Of course, it's hard for her not to look like an arrogant know-nothing, because that's just what she is. It actually rather amazing how many topics she's got spurious facts on.
I have a hard time taking anyone's comments on absinthe who thinks there's such a thing as absinthe without wormwood seriously.
Pernod is basically absinthe without the wormwood. It is named after Henri-Louis Pernod, an individual who ran an absinthe factory in France in the early 1800s. As a substitute for wormwood, the modern drink Pernod uses increased amounts of aniseed. Ricard is the name of another modern wormwood-less absinthe.
The above second paragraph was taken from an Absinthe FAQ on the net. Just do like I did AJ. Go to Google.com and type in in "modern absinthe" and hit the "enter" key on your keyboard. It's not hard.