Dancing with the Green Fairy.

Absinthe (from French, from Latin absinthium, ancient Greek apsinthion, "wormwood") is a high-alcohol anise-flavored liquor derived from herbs including the flowers and leaves of the medicinal plant Artemisia absinthium, also called wormwood.

If you’ve heard of absinthe at all, you’ve probably heard that it is a strong, hallucinogenic liqueur banned for causing insanity in those who drink it. The reputation of this green-tinted aniseed drink has long-suffered from misunderstandings and misconceptions about both its defaults as well as its qualities.

Originally used in the mid-1800s by the French army in North Africa as a health tonic to prevent disease and purify water, soldiers brought the taste back to the cafés of Belle Epoque Paris. It soon became the most popular aperitif in France, particularly among the bourgeoisie, who referred to their pre-dinner glass of absinthe as L’Heure Verte (the Green Hour). People began turning to the minty drink less for pains of the stomach than for pains of the soul. Absinthe came to be associated with artists and Moulin Rouge bohemians. Baudelaire, Rimbaud, Van Gogh, and Picasso were devotees. Toulouse-Lautrec carried some in a hollowed-out cane. Oscar Wilde wrote, "What difference is there between a glass of absinthe and a sunset?" Soon absinthe was the social lubricant of choice for a broad swath of Europeans - artists and otherwise. In 1874, the French sipped 700,000 liters of the stuff; by the turn of the century, consumption had shot up to 36 million liters. By the early 20th century, absinthe was becoming popular in America. It found a natural reception in New Orleans, where the bon temps were already rolling. But the drink was drawing fire for its thujone content. "It is truly madness in a bottle, and no habitual drinker can claim that he will not become a criminal," declared one politician. The anti-absinthe fervor climaxed in 1905, when Swiss farmer Jean Lanfray shot his pregnant wife and two daughters after downing two glasses. (Overlooked was what else Lanfray consumed that day: crème de menthe, cognac, seven glasses of wine, coffee with brandy, and another liter of wine.) By the end of World War I, the "green menace" was made illegal everywhere in western Europe except Spain. No reputable distillery still made it.

Traditionally absinthe is poured into a glass over which a specially designed, slotted spoon is placed. A sugar cube is then deposited in the bowl of the spoon. Ice cold water is poured or dripped over the sugar until the drink is diluted 3:1 to 5:1. During this process, the components that are not soluble in water come out of solution and cloud the drink; that milky opalescence is called the louche (French: "opaque" or "shady"). A modern and more dramatic "fire ritual" was invented by a Czech manufacturer, in which the sugar cube is drenched in absinth and set on fire. Water is then added to douse the flames and dissolve the caramelized sugar. Generally, less water is added than in the traditional method.

The chief component of Absinthe’s notoriety is wormwood. Wormwood has had a long (and sometimes unhappy) relationship with man. The first mention of the herb is in the Ebers papyrus, a medical document dating to 1550 B.C. The Egyptians used it as a vermifuge, as did many later cultures, and the name "wormwood" may refer to this property of ridding the body of worms. The Bible refers to wormwood a dozen times. Again, the symbolism is of bitterness. For instance, in Proverbs 5:4:

For the lips of an adulteress drip honey,
And smoother than oil is her speech;
But in the end she is bitter as wormwood,
Sharp as a two-edged sword.
Her feet go down to death,
Her steps lay hold of Sheol.

The most well-known reference, though, is in Revelations:
And the third angel sounded, and there fell a great star from heaven, burning as it were a lamp, and it fell upon the third part of the rivers, and upon the fountains of waters; And the name of the star is called Wormwood: and the third part of the waters became wormwood; and many men died of the waters, because they were made bitter.
Legend has it that this plant first sprang up on the impressions marking the serpent's tail as he slithered his way out of Eden. According to folk beliefs, wormwood was reputed to deprive a man of his courage, but a salve made from it was supposed to be effective in driving away goblins who came at night.

After nearly a century of illegality, France quietly lifted the ban on absinthe production in 1988, and it has returned to the market with much fanfare. Absinthe is once again legal to produce and sell in practically every country where alcohol is legal, the one major exception being the United States. Despite the fanciful descriptions of visions and enhanced mental clarity, absinthe is nothing more than a strong alcoholic aperitif with a sweet aniseed flavor that can be enjoyed for its taste alone – in moderation, of course!