The Absinthe fairy was used on Absinthe label and posters. The film Moulin Rouge showed Absinthe, the Green Fairy as the favorite drink of artists and writers.
Absinthe Fairy Followers
Famous devotees of La Fee Verte, the Green Fairy, were Vincent Van Gogh, Pablo Picasso, Charles Baudelaire, Paul Gauguin, Oscar Wilde and Ernest Hemingway who created his own Absinthe cocktail “Death in the Afternoon” – a mix of Absinthe and champagne. Many pieces of art of the time feature Absinthe or Absinthe drinkers and writers and artists also said that Absinthe gave them their genius and their inspiration. The Belle Epoque period of history is known as the hey day for Absinthe.
Herbs and essential oils are used to make Absinthe. The herb wormwood is it’s vital ingredient which is an extract of the plant wormwood or artemisia absinthium. The bitter taste of Absinthe comes from wormwood and it’s anise taste from herbs like aniseed, anise and fennel.
Thujone, a chemical found in wormwood oil, was thought to be psychoactive and to give psychedelic effects, cause hallucinations and eventually insanity. Absinthe was banned by prohibition campaigners ammunition in France because of the loose characters of the drinkers in Montmartre. One had no right to buy or sell Absinthe. Several other countries also restricted it. The Green Fairy was not banned in Spain, Portugal, the UK and the Czech Republic.
Absinthe Fairy and Prohibition
During the prohibition period, distilleries, such as the Pernod Fils distillery, started producing Absinthe substitutes such as Pernod Pastis to market to the people who were missing the anise flavor of Absinthe. Ricard was among the Absinthe substitutes.
In most of the countries bootleg absinthe was still available after distillation which focused that Absinthe distillation process has never been disappeared.
In the 1990s Absinthe was made legal in many countries, although Switzerland, home of Absinthe, had to wait until 2005 for legalization. You can now buy Absinthe and Absinthe essence kits online along with Absinthiana such as glasses, spoons and fountains. Drinking Absinthe out of a special antique or replica glass with a proper spoon really adds to the Absinthe preparation ritual.
As per studies the thujone content in Absinthe is very less so it was not restricted in many countries. Absinthe was never designed to drink neat though having high alcohol content. To enjoy La Louche a person should mix it with iced water.
You can order real wormwood Absinthe from many websites and essences to make your own bottled Absinthe are available from AbsintheKit.com.
