Absinthe is a distilled, highly alcoholic beverage generally having an alcohol percentage by volume of between 50% and 74%. The herbal anise flavor of absinthe comes from the so called 'holy trinity' of green anise, Florence fennel, and grand wormwood. The true name of grand wormwood-Artemisia absinthium is where absinthe gets its name. Other herbs may be added to flavor absinthe, however it must contain this 'holy trinity' to be considered true absinthe. Absinthe traditionally has a natural green color which is achieved by reintroducing herbs after the distillation process and allowing the alcohol to extract chlorophyll from the plants, but it can also be colorless. It is commonly referred to in historical literature as "la fée verte" (the Green Fairy).

Authentic absinthe contains grand wormwood, which contains thujone. In the late 1800’s and early 1900's, thujone was the target of prohibitionists who used absinthe to focus efforts to ban all alcohol, and the wine lobby, already hurt by Phylloxera, trying to ban the absinthe which was taking over a larger share of alcohol sales in France. 'Scientific studies' of the time (which have since been widely discredited) claimed thujone caused everything from violence to insanity to hallucinations. Because of the success of the anti-absinthe movement, absinthe was banned in most of the world including the United States.

The U.S. absinthe ban actually banned any products containing thujone (although thujone is found in junipers, sage, as well as in some species of mint). In 2006, a number of absinthe historians began to try to convince the U.S. government to lift the ban on authentic absinthe. They demonstrated that thujone was harmless in regular doses, and had none of the side effects that had been ‘proven’ nearly a century before. Thujone was shown to cause convulsions in massive doses, but one would likely die from alcohol poising before ingesting enough thujone in absinthe to cause the convulsions.

In 2007, the U.S. government effectively lifted the ban on absinthe by allowing products which have less than 10 parts per million of thujone to be legally produced, imported, bought, sold, and consumed in the U.S. This amount was significant as studies have shown that most all of the true, high quality absinthes of the ‘Belle Epoch’ contained less than 10ppm of thujone.

Unfortunately, some in Eastern Europe where absinthe and thujone were never banned have used the perpetuated myths regarding the effects of thujone and significantly higher alcohol content to sell substandard absinthes. They were forced to peddle their wares based on the promise of ‘secondary effects’.

It is significant to note that recent studies of thujone as a GABA receptor antagonist have shown that by inhibiting activation neurons may fire more easily. This is what has been said to cause muscle spasms and convulsions. It has been hypothesized that this chemical reaction may be what made Absinthe the drink of choice for artists and poets of turn of the century France. The feeling experienced by many after drinking absinthe has been described as a ‘lucid drunk’. They are intoxicated from the high level of alcohol; however their senses seem to be heightened. This loss of inhibition while maintaining or heightening one’s senses could very well be how these artists found their muse in the green fairy. Had they released their inhibitions by drinking wine, they would have likely ended up ‘asleep’ and unable to practice their art. Drinking absinthe could very well have allowed them to remain lucid and uninhibited enough to let their internal creativity flow resulting in some of the greatest works of art and literature of all time.

Absinthe Timeline

1797 – The first absinthe distillery opens in Neufchatel, Switzerland. Modern absinthe was ‘invented’ by Dr. Pierre Ordinaire as a cure all elixir, although the use of Artemisia absinthium soaked in alcohol appears in historical records dating back to the Egyptians, Greeks, and the Roman Empire.

1805 – The largest absinthe distillery of its time is built in Pontarlier, France.

1840s – Absinthe is rationed to French soldiers stationed in North Africa as a water purifier, and to prevent malaria. The soldiers return to France with a taste for the anise spirit.

1850s – Absinthe becomes the drink of choice for artists, writers, and poets of Paris. Absinthe begins to show up in their art (The Absinthe Drinker by Manet)

 1860s – Happy Hour is invented in Paris as the time to drink absinthe after work. 5:00pm to 7:00pm were known as “l’heure verte” (the green hour).

1863 – Phylloxera decimates French wine crops. Absinthe grows in popularity as production expands, filling the void left by the difficult to find and largely more expensive wines of the day.

1900 – Prohibitionists combine forces with an unlikely partner in the wine lobby against a common foe in hugely popular absinthe. Their money and passion fuel their movements through Europe to the United States.

1905 – In Switzerland, farmer Jean Lanfray murders his wife and two daughters in a rage after drinking a number of bottles of different alcohols over the course of a day. Because absinthe had been in the mix and due to the growing pressure on absinthe at the time, this became known as the “Absinthe Murder.”

1910 – 1915 – Absinthe is banned in Switzerland, the U.S. and France.

2006 – A group of absinthe historians and would be producers begin work to convince the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) to lift the ban on authentic absinthe in the U.S.

2007 – On March 5th, the TTB issued its final approval, allowing authentic absinthe to be imported into the U.S. for the first time in over 95 years.

2009 - December 18, La Fee Verte (The Green Fairy) opens in Copper Mountain Colorado as the first absinthe bar in the Rocky Mountain region, and featuring the largest absinthe selection anywhere in North America.