absinthe information

The modern absinthe is still stronger and created by an infusion of herbs into pure alcohol which is then diluted. This is all you need to know as making home made absinthe is highly unsafe and in most countries illegal. So DON’T ask me how to make absinthe, I DON’T KNOW.

Absinthe is also known as the green goddess or the green fairy. It has quite a cultural pedigree with such great names as: Degas, Toulouse La-Trec, Picasso, Van Gogh, Oscar Wilde and Ernest Hemmingway.

The most well known manufacture of absinthe was Henri-Louis Pernod in France throughout the late 19th century. In the early 20th Century in France it was observed that heavy absinthe drinkers had an inclination to violence, suicide and insanity. This led to the definition of “absinthism” as a new from of alcoholism and blamed on the thujone content of absinthe. By 1915 absinthe was banned in France due to the thujone related absinthism. The high alcohol content of course could have had nothing to do with the violence and suicidal tendencies! Absinthe was also banned in the USA, Belgium and Switzerland.

Absinthe has remained legal in the UK. There are many stories trying to explain why absinthe was not banned. The most likely explanation is that absinthe was a high class drink in the UK. In the UK Absinthe was not associated with the working class or down and outs rebelling so no one saw the need to ban it.

The final chapter in this colorful and intoxicating drink’s story has yet to be written. Absinthe is back in the UK under numerous banners however the first to reintroduce it were Green Bohemia with the Czech made Hill’s Absinthe. Appropriately the group responsible for the reintroduction of absinthe contained the sort of artistic free spirits that have always been associated with absinthe and hopefully always will be.