For about a year now in America, we’ve been able to buy once forbidden fruit — Absinthe — the green liquor of 19th Century legend. So I wondered if the recent legalization of the drink had resulted in a renewal of absinthe culture in this country. I also wondered what the big deal might be. Is it really hallucinogenic, as so many people claim?
To run down a little of the history of the spirit, Absinthe is a green, anise flavored liquor derived from wormwood which in turn contains Thujone — a purportedly psychoactive substance. In the late 1800s the beverage was very popular, particularly amongst artists, writers, and other cultural luminaries in Europe — mostly in France. Not long thereafter, in the early 20th Century, the temperance movement coupled with questionable research as to the effect of Thujone began to create a negative perception of absinthe and its supposed effect on those who drank it. Some merely claimed that absinthe addicts were “sodden and benumbed.” (more…)