There is probably no liquor with the cult following of absinthe, sometimes referred to as la Fee Verte, or the Green Fairy. Highly alcoholic and with a distinct anise flavor, absinthe is distilled from herbs, mainly anise, fennel, and wormwood. It is usually a clear emerald green, caused by the chlorophyll in herbs steeped in the liquor, although it can be left clear, called a Blanche.
Wormwood has been around for thousands of years, and was used medically as far back as ancient Egypt, but it appears the modern drink known as absinthe probably dates back to the late 1700’s. Originally offered as an elixir or tonic, it soon became popular in French bars and bistros.
Absinthe and the Arts
For whatever reason, it also became a very popular drink choice among artists and writers in the mid to late 1800s. Oscar Wilde, Toulouse-Lautrec, and Edgar Allen Poe are all known to have been fans of the liquor. Absinthe even appears in paintings by Picasso and Van Gogh.
But as absinthe became more popular, an outcry against the liquor also began, and not only because it’s 70 to 80% alcohol. Absinthe also contains small amounts of a chemical known as thujone, which at the time was believed to cause hallucinations, seizures, and just generally bizarre behavior.
A 19th century version of today’s urban legends held that Van Gogh was under the influence of absinthe when he cut off his ear to give to a prostitute. Hysteria reached a new high in 1905 when Jean Lanfray, a Swiss farmer, murdered his entire family. The liquor was immediately blamed for his behavior – despite the fact that the day of the murders, the alcoholic Lanfray had also had five bottles of wine, numerous glasses of cognac, some creme de menthe and brandy-laced coffee in addition to two glasses of absinthe.
Public Outrage
Public outrage took over, and absinthe was soon banned in most European countries. The United States followed suit and banned it in 1912. Most distillers gave up production, although not all, and absinthe became a fringe item with a small cult following. Until now.
In the 1990’s, a British importer took note of the fact that absinthe had never been banned in the UK, and arranged for a Czech distillery to begin production. Absinthe had also never been banned in Spain or Portugal, or in most of the their New World colonies, where it has retained popularity. The European Union established regulations on thujone content, and absinthe can be sold which complies with those regulations.
In the United States, a loophole in the ban has long existed. While the laws regarding the sale or importation of items containing thujone are murky, it probably is legal to purchase the products for personal use. Travelers bringing home one or two bottles of absinthe from Europe have seldom had a problem clearing Customs with their treasures.
And now a second loophole has been recognized – the ban only applied to liquor that contained more than 10mg of thujone per liter. A new absinthe, Lucid, has been approved for manufacture and sale in the United States by the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau.
Will absinthe be a novelty trend, or will it become a popular liquor? Whether absinthe will become a bar mainstay remains to be seen, but you can share your thoughts on the subject on our discussion board.
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