Absinthe is a strong herbal liqueur distilled with a great number of flavorful herbs like anise, licorice, hyssop, veronica, fennel, lemon balm, angelica and wormwood (the flavor of anise and/or licorice, at least in contemporary forms of the liquor, tends to predominate). Wormwood, the one that's gained the most notoriety, is Artemisia absinthum, an herb that grows wild in Europe and has been cultivated in the United States as well. Much of the liquor's legendary effect is due to its extremely high alcohol content, ranging from 50% to 75% (usually around 60%), plus the contribution of the various herbs. It has been assumed by many that the so-called "active ingredient" in absinthe is wormwood, although that is apparently not really the case.

The bottom line is ... thujone is present in absinthe, but in such trace amounts that by the time you consumed a toxic dose you'd be dead of alcohol poisoning, many times over. Apparently the distillation process removes most if not all of the toxicity of the wormwood in well-made absinthe; that, plus its trace amounts in the elixir, make absinthe -- consumed responsibly, as any strong spirit -- perfectly safe. Additionally, wormwood is also one of the herbs used (in trace amounts) to make that flavored wine and essential Martini ingredient that we all know as vermouth. The name of the drink comes from the German wermuth, which means wormwood.

Pure essential oil of wormwood is not absinthe. IT IS POISON.