The history of absinthe – the path from fairy to witch and back

Perhaps there is no other drink with which so many stories and legends are associated. Neither golden-sun cider, nor noble wine, nor simple ale have ever been the cause of so many scandals and public discussions. A favorite alcoholic drink of poets and half-starved artists who have lost their muse, the cause of mental disorders and an inexhaustible source of inspiration, a healing elixir and a terrible poison “in one bottle” – what is absinthe really?

Initially – just an alcoholic tincture on bitter herbs. Strong alcohol helps the body fight colds and minor infections, and essential oils of wormwood, anise, lemon balm, licorice and other medicinal plants are also useful in moderation. It is not surprising that absinthe was once considered a panacea for all ailments, from a sore stomach to chronic fatigue syndrome.

Absinthe tastes, to put it mildly, not sugar. Few people like the characteristic wormwood flavor – if only the poets of the Silver Age, for whom suffering was a joy. The recipe for the drink is not standardized: different manufacturers may contain chamomile, veronica, parsley, hyssop, coriander, fennel and anything else. Only the base remains unchanged – bitter wormwood and anise.

The first herbal tinctures appeared in Ancient Greece – the then sons of the god Asclepius (patron saint of medicine and healing) very successfully prescribed them to patients of all stripes, and the winner of chariot races was obliged to drink a cup of a bitter drink so as not to forget the real taste of his triumph.

But under such unsuccessful conditions, absinthe became the number one alcohol in France in the mid-XNUMXth century, the favorite drink of the poor, intellectuals and bohemians at the same time. Famous admirers of absinthe were Vincent Van Gogh, Oscar Wilde, Claude Monet, Pablo Picasso, Rembrandt, Edgar Degas, Charles Baudelaire.

There was even the term “absinthe”, meaning not a fine specialist of green essence, but a person who cannot cope with the addiction to this devilish potion.

The appearance of absinthe: how it all began

Quite decent at first. The respectable sisters of Enrio in a small Swiss town in 1792 invented a cure for the common cold and sold it through their doctor friend Pierre Ordiner. According to another version, Aesculapius himself was the inventor of the drink, this does not change the essence – absinthe was intended only for medicinal purposes and no other.

Initially, absinthe was transparent (colorless distillates), herbal supplements give a green color. Depending on the chosen dye, you can find absinthe of other colors: blue, red, yellow …

A strong elixir (55-86 degrees – no joke!) Was poured into dark glass bottles and transported to pharmacies. Transparent containers were not suitable, because if light fell on the chlorophyll contained in the mixture, the liquid began to rapidly “fade”.

Why is absinthe called the “green fairy”

The name “La Fee Verte” (“green fairy”) was given to absinthe by Pierre Ordiner. The name appeared not in a fit of romantic feelings, but as a thoughtful commercial move. In the XNUMXth century, most of the European population believed in otherworldly forces. On the one hand, the fairy personified magic and magic, on the other, female beauty.

Absinthe was positioned as a cure for all diseases, and the fairy on the label made people believe in the supernatural nature of the drink. Men of that time believed that absinthe enhances sexual desire and helps in seducing women (again, because of the image of a liberated fairy who would not refuse to taste a glass or two). The sellers did not begin to convince the stronger sex of the fallacy of this assumption, on the contrary, they strongly supported the myth.

Most of the medicines of that time were made with herbs and were green, people got used to this color, associating it with health. Green absinthe was considered the most useful, although in fact the shade has no fundamental effect on the properties of the drink.

The era of absinthement

According to one of the versions, the French government is to blame for the popularization of absinthe, which issued this alcoholic drink to the military during marches and campaigns to prevent malaria and other marching troubles. The soldiers got used to alcohol, after returning home they could no longer refuse absinthe. An analogue in Russian history is the “front-line (People’s Commissariat) hundred grams”, which were received by the soldiers of the Red Army in the 1940s.

Ladies fell in love with absinthe because with it it was possible to quickly achieve the required degree of intoxication – much more wine was required, and at that time every lady watched over her figure, and the corset did not allow drinking a lot of liquid.

Henri Dubier also contributed – this cunning businessman bought a popular recipe and started mass production of absinthe in France. In 1805, he even had to open a new plant in Pontarlier.

The bitter taste came into vogue and was considered exquisite – it was said that the wormwood tincture left the taste of menthol cigars in the mouth. Then someone guessed to replace grape alcohol with industrial alcohol in the recipe, and this immediately reduced the cost of the product several times. Instead of one glass of wine, it was possible to drink 7-10 servings of absinthe, despite the fact that, we recall, intoxication came faster and … more interesting, but we will return to this aspect. It is not surprising that first France, and then Europe, was swept by absinthe fever.

Sanctions and prohibition

The essential oils of wormwood contain the narcotic substance thujone. This ingredient is what made absinthe the way we know it. No other alcoholic drink gives such vivid impressions in a state of intoxication: thujone causes auditory and visual hallucinations, changes color perception. The state of altered consciousness is what creative people who have lost their muse need. Thanks to this, absinthe has become almost the official drink of bohemia.

The hallucinogenicity of thujone in the quantities contained in absinthe has not been proven. Rather, it is a hoax and a romantic halo. Alena Kovtun, sommelier at the Grand Hotel Europe.

The low quality of the raw materials used (otherwise the drink turned out to be too expensive), on the one hand, and the widespread absinthe alcoholism, on the other, led to a sharp deterioration in the health of the French, so that the green potion even had to be banned at the official level. It did not work out right away – the people’s love for the elixir was too great, but by 1880 absinthe was strongly associated with madness and death.

The unpleasant incident with the Swiss farmer Gene Landfrey added fuel to the fire. Absentier, in a state of the deepest alcoholic intoxication, shot his entire family in 1905. Since this was not the first case of unmotivated and uncontrolled aggression caused by the wormwood mixture, it became an occasion for pickets, and the government was forced to ban the drink (hardly reluctantly).

It’s funny that the birthplace of absinthe, Switzerland was the first country where this alcohol was outlawed. The first, but not the last. Gradually, the essence was banned in many European countries, and where sanctions were not imposed on it, it simply went out of fashion over time.

The ban on absinthe in European countries in the late XNUMXth and early XNUMXth centuries was lobbied not by health organizations, but by the wine-making community (mainly the French), which was not satisfied with a significant drop in wine consumption.

In the 60-90s of the XIX century, phylloxera (a miniature aphid) destroyed about 90% of the vineyards of Europe. Wine became a very expensive drink that only wealthy gentlemen could afford. All other drinkers switched to cheap absinthe made from grain alcohol.

At the beginning of the XNUMXth century, vineyards were restored. But the population was already accustomed to absinthe and did not want to return to wines, although their cost has noticeably decreased. Winemakers had only one chance to save the industry – to achieve a complete ban on absinthe. What is characteristic: after the ban on the production of absinthe in France, local merchants took their equipment to Spain, where there was no taboo.

Return of the Green Fairy

It took about a hundred years for absinthe to emerge from the dusk again. For this, we must say thanks to the popular actors who defiantly drank absinthe at the end of the now XNUMXth century, and to the common sense of the manufacturers who meekly agreed to accept the restriction on the content of thujone.

Now the mass fraction of this substance in most countries cannot exceed 10 mg per kg, although there are brands with 35 or even 100 mg of thujone. You can also buy completely “fuyon-free” absinthe, completely harmless to the psyche of any person.

Yes, absinthe has had its ups and downs. One thing is obvious: there is no other such mysterious, mystical and even fatal drink.