Bohemian-style or Czech-style absinth (also called anise-free absinthe, or just “absinth” without the “e”) is a Bohemian version of the traditional spirit

absinthe Absinthe (, ) is an anise-flavoured spirit derived from several plants, including the flowers and leaves of ''Artemisia absinthium'' ("grand wormwood"), together with green anise, sweet fennel, and other medicinal and culinary herbs. Historic ...

, though it is more accurately described as a kind of

wormwood Wormwood may refer to: Biology * Several plants of the genus ''Artemisia'': ** ''Artemisia abrotanum'', southern wormwood ** '' Artemisia absinthium'', common wormwood, grande wormwood or absinthe wormwood ** ''Artemisia annua'', sweet wormwood o ...

bitters Bitters (plural also ''bitters'') is traditionally an alcoholic preparation flavored with botanical matter for a bitter or bittersweet flavor. Originally, numerous longstanding brands of bitters were developed as patent medicines, but now a ...

. It is produced mainly in the Czech Republic, from which it gets its designations as “Bohemian” or “Czech,” although not all absinthe from the Czech Republic is Bohemian-style.Worthy of their name

The Prague Post ''The Prague Post'' was an English language newspaper covering the Czech Republic and Central and Eastern Europe which published its first weekly issue on October 1, 1991. It published a printed edition weekly until July 2013, when it dropped th ...

, 26 April 2006; retrieved 20 May 2007. Typical Bohemian-style absinth has only two similarities with its traditional French or Swiss counterpart, in that it contains wormwood and has a high alcohol content. Since few countries possess a legal definition for absinthe, producers of Czech style absinth have taken advantage of this situation by borrowing the romantic ''

Belle Époque The Belle Époque or La Belle Époque (; French for "Beautiful Epoch") is a period of French and European history, usually considered to begin around 1871–1880 and to end with the outbreak of World War I in 1914. Occurring during the era o ...

'' associations and psychoactive reputation of ''traditional'' absinthe to create a market for their dissimilar products. Many of these producers aim to increase the appeal of their wares by making claims as to the

thujone Thujone () is a ketone and a monoterpene that occurs predominantly in two diastereomeric ( epimeric) forms: (−)-α-thujone and (+)-β-thujone. Though it is best known as a chemical compound in the spirit absinthe, it is unlikely to be respons ...

content of their absinth, levels which are uncharacteristic of "pre-ban"

. A few Czech products even claim to have levels of thujone that would render them unfit to be sold in many parts of the world. Zele absinth
A thujone content beyond EU regulations; retrieved 20 May 2007.

The “fire ritual”

Bohemian-style absinth lacks much of the herbal profile and density of authentic absinthe, including the constituents that create the

louche Louche () was a mobile animal-drawn agricultural seed drill invented by the Chinese agronomist Zhao Guo, a Han official in charge of agricultural production during the reign of Han Wudi Emperor Wu of Han (156 – 29 March 87BC), formally ens ...

. Since this renders Czech style absinth unusable for the traditional method of preparation, a modern ritual involving fire was created. In the “fire ritual,” absinth is poured into a glass, and a sugar cube on a slotted spoon is placed over the glass. The sugar cube is then soaked with absinth and is set on fire. The cube is then dropped into the absinth, setting it ablaze. Then water is poured over the flame until it goes out. Usually, a 1:1 ratio of water to absinth is used. This procedure produces a minor simulation of the louche that is seen in traditional absinthe, and the low water-to-alcohol ratio increases the strength of the resulting drink. (A traditional absinthe drink is diluted with water to a ratio between 3:1 and 5:1.) Many Czechs do not dilute the drink at all. The fire ritual first appeared in advertisements after having been seen in a Prague bar in the late 1990s. It has been mistaken at times as historical fact due to its having been misrepresented as such in several contemporary

costume drama A historical drama (also period drama, costume drama, and period piece) is a work set in a past time period, usually used in the context of film and television. Historical drama includes historical fiction and romances, adventure films, and swa ...

films.E.g., the fire ritual scene in ''

From Hell ''From Hell'' is a graphic novel by writer Alan Moore and artist Eddie Campbell, originally published in serial form from 1989 to 1998. The full collection was published in 1999 by Top Shelf Productions. Set during the Whitechapel murders ...

''.

References

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