@Qld Andy; I agree the tv series was a lot better and Ford actor better suited.
@Frank; proper Absinthe has two types of wormwood the first being 'Grand wormwood' (Artemisia absinthium) and the second type 'Petite wormwood' also known as 'Roman wormwood' (Artemisia pontica).
The first imparts a sweet bitter taste to the Absinthe the latter the same to a lesser extent as its used for colouring after distillation.
Wormwood contains thujon which is said to have drug like effects...........it's bullshit............thujon in it's purist essential oil form is a neurotoxin but in even in the heaviest wormwood laden Absinthe the thujon levels are about 200-300 parts per million and harmless. The best absinthes that exist now and that even those that were pre ban sit between 10 ppm and 50 ppm so again negligible.
Absinthe has a few differing herbs in combination and it is said that that combination has an invigorating effect I would tend to agree as when I have a few glasses of Absinthe I don't get that heavy headed feeling I get with other drinks. That being said it's pretty mild and you'd be drawing a long bow to say it was (illicit) drug like.
All Absinthe sold in Australia or America, by law, must be under 10ppm thujon and this is solely because the government believes in the bogey man and doesn't do it's own research. This hinders the true Absinthe makers a bit, you CAN make an excellent Absinthe under 10ppm thujon however it is said that the better Absinthe is over this level most of the time because,
When the Absinthe is distilled the tails are recycled for the next maceration and in the tails is anethole and a few other goodies that impart flavour and texture to the distillate, however this practice also bumps the thujon limit over 10ppm probably to about 20ppm or 30ppm so no big deal to anyone but the drones that write the regulations.
When I get it all together I will definitely share the outcome and recipe.