Absinthe, the crazy drink

Today we are going to talk about Absinthe because somehow it was part of French history through artists and Parisian intellectuals ... no other drinks have had a such romantic story and have been prohibited with so much fervor.

From ancient times until the 19th century, Artemisia Absinthium is an ingredient in many medicines. Also vermifuge and antiseptic, its applications are many.

This drug use could go on much longer if one day, a strange encounter was made in Switzerland at the end of the 18th century. An adjutant bought the formula from a doctor.
He went into partnership with his son-in-law Henri Louis Pernod who will forever be associated with absinthe.

For 30 years, absinthe remains a regional drink until the conquest of Algeria by France. Effective against malaria and dysentery, absinthe becomes popular with soldiers. When they return from Algeria, everyone starts to enjoy the drink.

The drink also moved across France for more than half a century, with its ritual of the spoon.
In 1870, the advertising about Absinthe is crazy, the artists make it their muse, the newspapers can't stop talking about it and distilleries are multiplying.

The demand and consumption of absinthe continues to grow especially with artists, it is gradually becoming a symbol of alcoholism and a vehicle for crime, tuberculosis, domestic violence and the decline in the birth rate!

In France, a decreebans the sale of absinthe in public institutions, as well as the production and fabircation in 1915.

In Switzerland in the Val de Travers, the production never really stopped despite the ban.
Today, all absinthes are available but are not necessarily easy to acquire in trade.

Sources: L'Heure Verte and Virtual Museum of Absinthe