste that people describe as being similar to licorice and many people develop an actual liking for the taste of absinthe. Even more people yet, develop a “liking" for the effects of the thujone that absinthe contains.