There are a lot of ingredients which work together to create the perfect bottle of absinthe. A combination of herbs, fennel, green anise, and most importantly wormwood are some of the main ingredients in absinthe. Some recipes are different and could include ingredients such as juniper, nutmeg, angelica, and coriander but those ingredients are not really essential.
The higher quality brands most commonly have the drink distilled but the cheaper brands will not have the drink distilled. Even though the drink may not be worse because it is not distilled, it is weaker quality and cheaper.
The main ingredient in absinthe which can lead to the hallucination side effect would probably be the wormwood. Absinthe is green because of the reaction with wormwood and the distillation stage. In the cheaper and lower quality absinthe, the color may be created with coloring because there is no distillation stage. There is also a lot of alcohol in absinthe – most bottles of absinthe contain around 50-70% of alcohol. This is the reason that most people have to dilute it with water in order to drink it.
Those are just some of the main ingredients in absinthe. There are some other ingredients and every recipe is different but this list gives you a good idea. The main ingredient is wormwood though and thujone is in absinthe as well so keep that in mind. There is thujone in absinthe because thujone is the main ingredient in wormwood and this is what is directly believed to cause hallucinations and other side effects including feeling clear headed. |