In early 1900s many countries in europe banned the strong liquor 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 such as France and Switzerland, but there initially were parts of the US, like the French section of New Orleans, where Absinthe was served in Absinthe bars.
Absinthe is actually a liquor created 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 surely an intriguing concoction or recipe of herbs that behave as a stimulant and alcohol and other herbs that behave as a sedative. It is the essential oils on the herbs that cause Absinthe to louche, go cloudy, when water is put in.
Wormwood, Artimesia Absinthium, contains a chemical called thujone which is considered to be much like THC in the drug cannabis, to be psychoactive also to cause psychedelic effects.
Absinthe United States and also the ban
At the start of the 1900s clearly there was a strong prohibition movement in France and this movement used the reality that Absinthe was connected to the Bohemian culture of Montmartre – with its writers, artists and 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 claimed that Absinthe could well be France’s ruin, that Absinthe was a drug and intoxicant that could drive everyone to madness!
The United States followed France’s example and restricted Absinthe and drinks containing thujone in 1912. It became illegal, a crime, to get or sell Absinthe in the USA. Americans either had to concoct their very own homemade recipes or travel to countries just like the Czech Republic, where Absinthe was still being legal, to take pleasure from the Green Fairy.
Many US legal experts debate that Absinthe was never banned in the US and that should you look very carefully into the law and ordinance you will see that only drinks containing over 10mg of thujone were restricted. However, US Customs and police won’t allow any Absinthe shipped from abroad to go into the US, only thujone free Absinthe substitutes were permitted.
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 also to create his very own classic pre-ban style Absinthe – the Jade collection.
Breaux was amazed to discover that the vintage Absinthe, in contrast 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 homeland, the US. His dream would be to once again see Absinthe being consumed in bars in New Orleans.
Breaux and lawyer Gared Gurfein, had a lot of 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 should be changed!
Breaux’s dream grew to be reality in 2007 when his brand Lucid managed to be shipped from his distillery in France to the US. Lucid is founded on vintage recipes and possesses real wormwood, unlike fake Absinthes. Now, in 2008, a product called Green Moon as well as Absinthes from Kubler are all able to be bought and sold inside the US.
Absinthe United States – A lot of Americans at the moment are enjoying their first taste of real legal Absinthe, perhaps you will see an Absinthe revival.