Worm Wood

[Tapiola]

"And the third angel sounded, and there fell a great star from heaven, burning as it were a lamp, and it fell upon a third of the rivers, and upon the springs of water; And the name of the star is called Wormwood: and a third of the waters became Bitter; and many people had died of the waters, because they were made bitter..."

Though there were others, the real ale drinkers, who did rejoice and there was much merry-making and making of merry.

(Oops, perhaps this should be on the Beer thread...)

[french frank]

"And the third angel sounded, and there fell a great star from heaven, burning as it were a lamp, and it fell upon a third of the rivers, and upon the springs of water; And the name of the star is called Wormwood: and a third of the waters became Bitter; and many people had died of the waters, because they were made bitter..."

Though there were others, the real ale drinkers, who did rejoice and there was much merry-making and making of merry.

(Oops, perhaps this should be on the Beer thread...)

I'm quite partial to a glass of dryish vermouth as an aperitif ...

[1806, from Fr. vermouth, from Ger. Wermuth "wormwood," from M.H.G. wermuot, from O.H.G. wermuota (see wormwood), name of the aromatic herb formerly used in the flavoring of the liqueur.]

Isn't the aromatic herb Artemisia?

[umslopogaas]

Wormwood is Artemisia absinthium, also known as absinth. A hardy woody small shrub with aromatic leaves. It grows wild in the UK and is apparently a native species. It is used to make absinthe, as described in my Sowerby's English Botany: "The liquor so highly esteemed in France under the name of Absinthe is prepared by infusing this plant in spirit, and adding spices and condiments to it. It is a most seductive and dangerous compound, and often betrays those who would shrink from being considered habitual spirits drinkers." You have been warned.

[vinteuil]

absinthe.

... which is actually less harmful - psychotropic - addictive than is portrayed in 19th century art and literature, and in folk mythology :

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Absinthe

- but see:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thujone

[Pianorak]

. . . Ger. Wermuth "wormwood," from M.H.G. wermuot, from O.H.G. wermuota (see wormwood), name of the aromatic herb formerly used in the flavoring of the liqueur.] . . .

Wermuth - I think Wagner missed a trick here!

Friedmund darf ich nicht heissen;
Frohwalt möcht' ich wohl sein:
doch Wehwalt muss ich mich nennen.

Friedmund I may not call myself,
Frohwalt fain would I be,
but I must name myself Wehwalt.

(Siegmund in "Die Walkuere")

[umslopogaas]

I had always believed it was the additives that made absinthe so dangerous, but on reading those articles I wonder if it was simply that it could have twice the alcohol content of normal spirits. The same is true of puncheon rum, widely used in the Caribbean for making rum punches. I've fallen foul of these. They are delicious, and the added ingredients mask the rum, so you cant tell how strong they are. So you have one and you feel great and you think, I'll have another one of those. If you can get to the end of the second one, alarming things start to happen, the world spins and you fall over. Which at least stops you having a third, which would probably be fatal.

[french frank]

You have been warned.

I only had in mind a small red Martini with a zest of lemon ...

[umslopogaas]

Chacun a son gout, I'll stick to the vino, I dont like aperitifs very much. In my wild youth I got extremely ill by drinking too much Cinzano and it put me off such things for life. As I recall it tastes much the same when it comes up again as when it went down, but I was really in no state to be sure.

[Anna]

I've grown wormwood in the garden, a very attractive plant but with an unpleasant odour when the leaves are crushed. I've never had absinthe but I'll willingly join frenchie in a glass of dry vermouth, is that the same as *Noilly Prat? I dunno, she's buying
*which is only bought at Christmas, like (and I don't think it exists anymore) Dubonnet. Which, when struck down with food poisoning in Sarlat many years ago was the only thing which seemed to settle the stomach ........