WORMWOOD

ARTEMISIA ABSINTHIUM

OUR JOURNEY STARTS IN LIMBO, which according to Dante is the first circle of the abyss, designed to hold those souls which portray an absence of faith. The precise reason that the Old Testament gives for Wormwood’s striking bitterness. In fact, this bitterest of herbs is said to have grown in the trail left behind by the serpent as it slithered out of the Garden of Eden.

ORIGINS - Whether the word Wormwood originates from the ancient German “wermo” meaning bitter, or the plant’s ancient use as a treatment for intestinal worms is an issue of debate. Which ever is true however, what is not debated is that the German word for the herb “Wermut” is the origin for Vermouth, and that under European law, all Vermouths must contain wormwood.

FOLKLORE - Civilizations have been mixing wine, wormwood and honey for over 2000 years as a way of preserving and improving the taste of their wines. Hippocrates himself used it and prescribed it for rheumatism and anemia.

NO IT WILL NOT MAKE YOU CUT YOUR EAR OFF! - Traditionally used to flavour absinthe, it is this herb’s content of thujone that was blamed for the drink’s hallucinatory properties that lead to Van Gogh’s madness and to is temporary ban in the early 20th Century. You need not worry though, as the only reason artistic geniuses lost their mind was the crazy levels of alcohol contained in French spirits at the time, which could reach 70% ABV or almost twice what we are used to today. 9 di DANTE Vermouth has an ABV of 17.5% and we extract all of our wormwood using traditional methods that guarantee that thujones remain below legally approved limits..

OTHER WORMWOOD USES: Try the Moroccan Whisky recipe below. During cold days, wormwood replaces Mint to make the Moroccan tea that is a symbol of its culture and hospitality.