During the early 1900s many European countries banned the strong liquor Absinthe, United States banned Absinthe in 1912.
Absinthe was never as popular in the United States as it was in European countries just like France and Switzerland, but there have been areas of the US, like the French portion of New Orleans, where Absinthe was served in Absinthe bars.
Absinthe is actually a liquor created from herbs just like wormwood, aniseed and fennel absinthliquor. It is usually green, hence its nickname the Green Fairy, and possesses an anise taste.
Absinthe is definitely an intriguing concoction or recipe of herbs that behave as a stimulant and alcohol and other herbs that act as a sedative. It’s the essential oils on 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 said to be similar to THC in the drug cannabis, to be psychoactive also to cause psychedelic effects.
Absinthe United States and also the ban
At the beginning of the 1900s there was clearly a solid prohibition movement in France and this movement used the fact that Absinthe was linked to the Bohemian culture of Montmartre – with its writers, artists and the courtesans and loose morals of establishments such as the Moulin Rouge, and also the allegation that an Absinthe drinker murdered his family, to dispute for a prohibition on Absinthe bonuses. They stated that Absinthe could well be France’s ruin, that Absinthe was obviously a drug and intoxicant that would drive everyone to insanity!
The United States followed France’s example and prohibited Absinthe and drinks containing thujone in 1912. It became outlawed, a crime, to get or sell Absinthe in the USA. Americans either were forced to concoct their own homemade recipes or travel to countries like the Czech Republic, where Absinthe remained legal, to enjoy the Green Fairy.
Many US legal experts debate that Absinthe was not ever banned in the US and that when you look very carefully to the law and ordinance you will find that only drinks that contains over 10mg of thujone were banned. However, US Customs and police wouldn’t allow any Absinthe shipped from abroad to get into the US, simply thujone free Absinthe substitutes were permitted.
Absinthe United States 2007
Ted Breaux, a local of New Orleans, runs a distillery in Saumur France. He’s utilized vintage bottles of pre-ban Absinthe to investigate Absinthe recipes also to create his very own classic pre-ban style Absinthe – the Jade collection.
Breaux was amazed to find that the vintage Absinthe, in contrast to belief, actually only covered very tiny quantities of thujone – inadequate to harm anyone. He became determined to offer an Absinthe drink that he could ship to his homeland, the US. His dream was to once again see Absinthe being taken in bars in New Orleans.
Breaux and lawyer Gared Gurfein, had numerous meetings with the Alcohol, Tobacco, Tax and Trade Bureau concerning the thujone content of Breaux’s Absinthe recipe. They discovered that actually no law should be changed!
Breaux’s dream became reality in 2007 when his brand Lucid managed to be shipped from his distillery in France towards the US. Lucid is founded on vintage recipes and has real wormwood, unlike fake Absinthes. Now, in 2008, a brand name called Green Moon as well as Absinthes from Kubler are all able to be bought and sold while in the US.
Absinthe United States – A lot of Americans at the moment are enjoying their first taste of authentic legal Absinthe, perhaps you will see an Absinthe revival.