Wormwood and Thujone

The exact origins of absinthe are slightly unclear with several different versions of events available. One version states that a Swiss physician called Dr Pierre Ordinaire invented the drink as a cure all elixir which he prescribed to his patients. It is believed he then passed on this new concoction to the Henriod Sisters who then sold it Hernri-Louis Pernod who opened several distilleries with other members of his family and sold the product throughout Europe and the US.

However it came into being, absinthe was adored by everyone from the very poor to the very wealthy. It was particularly popular amongst those involved in the creative arts - perhaps because it helped the creative juices flow, perhaps because it was the cheap and close to the thumb! References to the intoxicating liquor can be found in a large amount of art and literature produced in the 1800s when consumption of absinthe was at its peak. Oscar Wilde and Ernist Hemingway were big drinkers of absinthe as were many of their contemporaries in the UK and Europe.

As a result of absinthe's popularity, wine consumption took a nose dive during the 1800s. Wine makers along with other critics of the drink began to criticize it heavily, citing it as the cause of illnesses and diseases. They also said it caused violence. The claims were unsubstantiated however the governments of the time listened and banned the production of absinthe. Only Spain was able to continue to produce it, but the damage was done and the last distillery closed in the 1960s.

The ban has since been reversed however and the levels of consumption have begun to rise once more. With a multitude of rituals associated with absinthe drinking, the lurid colour that turns opaque as water is added and its fame and notoriety across the world, absinthe will always remain a tempting and popular drink.