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Absinthe, a French word, comes from ‘absinthion’, which is Greek. The Greeks used it as medicine. Made by soaking wormwood leaves in wine or other spirits, the resulting drink was believed to help during childbirth. Hippocrates even prescribed it for menstrual pain and rheumatism.
Initially, absinthe remained confined to the middle- and upper-classes. However, there came to be legends about its lengthy history and it was believed that the drink was hallucinogenic. As people became more economically prosperous, they indulged in the “green hour”, which was celebrated early in the evening. French drinkers soon realised that because of its high proof, absinthe delivered a punch. By 1849, the 26 existing absinthe distilleries in France were producing close to 10 million litres of the emerald drink.
Oscar Wilde, Hemingway, Picasso, Toulouse-Lautrec were all under the Green Fairy’s spell. Van Gogh drank it in excess. Back then, the effects of absinthe were felt in society like those of cannabis today. The drink was blamed for causing epilepsy, tuberculosis, crime and madness. In 1905, a man killed his family in Switzerland. People claim it was because he had been drinking absinthe and was sleep deprived. People were angry and absinthe was banned in Belgium, the Netherlands, Switzerland and Brazil in the early 1900s.
Spain didn’t ban the drink, and had a few small distilleries producing it throughout the 20th century. A Czech distiller began marketing absinthe in the United Kingdom in 1994. Many brands began to follow and produce the beverage.
Switzerland lifted its ban on absinthe as recently as March 2005. France only allows the label “absinthe” to be placed on products that are meant to be exported. If produced for local consumption, it carries the tag “spiritueux à base de plantes d’absinthe,” which means “wormwood-based spirits.”
Today, absinthe is common in bars across most of Europe, including the Czech Republic. Its herby aroma and aniseed taste have been the subjects of much controversy, as they have been reasons for drinkers to indulge.
