What is absinthe?
Absinthe: High-proof anise spirit with wormwood, often used as a rinse or a few drops.
- Category
- Spirit
- Taste
- Strong black licorice and herbs.
- Strength
- About 55-70% ABV
- Similar to
- pastis, Herbsaint
- Also called
- absinthe verte, la fée verte
The story
Absinthe was born in Val-de-Travers, Switzerland, in the late 1700s and became the drink of Belle Époque Paris. Fear of "absinthism" got it banned in the US in 1912 and in France in 1915. Modern science blamed the alcohol, not the wormwood, and the US allowed it again in 2007.