POST MODERN: Absinthe, romantically known as the Green Fairy, though not distilled in the modern manner until the late 18th century, can trace its roots as far back as ancient Greece. The famed philosopher and mathematician Pythagoras recommended wormwood soaked in wine to aid labor in childbirth, while Hippocrates, the forefather of modern medicine, prescribed a similar concoction for jaundice, rheumatism, anemia and menstrual pains.

A half-century later, the Roman scholar Pliny the Elder recommended absinthe as an elixir of youth and cure for halitosis, at the same time noting that it had become customary for the champions of chariot races to consume a cup of wormwood leaves soaked in wine to remind them that even glory has its bitter side. By the time of England's Tudor Dynasty of the 1500s, a sort of absinthe called "purl" was being consumed by the country's working classes.

Rumor has it that Vincent van Gogh had drunk one too many glasses of hallucinogenic absinthe when he hacked off his ear and gave it to a prostitute. Ever since then the magical green liqueur, known for its unique psychoactive properties and bitter licorice flavor, has had a dark & mysterious reputation. Absinthe was banned in most of Europe and the U.S. for nearly a century because of it’s reputation for inducing madness.

The European connection:
With the formation of the European Union and lobbying by European distillers, absinthe has re-achieved legal status in the U.S. and across the pond.

So why all the hype about absinthe to begin with? It’s not your average 140-proof drink. Absinthe is derived from the wormwood plant, which contains a psychoactive oil called thujone that produces what’s known as the “absinthe effect.” Often described as a kind of lofty clarity that accompanies the standard drunken reverie, over the ages the effect has inspired authors, poets, and artists, including, of course, van Gogh. Many believed habitual consumption led to a subtype of alcoholism known as absinthism, or absinthe-induced madness.

The drink’s dangerous rep grew to hysterical proportions in 1905, when French-Swiss Jean Lanfray murdered his pregnant wife and two children after a daylong binge. Soon absinthe was illegal in every European country, with the exception of England, Spain, and France, and the United States banned it in 1912. A few years later, Germany invaded France and authorities made absinthe illegal.

The Fairy returns:
Despite the fact that the FDA still classifies wormwood as a poisonous food additive, some historians believe absinthism was caused not by thujone but by nasty and impure chemicals used in improperly produced absinthe. Part of the reason European distillers were able to re-legalize absinthe is that they’ve safeguarded production, limiting thujone content to 10 parts per million (mg/kg), which is “probably both safe and appropriate” says Wilfred N. Arnold, Ph.D., a biochemist at the University of Kansas who has studied absinthe extensively.

UPDATE: Absinthe is back - read more - And yes, we have it here at Absinthe Lounge!!!