Wormwood

Artemisia absinthium · Herb

40 pairings

Wormwood (Artemisia absinthium), also called common wormwood, grand wormwood or absinthe, is a silvery-grey aromatic perennial of the daisy family famous for being one of the most intensely bitter plants in the European herb garden. Its finely divided, silky leaves and warm, sage-like, camphoraceous scent make it the defining botanical of absinthe, and a classic bittering herb of vermouth, amari and countless medicinal bitters.

Picking a good onedrag

Silvery grey-green, sharply aromaticBrown dust, smells of nothing

Well keptSmall, short steeps into spirit, vermouth or bitters. Thujone is the regulated part: never a daily tea, not in pregnancy or epilepsy.Everyday best

ColourGrey-green fading, dull olive leaves through it

Leaf and stalkGood leaf with thin stem running through it

Crush a pinchCrisp, a little leathery in the thickest leaf

Smell the pinchClearly herbal and camphoraceous once you rub it

What to look for, from silvery grey-green, sharply aromatic to brown dust, smells of nothing.

Preparing