Green fairy, witch, wormwood vodka – as soon as they do not call absinthe. The categorization largely depends solely on the tastes of the appraiser: one and the same variety for someone is a “good wizard”, and for another it is a mindless potion. The drink is not controlled by region of origin, and each manufacturer has its own recipe, so it is quite difficult to single out specific types of absinthe. It is conventionally accepted to classify the “green fairy” according to the following criteria:
1. Color. Depends on recipe, additives and colors. Absinthe color may or may not affect the taste.
- Green absinthe. It is this drink that is depicted on the canvases of great painters and in films about the life of French bohemia. In fact, this color of absinthe is often caused by special dyes and is made on purpose to match the image, because if stored improperly, the chlorophyll contained in herbal supplements is destroyed in the sun, as a result of which the color changes.
- Yellow. This is just a faded green – or again, thanks to the dyes.
- Red – with pomegranate juice.
- Blue – differs from green only in color, which is obtained by adding natural dyes to the composition. Blue absinthe looks beautiful in cocktails, it has no other advantages.
- Black or brown. The drink is made not from the leaves of wormwood, but from its roots, often an infusion of black acacia Katechu is added to the composition, giving sweet berry notes.
- Transparent. It looks like absinthe according to the recipe “nothing more”.
2. Fortress. Absinthe, in principle, is never weak, which is why it was popular among students who needed to get drunk as quickly and cheaply as possible. But even here there are types for “beginners” and “professionals”.
- Strong absinthe – alcohol content 55-65%.
- Extremely strong – the degree can reach 85%, and the drink itself is made according to the classic technology (distillation + tincture).
3. The content of thujone. It was because of this substance that absinthe was banned at one time, and today there are strict rules that limit the content of thujone in foods and drinks. The extract of bitter wormwood has a strong psychotropic effect – that’s why “under absinthe” people can hallucinate and fall into a state of altered consciousness.
Despite the norm of thujone content of 10 mg per liter adopted in Europe, there are other types of absinthe on the market:
- High content of thujone (25-100 mg / l, such drinks are made in Switzerland and the Czech Republic);
- Medium (10-30 mg/l);
- Low (1.5-10 mg/l);
- Zero – in Switzerland, such drinks are called Logan Fils, in France – Absente, often these are just tinctures that mimic the taste of real absinthe.
4. Features of production. Varieties of absinthe in this category often bear a “geographical” name, but it rarely has anything to do with the real place of production of the drink and can only serve as historical evidence of the birthplace of a particular recipe.
English-speaking sources claim that in the XNUMXth century absinthe was divided according to alcohol content and quality into ordinary, semi-refined, refined and Swiss (this does not mean that it was produced there).
Now absinthe can only be divided with certainty into two categories: distilled – herbal infusion is distilled (better) and mixed – distillate is diluted with infusion without distillation (worse).
The following classification applies to the European market:
- Blanche (white) or La Bleue (blue) – crystal clear transparent absinthe, bottled immediately after distillation and does not have time to acquire the famous green color.
- Verte (green) – white + herbal.
- Absenta is the Spanish name for the drink. This is absinthe with a national flavor: with citrus notes, refreshing.
- Hausgemacht (“home made”) – home-made absinthe. Made exclusively for personal use.
- “Bohemian” (or “in the Czech style”) – absinthe without anise, only with bitter wormwood.
