Absinthe

Absinthe is a distilled highly alcoholic drink. It is 45–74% alcohol by volume / 90–148 U.S. proof) beverage.^[1][2][3][4] It is an anise-flavoured spirit won from herbs. The herbs including the flowers and leaves of Artemisia absinthium ("grand wormwood"), together with green anise, sweet fennel.^[5]

Absinthe has a natural green colour but may also be colourless. It is commonly referred to in historical literature as "la fée verte" (the green fairy). It is not a liqueur, because it is not traditionally bottled with added sugar; therefore it is a spirit.^[6]

Absinthe is bottled at a high level of alcohol, but it is usually diluted with water before it is drunk. Absinthe came from Val-de-Travers, Switzerland. It was very popular in late 19th and early 20th century France. Parisian artists and writers drank it. The romantic associations with the drink still lingers in popular culture. At the end of 1900 the French were drinking over 2 million litres of absinthe a year. By 1910 this had increased to 36 million litres. Ernest Hemingway, James Joyce, Charles Baudelaire, Paul Verlaine, Arthur Rimbaud, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, Amedeo Modigliani, Pablo Picasso, Vincent van Gogh, Oscar Wilde, Aleister Crowley, Erik Satie and Alfred Jarry were all known absinthe drinkers.^[7]

Absinthe has often been thought a dangerous addictive psychoactive drug and hallucinogen.^[8] The chemical compound thujone, although present in the spirit in only trace amounts, was blamed for its alleged harmful effects. By 1915, absinthe had been banned in the United States and in much of Europe, including France, the Netherlands, Belgium, Switzerland and Austria-Hungary.

However, it has not been shown to be any more dangerous than ordinary spirits. Recent studies have shown that absinthe's psychoactive effects (apart from the alcohol) have been exaggerated.^[8] A revival of absinthe began in the 1990s, after modern European Union food and beverage laws removed barriers to its production and sale. By the early 21st century, nearly 200 brands of absinthe were being produced in a dozen countries, most notably in France, Switzerland, Australia, Spain, and the Czech Republic.

1. ↑ "Traite de la Fabrication de Liqueurs et de la Distillation des Alcools", P. Duplais (1882 3rd Ed, pp 375–381)
2. ↑ "Nouveau Traité de la Fabrication des Liqueurs", J. Fritsch (1926, pp 385–401)
3. ↑ "La Fabrication des Liqueurs", J. De Brevans (1908, pp 251–262)
4. ↑ "Nouveau Manuel Complet du Distillateur Liquoriste", Lebead, de Fontenelle, & Malepeyre (1888, pp 221–224)
5. ↑ Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Absinthe" . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 1 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 75.
6. ↑ 'Traite de la Fabrication de Liqueurs et de la Distillation des Alcools' Duplais 1882. 3rd ed, p249.
7. ↑ The Appeal of 'The Green Fairy' Archived 2016-01-20 at the Wayback Machine, Sarasota Herald-Tribune, September 18, 2008
8. ↑ ^{8.0 8.1} Padosch, Stephan A; Lachenmeier, Dirk W; Kröner, Lars U (2006). "Absinthism: a fictitious 19th century syndrome with present impact". Substance Abuse Treatment, Prevention, and Policy. 1: 14. doi:10.1186/1747-597X-1-14. PMC 1475830. PMID 16722551.