Absinthe is traditionally prepared by distilling neutral alcohol to be infused and redistilled with herbs, spices and water.
Traditional absinthe is redistilled from the alcohol of white grapes ( eau de vie ), while the less valuable one is obtained from the alcohol of cereals, beets or potatoes.
The main herbal products to be combined by infusion are: Artemisia absinthium, green anise and flowers / fennel seeds, which are often called "the holy trinity". It is not rare to add other herbs such as: small wormwood (Artemisia pontica or wormwood), hyssop, lemon balm, star anise, angelica, peppermint, coriander and veronica.
The bad reputation of this drink began in the nineteenth century and remained until the beginning of the next one; the defamation occurred due to the work of some unscrupulous traders who used a dye based on copper sulphate in the drink, presumably responsible for toxic and hallucinogenic effects.
Today, many producers of absinthe use food dyes, yet harmless to human health.
As if that were not enough, some types of "cheap" absinthe prior to the commercial ban on the beverage (20th century) were adulterated with the addition of antimony trichloride, known to increase the "louching" effect of the product.
