The Green Fairy

You start the night being able to see straight.

ABSINTHE. The “magical” drink which even the great Oscar Wilde described as hallucinatory, is probably one of the most talked about spirits.  Even though it is known as a liquor due to its alcoholic content it is a spirit. It has never failed to overpower the human mind whenever consumed (or so they say), due to its herbal or its outrageously high alcoholic content. But before anything let’s try to figure out what the drink really is.

Absinthe is an alcoholic drink made from Artemisia absinthium (a plant better known as grand wormwood) and a range of other herbs such as fennel, anise, melissa and hyssop. Actual recipes vary by country and manufacturer, as has the quality of each absinthe brand. Traditionally, the drink was quality-classified as either absinthe suisse (the best grade; alcohol content of 68-72%), demi-fine (50-68% alcohol) or ordinaire (45-50%).

Today, it is thought that there are about fifty brands of the absinthe drink available, produced mainly in France, Switzerland, Spain and the Czech Republic. Absinthe is usually green, although there are a few Swiss varieties that are clear. Best absinthes are made exclusively with all-natural ingredients and have no artificial colourings added. Quality green absinthe always gets its colour from the chlorophyll released from the herbs.

Late in the nineteenth century, absinthe became the drink of choice among bohemian intellectuals, writers, poets and artists in France and across Europe. Soon, people from all walks of life enjoyed this “magical” green potion ( but let’s face it, they were all junkies ) While those not so well off, celebrated l’heure verte (the green hour) in Parisian bars as a pre-dinner aperitif. Cafe painters and poets created art and poems dedicated to La Fee Verte (the “Green Fairy”).

Absinthe was originally served with chilled water, which was poured into a glass of the green spirit over a sugar cube that was placed on a perforated spoon resting on the top of the glass. Although other methods of drinking absinthe have evolved since, especially in the late 1990s, the original nineteenth-century ritual of preparing absinthe, known as la louche, remains an important part of the absinthe experience for all serious absinthe connoisseurs. It is believed that the louche process of adding water to the strong alcohol allows the release of essential oils from the herbs from which the absinthe drink is made, particularly thujone-bearing wormwood. It was strongly believed these oils not only counter the usual intoxicating effects of alcohol, but also bring the mind to a peculiar state of alertness, enhance one’s sensory perception and even unlock hidden creative powers — hence absinthe’s popularity among the nineteenth-century avant-garde artistic community.

Celebrity absinthe drinkers of that age include Vincent van Gogh. Other painters, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec and Paul Gaugin were also fond of absinthe. Paul Verlaine, Charles Baudelaire, Oscar Wilde, Ernest Hemingway and many others writers, poets and artists also drank absinthe for its unusual effects. More recently the creative Heston Blumenthal gave the green fairy a go during one of his Great Feasts TV shows, but it ended with the fairy having a go at his head instead, as it proved that this liquid green packed more than a punch.

Absinthe was far more than just another alcoholic beverage in those days: it was the very icon of la vie boheme, even a way of life for some. The Fairy sprinkled its magical green fairy dust in America, too, where the drink was much enjoyed in New Orleans. Some could say that the Green Fairy was the “happy link” for all across Europe and America. As it was something to look forward to after hours, something which kept them all going, sadly for some, they thought it was their purpose in life (yurp… junkies!)

The Green Fairy was the victim of her own popularity causing her downfall. During the 20^th century, there was a fierce movement of an anti alcohol lobby. European governments and U.S. administrations were all pressured into the ban. Absinthe proved a relatively easy target for the anti-alcohol movement, which blamed widespread “absinthism” (a mental condition the drink supposedly caused) that caused problems to society. French winemakers also backed the calls for the ban of the “green devil”. Mainly because of the decline in wine consumption. However she was never banned in Czech, Spain and the UK, mainly due to the low consumption in these lands.

In a 1988 Europe-wide law, wormwood was re-allowed as an ingredient in alcoholic beverages. In the United States, absinthe still cannot be sold in bars or stores, although personal possession and consumption is legal.

Many modern absinthe are produced using the cold mix system. This process is forbidden in countries with formal legal designations of absinthe. Manufactured by mixing flavouring essences and artificial colouring in high-proof alcohol, and is similar to a flavoured vodka or “absinthe schnapps”. Some modern Franco–Suisse absinthes are bottled at up to 82.3 percent alcohol and some modern bohemian-style absinthes contain up to 89.9 percent. Because of the lack of a formal legal definition of absinthe in most countries, many of these lesser brands claim their products to be “distilled” (since the alcohol base itself was created through distillation) and sell them to unsuspecting consumers at prices comparable to more authentic absinthes that are traditionally distilled directly from whole herbs. So be sure not to be swindled!

And you pretty much end up seeing thing in a blur.

We hope you enjoyed this Absinthe Special! Source from Absinthe Fever

Happy Drinking Happy Fooding!!!