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General Articles and Editorials

The Proper Way To Prepare Absinthe In Society

What you see here is everything you need to enjoy absinthe in the traditional manner: fine absinthe, a glass, an absinthe spoon, sugar, and a carafe full of ice-cold water. Note: Under no circumstances should fire have any part in absinthe preparation.  This is a pointless innovation created in the late 1990’s and promoted by […]

Choosing Your First Absinthe – Caveat Emptor!

Choosing Your First Absinthe – Caveat Emptor! Probably the most frequently asked question by newcomers is “What should I buy for my first absinthe?” If you’re new to absinthe, it’s hard to know where to start.  With hundreds of inferior and spurious absinthes using clever marketing, extravagant claims, and alluring labels, the better brands are often […]

Is The Absinthe That Is Now Legal In The U.S. ‘real’ Absinthe?

(Originally published on the Mutineer Magazine Blog on 10/08/2010, and updated here on 06/05/2015) Time to drop a little nerdy absinthe knowledge on you today. Since 2007, one of the most popular arguments I’ve seen from disreputable producers and their followers is that the absinthe currently being sold in the U.S. isn’t ‘real’ absinthe. So, [...]

Absinthe Dilution Matrix

or“Nobody Said There Would Be Math!” Water, water, everywhere, and I didn’t stop to think… Ratios?  Proof?  ABV?  How does it all relate, interact, and affect my enjoyment of my absinthe?  Well… let’s not get all carried away here, since people have been managing to enjoy absinthe for some 200 or so years now. Ratios, […]

Absinthe In Context

” Absinthe is not like the other spirits …  True absinthe is pastoral. It’s crafted by distillers who take pride in their work. It doesn’t yield to fads, fashions, and buzz. And although it demands a proper process, it rewards with an experience that can’t be replaced by glitz and glam …”

Portland Leading The Green Fairy’s Return

A brief news item about the return of absinthe. Gwydion Stone interviewed.

American absinthe fans discover local “green fairy”

American absinthe fans discover local “green fairy” Fri Aug 1, 2008 12:29pm EDT PORTLAND, Oregon (Reuters Life!) – The tiny Portland distillery Integrity Spirits has put its sought-after craft vodka and gin on the back burner to brew up something in high demand these days: absinthe. Other distillers are also scrambling to fill orders as […]

Absinthe emerges from the shadows

Absinthe emerges from the shadows Absinthe emerges from the shadows The iconic liquor favored by artists outlives stigmas By Douglas Brown The Denver Post Article Launched: 07/23/2008 12:30:00 AM MDT The Viking guy — red beard, large — opened a plump sack, reached his freckled hand inside, and scooped up a bunch of twigs and yellow-gray […]

Tourist in a taste lab – taste research

Tourist in a taste lab – taste research A fascinating account of the genetic science behind why some people abhor sugar in their absinthe, and why others can’t drink it without. THE BRAIN IS THE MASTERMIND OF FLAVOR BUT TONGUES ARE WHERE IT STARTS-AND SOME ARE FAR MORE SENSITIVE THAN OTHERS. A GROUP OF US, […]

Old Absinthe House Continues To Charm

In 1918, Aleister Crowley, the British occultist and writer, composed a lyrical essay on absinthe and aesthetics titled “The Green Goddess.” He wrote his essay not in London or Paris, but in New Orleans – the absinthe capital of the United States. “Art is the soul of life,” he decreed, “and the Old Absinthe House is […]

Absinthe Books, Music, DVDs

Absinthe Books, Music, DVDs Mixologist: Journal of the American Cocktail Volume Two This volume contains articles by Wormwood Society founder, Hiram, as well as Wormwood Society members, DrinkBoy, and Dr. Cocktail. The second volume of Mixologist: The Journal of the American Cocktail features works by noted cocktail authorities Christine Sismondo, Robert Hess, Gary Regan, LeNell Smothers, […]

Crazy for absinthe

Crazy for absinthe The potent green-hued liqueur pours back into the U.S. after a long ban is lifted By Louisa Chu – SPECIAL TO THE TRIBUNE After an absence of nearly 100 years, absinthe is back — with a vengeance. The lifting of the U.S. ban, which dates to 1912, has opened a floodgate. Four […]

Talking Wormwood – Interview on InAbsinthia Absinthe Blog

Interview with Wormwood Society founder, Gwydion Stone.

Absinthium: a nineteenth-century drug of abuse

Absinthium: a nineteenth-century drug of abuse College of Pharmacy, University of Kentucky. Lexington, Kentucky 40506 (U.S.A.) / (Received May 12,1980; accepted February 28, 1981) The 1850s and 1860s in France have been described as a “gilded age”. “It was a parvenu period: get rich quick, show off, enjoy. Gamblers, profiteers, and demimondaines held the center […]

Absinthe: what’s your poison?

