Absinthe

Résumé du document

Have you ever read Poe's, Maupassant's or Hemingway's works, examined Van Gogh's, Picasso's, Toulouse-Lautrec's or Manet's paintings, or even studied Baudelaire's, Rimbaud's or Wilde's pieces of art? Chances are you have, which means that you have also tasted the effects of la fée verte, the green fairy, i.e. absinthe. Absinthe is a mystical spirit in nearly every aspect, and it has been a muse for many artists in the second half of the 19th century and in the early 20th century. Absinthe is known for producing extreme creativity and hallucinations, the reason why many artists were fond of the beverage. It can be best described as a kind of heightened clarity of mind and vision warmed by the effect of alcohol. Doesn't inspector Frederick Abberline, aka Johnny Depp in the movie “From Hell”, use absinthe as a visionary fluid to have a better understanding of the case he is covering?

Extraits

[...] After the second, you see things as they are not. Finally, you see things as they really are, and that is the most terrible thing in the world.» This “clear-headed” feeling or this “lucid drunkenness” are often reported by artists but also often exaggerated. This effect is said to be caused by thujone, the main chemical compound in cause in absinthe, which is indeed a convulsant and can cause renal failures in extremely high doses. Thujone increasingly led absinthe to its gloomy fate. [...]

[...] green anise, wormwood (Artemisia Absinthium) and florence fennel. Recipes vary a lot and many other plants can be added like tansy, coriander, etc. Absinthe is also often referred to as La Fée Verte, or The Green Fairy, because of its typically pale or emerald green colour, the history surrounding this mythical alcohol and its French-Swiss origins. is also ironic that the spirit took the name of absinthe whereas it contains a relatively small amount of the plant, compared to the total of other herbs and the predominance of anise” notices David Nathan-Maister, director of Oxygenee Ltd, a UK-based company operating in the field of absinthe (www.oxygenee.net). [...]

[...] Very soon the absinthe spirit stopped to be a local curiosity and started its route to becoming a national phenomenon and then international phenomenon when absinthe was given to French troops enrolled in colonialism wars as a fever preventive. By 1910, the French were consuming 36 million litres every year. The preparation of this beverage is considered to be a paramount part of the experience of drinking absinthe and may have fully built that myth. Traditionally, absinthe is poured into an absinthe glass (with a dose line) over which a specially designed slotted spoon is placed. A sugar cube is then deposited in the bowl of the cube. Ice-cold water is dripped over the sugar. [...]

[...] However other herbs that contain thujone have no restrictions, like the thujone-rich sage, which is flatly considered as safe. Yet Jacob Verte asserts that “even if the customs is entitled to confiscate bottles, they extremely rarely do simply because absinthe is not a priority”. Luckily for his company since it does 98% of its turnover thanks to the US sales! Actually it is in the US illegal to produce, sell or buy absinthe but technically it is not illegal to possess or consume it. [...]

[...] Dr Magnan even argued that absinthe‘s deleterious effects were hereditary. However, it is now accepted that Magnan's interpretations were oversimplified and alarmist. Contrary to what is commonly thought, recent research showed that the pre-ban absinthes had very low thujone levels (less than 10mg/l whereas the safe limits in many countries is 35mg/l). It was actually a real political struggle ensued by the liquor industry on one side and the prohibitionists on the other. The prohibitionists were eventually victorious, forcing the passage of laws that banned absinthe. [...]