In early 1900s many European countries banished the strong liquor Absinthe, United States banned Absinthe in 1912.
Absinthe was not ever as popular in the United States as it had become in European countries like France and Switzerland, but there have been areas of the US absinthe liquor, 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 is often green, hence its nickname the Green Fairy, and features an anise taste.
Absinthe is definitely an interesting concoction or recipe of herbs that act as a stimulant and alcohol and other herbs that act as a sedative. It’s the essential oils in the herbs that cause Absinthe to louche, go cloudy, when water is added in.
Wormwood, Artimesia Absinthium, posesses a chemical called thujone which is said to be much like THC in the drug cannabis, to be psychoactive also to cause psychedelic effects.
Absinthe United States and the prohibition
At the beginning of the 1900s clearly there was a solid prohibition movement in France and this movement used the fact 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, as well as the allegation that an Absinthe drinker murdered his family, to argue for a ban on Absinthe. They stated that Absinthe could well be France’s ruin, that Absinthe was a drug and intoxicant that will drive everyone to insanity!
The United States followed France’s example and prohibited Absinthe and drinks made up of thujone in 1912. It became illegal, a crime, to buy or sell Absinthe in the USA. Americans either were required to concoct their very own homemade recipes or travel to countries like the Czech Republic, where Absinthe was still being legal, to take pleasure from the Green Fairy.
Many US legal experts argue that Absinthe was not ever banned in the US and that should you look very carefully in the law and ordinance you will notice that only drinks that contain over 10mg of thujone were restricted. However, US Customs and police would not allow any Absinthe shipped from abroad to go into the US, only thujone free Absinthe substitutes were granted.
Absinthe United States 2007
Ted Breaux, a local of New Orleans, operates a distillery in Saumur France. He has utilized vintage bottles of pre-ban Absinthe to research Absinthe recipes and to create his own classic pre-ban style Absinthe – the Jade collection.
Breaux was amazed to find that the vintage Absinthe, contrary to belief, actually only covered very small quantities of thujone – inadequate to harm anyone. He became driven to present an Absinthe drink that he could ship to his birthplace, the US. His dream would be to once more see Absinthe being consumed in bars in New Orleans.
Breaux and lawyer Gared Gurfein, had many meetings with the Alcohol, Tobacco, Tax and Trade Bureau concerning the thujone content of Breaux’s Absinthe recipe. They learned that actually no law needed to be changed!
Breaux’s dream grew to be reality in 2007 when his brand Lucid was able to be shipped from his distillery in France into the US. Lucid is based on vintage recipes and has real wormwood, unlike artificial Absinthes. Now, in 2008, a product called Green Moon as well as Absinthes from Kubler are all capable of being bought and sold throughout the US.
Absinthe United States – A lot of Americans are now enjoying their first taste of true legal Absinthe, perhaps there’ll be an Absinthe revival.