Absinthe: what’s your poison? Published in the British Medical Journal Though absinthe is intriguing, it is alcohol in general we should worry about. Absinthe, the emerald green liqueur associated with excess, is back in business. Having been banned in many countries in the early 20th century, its newly fashionable image, combined with global purchasing opportunities […]

The Illness of Vincent van Gogh

The Illness of Vincent van Gogh Published in The American Journal of Psychiatry, April 2002 Abstract Vincent van Gogh (1853–1890) had an eccentric personality and unstable moods, suffered from recurrent psychotic episodes during the last 2 years of his extraordinary life, and committed suicide at the age of 37. Despite limited evidence, well over 150 […]

Myth, Reality and Absinthe – The Truth about Thujone

The Truth About Thujone, groundbreaking 2002 article by Ian Hutton, demonstrating that pre-ban absinthe had low levels of thujone concentration.

Absinthe – A Review

The alcoholic beverage absinthe is recently experiencing a revival after a yearlong prohibition. This review article provides  information on

TTB’s Position on the Use of the Term Absinthe

DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau Industry CircularNumber: 2007-5Date: October 16, 2007 Use of the Term Absinthe for Distilled Spirits To: Beverage Distilled Spirits Plants, Importers, and Others Concerned. PURPOSE This circular explains the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau’s (TTB) policy regarding the use of the term “absinthe” […]

Authentic Absinthe Is Legal In The USA

After 95 years—from 1912 to 2007—real absinthe is again legally available and being imported, manufactured and sold in the United States. It’s not factually correct to say that it’s been “legalized” because no laws have changed and no ban has been lifted: absinthe has been technically legal since at least the 1960s, possibly as early as the […]

Absinthe Chronicles – AEBN

An interesting and humorous introduction to absinthe. “Live” absinthe tastings, personality interviews, historical discussion and more.

Absinthe: The Rise, Fall and Resurrection of the Green Fairy

Looming like a succubus in shadowed, febrile dreams, absinthe awaits you patiently; she knows you will come to her.  As all who explore the world of spirits—eventually, inexorably—you will be drawn to the Emerald Muse… No drink throughout history has inspired so much fear, awe and allure as absinthe.  That’s no small accomplishment considering that […]

A Glossary of Common Absinthe Terms

Special thanks to Luc Santiago, proprietor of the brick-and-mortar store, Vert d’Absinthe—for kindly providing the French pronunciation sound clips. Click on the speaker icon to hear the proper pronunciation of French terms (mp3 format). absinthEastern and Central European spelling of absinthe. In common usage in Czech Republic, Germany, Holland and parts of Switzerland. absinthe   […]

What’s Wrong With “Bohemian-Style” Absinth?

Bohemian style absinthe, also called “Czech style”, gets a lot of bad press from absinthe enthusiasts; primarily because most of it doesn’t really qualify as absinthe in the traditional sense, but can only be considered a very distant cousin. 

Choosing Your First Absinthe – Caveat Emptor!

Probably the most frequently asked question by newcomers is “What should I buy for my first absinthe?” If you’re new to absinthe, it’s hard to know where to start.  With hundreds of inferior and spurious absinthes using clever marketing, extravagant claims, and alluring labels, the better brands are often overlooked. 

The Lure of The Purple Fairy – A Parable

Imagine a world where wine was illegal; it had been banned for centuries. No one knew where to get it or how to make it. Wine has become the stuff of legend.

The Shaky History of Thujone

Look up absinthe anywhere online and chances are a reference to thujone won’t be far behind. One internet forum got so tired of constant questions about it that a word filter changes the word “thujone” into the image of a pork-chop whenever it is typed. It has been called the active chemical in absinthe, a […]

Tourist in a taste lab – taste research

A fascinating account of the genetic science behind why some people abhor sugar in their absinthe, and why others can’t drink it without.

Absinthe: what’s your poison?

Published in the British Medical Journal Though absinthe is intriguing, it is alcohol in general we should worry about. Absinthe, the emerald green liqueur associated with excess, is back in business. Having been banned in many countries in the early 20th century, its newly fashionable image, combined with global purchasing opportunities through the internet, has […]

Over an Absinthe Bottle – A Short Story

This short story by southern American writer by W. C. Morrow—chilling for its time—was published in the collection, THE APE, THE IDIOT & OTHER PEOPLE, in 1897. The stories in the anthology were originally published in Lippincott’s Magazine, Philadelphia, and the Overland Monthly, the Argonaut, the Examiner, the News Letter, and the Call, all of San Francisco. Over an Absinthe Bottle Arthur Kimberlin, […]

ABSINTHE – American Journal of Pharmacy, 1868

The indulgence in absinthe, which already prevails to a great extent among all classes of Frenchmen, threatens to become as wide-spread in France and as injurious there as opium eating in China. If a visitor to Paris strolls along the boulevards from the Madeleine to the Bastille some summer’s afternoon, between five and six o’clock […]