ABSINTHE MAKES THE HEART GROW FONDER: PART I

ABSINTHE MAKES THE HEART GROW FONDER: PART I

Ernest Hemingway, James Joyce, Charles Baudelaire, Paul Verlaine, Arthur Rimbaud, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, Amedeo Modigliani, Pablo Picasso, Vincent van Gogh, Oscar Wilde, Marcel Proust, Aleister Crowley, Erik Satie, Edgar Allan Poe, Lord Byron and Alfred Jarry all drank It has been talked about, written about, sung about, written about, and the subject of paintings and posters.

L'Absinthe, by Edgar Degas (1876)

 Simply put, absinthe is historically described as a distilled, highly alcoholic (90–148 U.S. proof) spirit, anise-flavoured derived from botanicals, including the flowers and leaves of Artemisia absinthium ("grand wormwood"), together with green anise, sweet fennel, and other medicinal and culinary herbs. It traditionally has a natural green colour but may also be colourless. In literature and common usage during the 19th and early 20th centuries, it was referred to as "la fée verte" ("the green fairy"). Although it is sometimes mistakenly referred to as a liqueur, absinthe is not traditionally bottled with added sugar; it is therefore classified as a spirit, traditionally bottled at a high level of alcohol by volume, normally diluted with water prior to being consumed by all but the die-hards imbibers.

Green Muse by Albert Maignan (1895)

Absinthe originated in the canton of Neuchâtel in Switzerland in the late 18^th century. It rose to great popularity as an alcoholic drink in late 19^th- and early 20^th-century France, particularly among Parisian artists and writers. Owing in part to its association with bohemian culture, the consumption of absinthe was opposed by social conservatives and prohibitionists.

By Henri Privat-Livermont (1896)

Absinthe has often been portrayed as a dangerously addictive psychoactive drug and hallucinogen by the righteous and self-righteous. The chemical compound thujone, although present in the spirit in only trace amounts, was blamed for its alleged harmful effects. By 1915, absinthe had been banned in the United States and in much of Europe, including France, the Netherlands, Belgium, Switzerland and Austria-Hungary. Although absinthe was vilified, it has not been demonstrated to be any more dangerous than ordinary spirits. Recent studies have shown that absinthe's psychoactive properties (apart from that of the alcohol) have been exaggerated. A revival of absinthe began in the 1990s, following the adoption of modern European Union food and beverage laws that removed longstanding barriers to its production and sale. By the early 21st century, nearly 200 brands of absinthe were being produced in a dozen countries, most notably in France, Switzerland, Australia, Spain, and the Czech Republic. Not so much in the United States, as I shall explain…

In 2007, the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) effectively lifted the long-standing absinthe ban, and  has approved many brands for sale in the US market. This was made possible partly through the TTB's clarification of the Food and Drug Administration's  thujone content regulations, which specify that finished food and beverages that contain Artemisia species must be thujone-free; thus, the TTB considers a product thujone-free if the thujone content is less than 10 ppm. The import, distribution, and sale of absinthe is permitted subject to the following restrictions:

The product must be thujone-free as per TTB guidelines,

The word "absinthe" can neither be the brand name nor stand alone on the label, and

The packaging cannot "project images of hallucinogenic, psychotropic, or mind-altering effects."

Absinthe imported in violation of these regulations is subject to seizure at the discretion of U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

More, including the early history and lore of absinthe next time.