Absinthe is making a comeback. After a century of being illegal in most countries (including the US), due to a “Reefer Madness” reputation, Switzerland, the drink’s original home, is going to legalize its production again.
For Swiss distillers like Mr. Bugnon, the goal is to produce top quality, high-octane, government-approved absinthe produced from Artemisia absinthium, or wormwood, a plant native to the Val-de-Travers, the region in western Switzerland where the drink was invented.
If all goes well the distillers hope to obtain an official governmental “appellation” declaring that the region produces the only real absinthe in the world. Legalization will help the Swiss cash in on the rising global market for absinthe, which can be bought easily, and often illegally, over the Internet. There are Internet sites offering absinthe recipes and sources for wormwood seed.
In addition to prodigious amounts of alcohol, absinthe contains thujone, a toxic chemical found in wormwood that was used to treat stomach ailments as far back as ancient times but can cause tremors, hallucinations, paralysis and brain damage in large enough doses.
Some countries never banned it, and others have recently legalized the sale of low-thujone absinthe, including including Canada, Germany, New Zealand, Austria, Japan, Sweden, Italy, the Netherlands, and Britain (hmmmm).
Of course, given the shadowy ambience surrounding absinthe, making it legal is removing some of its illicit panache.
Not everyone in the Val-de-Travers is sanguine about legalization in Switzerland. For Pierre André Delachaux, a high school teacher and author of several books on absinthe, the move will destroy the mystique that came with the ban.
“I want to preserve the myth that comes with keeping absinthe forbidden and clandestine,” said Mr. Delachaux, who is also the curator of a small museum in Môtiers with a special absinthe section.
“The myth is the thrill of breaking the law and not getting caught,” he said. “The myth is offering as much money as you can and maybe still not finding what you’re looking for. Next year you’ll find absinthe in all the supermarkets.”
(via Hit & Run)
Well, if it tastes like that Pernod stuff that randy brought to one of the Margie-Gras’ I think I can take a pass.
I had it once in Yokohama back in 1973 or thereabouts. Very licorice-y. I think it would be an acquired taste, sort of like Scotch was for me.