Drinks in History - absinthe’s

THE AGE OF ABSINTHE

Donna Hoke

Well over a century ago in Paris, the Green Hour began at five o’clock, and those who observed it took a drink of absinthe, perhaps their first of several. Today, whether you stay true to the five o’clock ritual or prefer the more relaxed idea of “it’s five o’clock somewhere,” you still know that drinking this potent and mysterious spirit would have—were you born in a different time and place—put you in the company with the likes of Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, Pablo Picasso, Oscar Wilde, Vincent Van Gogh, Ernest Hemingway, and Aleister Crowley, to name a few. Indeed, the Green Muse was an apt nickname for the beverage said to inspire and favored by artists, bohemians, and “bad boys.”

First concocted in late-eighteenth century Switzerland, absinthe was intended as medicine, a cure for all that ails you, but most commonly digestive issues, including eradication of parasites—eww. When the aperitif found its way into the French military ranks as a treatment for malaria and dysentery, the men there soon deemed the high-proof kick of the fragrant green beverage a benefit all on its own. Not surprisingly, when these soldiers returned to France, they introduced absinthe to their home country. In 1805, Henry-Louis Pernod’s second eponymous distillery became the first to produce absinthe in France, though less pure products were necessary to satisfy proliferating consumer demand.

The more absinthe was used, the more it was also abused. A collection of symptoms—hallucinations, tremors, convulsions, sleeplessness—determined to result from habitual use were given a name: Absinthism. Absinthe drinking was also blamed for epilepsy, tuberculosis, and madness; indeed, Van Gogh’s self-mutilation was said to be absinthe-induced. When a man named Jean Lanfray killed his pregnant wife and children in a fit of drunken rage, rumored to have been fueled in small part by absinthe, Switzerland became the first country to ban the drink in 1908.

The United States and most of Europe—spurred on by religious and temperance movements, and backed by competitive liquor and wine interests—were quick to follow suit.

Nonetheless, the stories of absinthe’s hallucinogenic properties, its contraband status, and its celebrity endorsement ensured that absinthe maintained its mystique and a life underground, even after the bans. In France, an anise-based substitute called pastis became popular, but in countries that hadn’t made absinthe illegal—namely, England, Czechoslovakia, Spain, and Portugal— manufacturing continued.

After about a century spent underground, BBH Spirits saw an opportunity and began importing absinthe to the UK, prompting a renaissance. As it turns out—and as research has shown—absinthe isn’t the bane of all evil after all. The word absinthe derives from the Latin name Artemisia absinthium, more commonly known as wormwood, the primary herb used in the manufacture of the anise-flavored quaff. Wormwood contains thujone, which in large quantities, thousands of glasses to humans, causes seizures in lab animals. The amount found in absinthe survives distillation as no more than a trace impurity of the same ingredient you’d find in your spice cabinet; yes, sage and tarragon both contain thujone. As for all those other absinthism symptoms? One needs only to research advanced alcoholism and alcohol poisoning to discern their true cause.

The unexciting truth about the green fairy hasn’t stopped the continued mystique surrounding the absinthe fountain. These days, the aromatic flavor and the ritualistic method of drinking—with a slotted spoon holding a sugar cube while water is dripped over it—convey a club-like status that continues to fascinate, even long after the myths about it have been dispelled. Well, you will never know until you try it. What’s the worst that can happen? HOW DO YOU DO IT

Pour approximately one shot of absinthe into a tall glass. Balance your absinthe spoon on top of the glass and place a sugar cube on top of it. Slowly drizzle three pours worth of chilled water over the cube. The absinthe will immediately begin to turn white or a pearly-gray color. Slowly sip the green, savor the herbs, see if the mythological effects kick in!