The history, and more so the mystery of absinthe is like no
other liquor, not liqueur, in the world. Known as the “Green Fairy,” and
surrounded by much propaganda, many assume the drink to be taboo. It is The Daily Dose's intent to dispel the century old myths about
absinthe.
Let’s start, where most history lessons begin, at the
beginning. Absinthe takes its name from Artemisia absinthium, the botanical
name for the herb, wormwood, which is the ingredient in absinthe that contains
the molecule, thujone, which supposedly accounts for its alleged mind-altering
properties. Wormwood infusions, used as medicines, have been traced back as far
as ancient Greece. Pierre Ordinaire, a French doctor living in Switzerland is
often credited for creating absinthe in 1792, but Ordinaire actually obtained
his recipe from two sisters, Suzanne and Margerite Henriod, who had been making
an “elixir d'absynthe” to treat illnesses for years.
Made from distilled wormwood plant, anise, hyssop, lemon
balm, and other local herbs, the tonic was incredibly powerful at 72 percent
alcohol, and gained local popularity as a medical cure-all. Dr. Ordinaire’s
elixir, at 136-proof, became the traditional proof of real absinthe. In 1797
the formula was sold to Major Dubied who, with his son-in-law, Henri-LouisPernod, started the first absinthe factory in Couvet, Switzerland. In 1805, the
famous Pernod Fils distillery expanded and opened in Pontarlier, France to
avoid customs taxes between Switzerland and France. By 1905, there were
hundreds of distilleries in all corners of France producing absinthe.
The popularity of absinthe can be attributed to French
soldiers who’d acquired a taste for the elixir when it was dispensed to them
during the French campaigns of the 1840s in North Africa, to fight off water
born diseases. The French soldiers brought their taste for the beverage back to
the cafes of Paris. It was then that absinthe gained mass popularity.
From the mid 19th century onwards absinthe became associated
with bohemian Paris and featured frequently in the paintings of such artists as
Manet, Van Gogh and Picasso. When they were not painting it, they were drinking
it in large quantities, joined by contemporary poets such as Baudelaire,
Rimbaud and Verlaine.
Initially a drink for bohemian artists who often hung at the
Parisian cafes, absinthe soon became fashionable amongst the upper class, the
bourgeoisie. Absinthe’s popularity was so powerful that the bourgeoisie
literally created a time between 5 p.m. to 7 p.m., known as the “Green Hour,”
in which this upper echelon of Parisian society would partake in the drink.
Between 1876 and 1900 the annual consumption in France had
rocketed from 265,000 gallons to a staggering 554,000,000 gallons. And with the
increase in consumption, so to did the production of absinthe. Absinthe
production grew so much that it became cheaper than wine. So, if absinthe was
so popular, why was it banned? Check out part two for the answer to this
question and the history of the resurgence of absinthe back into today’s
market.
