The doctor was especially intrigued by the odd absinthe phenomenon of enhancement in sensory perception. Ideas, answers, solutions and inspiration rush towards you from all directions.'ĭrinking absinthe, it seems, does have the perplexing effect of 'illuminating the mind', as one French doctor put when writing, in 1872, of the transformations the mind undergoes under the Green Fairy's influence. Your mind is crystal clear, your perception is enhanced, rich creative powers unlocked. It is as if you have tapped into some strange but wonderful source of information, understanding and creativity.

Suddenly, you gain the capacity to observe and understand reality from another perspective. 'It is as if you are here, but, at the same time, your mind also enters some other, higher level of awareness. Gary Fuller, a successful London lawyer and a avid absinthe fan, described what the Green Fairy does for him: Many other artists and writers regularly enjoyed the company of the Green Fairy (the drink's affectionate nickname) in search of inspiration.īut you don't have to be a great poet to experience absinthe's inexplicable, consciousness-shifting effects. Ernest Hemmingway called absinthe 'brain-warming, idea-changing liquid alchemy'. Liquid alchemy?Īrthur Rimbaud, the famous French poet, sipped the green drink to liberate the 'sacred thing' (his mind) as he daydreamed 'voyages of discovery that nobody had heard of' and 'every kind of magic'. Maybe it is a kind of drunkenness, but it's a weird kind of drunkenness, with this bizarre clarity of thought that comes with it.'īut absinthe's surprising effects don't end here. Somehow, absinthe just has a different effect on people. 'They expect to feel drunk as they would on any other spirit, but it doesn't quite work in the usual way with absinthe. 'People always remark how odd it is,' says Dan, a Manchester party host. The clear-headed form of inebriation - so odd for a drink that typically contains between 50 and 70 per cent of alcohol - never fails to surprise those who reach for a glass for the first time: This time, we are talking about absinthe effects on the mind. This time, we are talking about the phenomenal effects of absinthe on a drinker's mental faculties and sense of reality. As all fans of the special green liquor know, this truly is a drink in its own class - and we are not talking about absinthe's fascinating history, or its romantic connections to the art world. The effects of absinthe? Many, and some quite inexplicable.

Absinthe: Effects of the Peculiar Green Alcohol - Absinthe Fever The effects of absinthe

Absinthe wormwood