I don't use the sugar... Makes it taste worse to me... It tastes like licorice (from the anise) ...the thujone is from the grande wormwood which is a requirement of true absinthe. It is made from the three herbs: anise, fennel, and grande wormwood. very high proof... I think lucid, the first allowed back in the US after the ban (2007) is 62 or 65 % alcohol.... All it did to me is make me fall asleep from the high proof.... It's not that great but worth a shot just to say you have had it

Doc