For years and years, absinthe was illegal in the US. It was banned from American drinkers way back in 1912, partly over fears it carried effects worse than your average alcohol, and partly because its popularity made it a prime target for temperance-minded reformers. Absinthe, it seems, had outstayed its welcome and had to pay the price for being the life of the party.
Absinthe had gained popularity among the French soldiers fighting in the North African campaigns of the early 1800's. They brought their taste for the drink back home to Paris with them. Absinthe soon became so popular there that the early evening from 5pm to 7pm became known as the "Green Hour." Not to be outdone by their stylish French counterparts, "cosmopolitan" drinkers in cities like New Orleans, Chicago, New York and San Francisco started the craze for the drink on this side of the pond. Everything was coming up green fairies until about the 1880's.
The second half of the nineteenth century saw a failure of several grape crops, putting a squeeze on the wine industry in France. A study was published showing that in large quantities (the equivalent of 150 glasses of absinthe) the thujone present in wormwood could bring about convulsions, seizures and "madness." The late 1800's also saw the rise of the temperance movement, with calls to ban all alcohol. With devotees among some of the "bad boys" of the Bohemian age, men like Oscar Wilde, Henri de Toulouse-Latrec and Vincent Van Gogh, absinthe was demonized for its dangerous, anti-social properties by social conservatives. The so-called "Absinthe Murder," committed by a Swiss man who had drunk absinthe (in addition to several liters of wine and a considerable amount of brandy,) brought about ugly and undeserved feelings towards the elite's darling liquor. In America, the anti-absinthe/anti-alcohol sentiments were further fueled by a lurid anti-absinthe novel, "Wormwood: A Drama of Paris." (That the novel's English author was the Victorian Era's version of Danielle Steele, and a virulent temperance supporter, was of little matter to anyone, apparently. She had been, after all, Queen Victoria's favorite writer.) Pulpits from across America's heartland and Bible belt rang with sermons touting the evils of the "green fairy." Finally, after Switzerland banned absinthe in 1907, and under enormous pressure from the country's "common folk," the US government banned absinthe sale and production, for the "good of all."
Several other European countries followed suit, banning absinthe from their borders, including France. (It did take a military order to bring about the French ban. I guess they figured if they had started it all, they had better be the ones to end it.) What followed were nearly 100 years of needless prohibition and absinthe deprivation. Not until the 1990's did Western drinkers once again fall under the spell of the Green Fairy. Realizing that absinthe had never been banned in the UK, Czech distillers found a new market for their product. Spain and Portugal had also never banned the stuff, and quickly began marketing their absinthes as well. Americans got their first tastes of the Fairy while traveling and once again, the demand in the States began to grow.
All this brings us back to the beginning. The absinthes imported or produced in the US are different from many of their European counterparts. Even though the federal government lifted the ban on the drink absinthe in 2007, the US Food and Drug Administration still holds a ban on all products containing thujone. What this means is that most brands of absinthe sold in the US cannot contain wormwood, and therefore cannot be the "real" stuff. Several brands have been approved by the FDA for importation, and several American distillers have sprung up in Denver and California. The US Customs and Border Protection, however, still occasionally seizes absinthe, since they still consider it a prohibited substance. An absinthe "look alike" called Absente, is legal in the US. It is derived from southern wormwood, or Artemesia arbrotanum; not the prohibited grande wormwood (Artemesia absinthium) and is considered "safe for consumption" by the FDA. It is labeled as Absinthe Refined. Connoisseurs consider it a liqueur, though, and not a true liquor.
So, is your absinthe different from the absinthe being enjoyed once again in the cafe's and bars of Paris? Maybe. If it is one of the "approved" brands of absinthe made from "real" wormwood, then no, not really. The good stuff being sold in the US isn't any different from the good stuff being sold in Paris. If, however, your Green Fairy of choice is flying under false colors as a "refined" absinthe, then the answer is a resounding yes. She's a mere pale cousin to the Bohemian queen of the cocktail hour, masquerading about disguised as the real thing when she is far from it. And you've got the temperance happy Bible thumpers of the 19th century to thank for it.
About The Author
Green Devil provides information, tips and kits on the making and history of
absinthe throughout the ages. Learn more about the allure this beverage has held over the centuries or make your own absinthe alcohol and find out for yourself. Visit online at http://www.greendevil.com/ for more information.
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