In the early 1900s many European countries banned the strong alcoholic drink Absinthe, United States banned Absinthe in 1912.
Absinthe never was as popular in the United States as it had become in European countries absinthe spoons just like France and Switzerland, but there have been regions of the US, just like the French part of New Orleans, where Absinthe was served in Absinthe bars.
Absinthe is a liquor produced from herbs just like wormwood, aniseed and fennel. It's often green, hence its nickname the Green Fairy, and possesses an anise taste.
Absinthe is definitely an interesting concoction or recipe of herbs that act as a stimulant and alcohol and other herbs that behave as a sedative. It is the essential oils from the herbs that can cause Absinthe to louche, go cloudy, when water is put in.
Wormwood, Artimesia Absinthium, posesses a chemical called thujone which is considered to be just like THC in the drug cannabis, to be psychoactive also to cause psychedelic effects.
Absinthe United States and also the ban
At the outset of the 1900s there was clearly a solid prohibition movement in France and this movement used the truth that Absinthe was connected to the Bohemian culture of Montmartre - with its writers, artists and also the courtesans and loose morals of establishments just like the Moulin Rouge, and the allegation that an Absinthe drinker murdered his family, to argue for a ban on Absinthe. They said that Absinthe will be France's ruin, that Absinthe was obviously a drug and intoxicant that would drive everyone to madness!
The United States adopted France's example and prohibited Absinthe and drinks containing thujone in 1912. It became illegal, a crime, to purchase or sell Absinthe in the USA. Americans either were required to concoct their own homemade recipes or journey to countries just like the Czech Republic, where Absinthe was still being legal, to enjoy the Green Fairy.
Many US legal experts debate that Absinthe was not ever banned in the US and that should you look carefully to the law and ordinance you will notice that only drinks containing over 10mg of thujone were restricted. However, US Customs and police wouldn't allow any Absinthe shipped from abroad to go into the US, simply thujone free Absinthe substitutes were granted.
Absinthe United States 2007
Ted Breaux, a native of New Orleans, operates a distillery in Saumur France. He's used vintage bottles of pre-ban Absinthe to analyze Absinthe recipes and also to create his own classic pre-ban style Absinthe - the Jade collection.
Breaux was amazed to discover that the vintage Absinthe, as opposed to belief, actually only comprised very tiny quantities of thujone - inadequate to harm anyone. He became serious to present an Absinthe drink that he could ship to his homeland, the US. His dream would be to once more see Absinthe being used in bars in New Orleans.
Breaux and lawyer Gared Gurfein, had many meetings with the Alcohol, Tobacco, Tax and Trade Bureau with regards to the thujone content of Breaux's Absinthe recipe. They found that actually no law needed to be changed!
Breaux's dream became reality in 2007 when his brand Lucid managed to be shipped from his distillery in France into the US. Lucid is based on vintage recipes and has real wormwood, unlike fake Absinthes. Now, in 2008, a brand called Green Moon as well as Absinthes from Kubler are all capable of being traded in within the US.
Absinthe United States - A lot of Americans are now enjoying their first taste of real legal Absinthe, perhaps there will be an Absinthe revival.
