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. Writers and artists claimed that Absinthe gave them their genius and their inspiration and many pieces of art of the time feature Absinthe or Absinthe drinkers. The Belle Epoque period of history was popular as the hey day for Absinthe.
Absinthe, also famous as Absynthe, is a strong liquor manufatured from herbs and essential oils. An extract from the plant wormwood or artemisia absinthium is the essential ingredient of Absinthe. Wormwood gives Absinthe its characteristic bitter taste whereas herbs such as aniseed, anise and fennel give the spirit it’s anise flavor.
Thujone, a chemical found in wormwood oil, was thought to be psychoactive and to give psychedelic effects, cause hallucinations and eventually insanity. The prohibition campaigners ammunition get Absinthe banned in France in 1915. The buying or selling of Absinthe was banned. It was banned in many other countries also. The Green Fairy was always sold 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. The another substitute of Absinthe was Ricard.
As bootleg absinthe was still distilled and sold in several nations which showed that the distilling of Absinthe is existing there.
Being home of Absinthe Switzerland had to wait until 2005 for Absinthe’s 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 give effects to the Absinthe preparation ritual.
Absinthe contains minute quantities of thujone which cannot harm anyone so it is not banned in most of the nations. Absinthe is much higher in alcohol than other spirits such as whisky and vodka but was never designed to drink neat. The clouding that happens when the water mixes with the alcohol can be enjoyed by mixing it with iced water.
The real wormwood Absinthe and the essences are available on the sites to make own bottled Absinthe.com.