Absinthe: The Strange Green Spirit

I’ve always loved food and am genuinely interested in the history of absinthe and the origins of the foods and beverages we enjoy every day.

That curiosity inspired me to create AI shorts on YouTube that illustrate the origins and historical facts behind different dishes, foods, and beverages. It’s been incredibly fun and fulfilling to research, develop the creative vision, and bring them to life with visuals.

Before you roll your eyes and think, “Ugh… more AI.” I get it. But I put a lot of effort into the visuals and make it a point to research and fact-check because I want the work to be intentional—not just AI for the sake of AI.

One day I was talking with my boyfriend about some ideas for some upcoming posts, and he said, “Well, what about absinthe?”

I immediately thought, The drink with the dark past?

Interesting.

I don’t drink and rarely have in the past, but I can absolutely appreciate the murky history of a beverage or food.

So welcome to my new series, where I’ll explore the stories behind foods and beverages that have an interesting past—and share some fascinating things I learn along the way.

ABSINTHE HISTORY: WHAT IS ABSINTHE?

So what is absinthe? It’s a high-proof spirit traditionally made with botanicals including wormwood, anise, and fennel.

Wormwood gives much of its distinctive character. It also contains a compound called thujone, which became central to the controversy surrounding the drink.

Absinthe can be green or clear depending on how distillers make it. Traditionally, they don’t sweeten it like a liqueur.

As the water mixes with the absinthe, the spirit transforms from clear to a translucent green to a cloudy, milky, and almost opalescent drink.

And what makes absinthe green? Botanicals. During a process called coloration, distillers add additional herbs to give the spirit its green hue, while chlorophyll from the plants provides the color.

WHERE DID ABSINTHE COME FROM? THE HISTORY OF ABSINTHE

The history of absinthe has roots in Switzerland’s Val-de-Travers region. Historical accounts often attribute the first recipe to a woman named Mère Henriod in the mid-18th century, while they often date the first distillation to a French physician named Pierre Ordinaire in Couvet in 1792. Accounts of absinthe’s exact origins vary, however, and some earlier versions may have relied on maceration rather than distillation.

The drink later made its way to France, where French soldiers serving in Algeria in the 1840s received rations of absinthe because people believed it could help fight illnesses and kill microbes. When they returned home, they brought back a taste for the drink, and this helped absinthe gain popularity in France.

HOW DID ABSINTHE BECOME THE “IT” DRINK?

How absinthe became the “it” drink was partly tied to a wine crisis in the late 19th century. Crops were devastated by phylloxera (an insect that attacks grapevines, particularly their roots). Wine became more expensive and harder to get, while absinthe was becoming more widely available and relatively inexpensive. The wine shortage helped popularize absinthe among some working-class drinkers, although it was only one factor in the drink’s rise. The history of absinthe is also a story about changing drinking culture in France.

At the time, Paris cafés turned drinking into a social ritual. They popularized the term L’heure verte, or “the green hour,” which became the fashionable time for imbibing absinthe. Notable artists and a broad section of the population drank absinthe. But the artists and writers also glamourized the beverage, further heightening its broad appeal.

By the late 19th century, the drink had become a cultural icon. Some notable artists associated with absinthe and its growing popularity were Édouard Manet, Edgar Degas, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, and Vincent van Gogh.

The drink was also dubbed the “Green Fairy,” La Fée Verte. The name captured the drink’s mysterious and almost ethereal reputation.

ABSINTHE’S FALL FROM GRACE

By the late 19th century and into the early 20th century, absinthe had reached the height of its popularity. In France, consumption grew from about 700,000 liters in 1874 to roughly 36 million liters by 1910.

But its reputation had increasingly become fraught with ties to alcoholism and mania.

By the 1890s, the temperance movement and anti-absinthe groups were advocating for campaigns against the beverage. A turning point occurred in 1905 when Jean Lanfray, a vineyard worker, had consumed absinthe along with substantial amounts of other alcohol. He killed his wife and his two young daughters and then attempted suicide.

This caused a huge uproar, and anti-absinthe groups attributed the horrific murders to the drink. However, it’s important to note that Lanfray had also consumed substantial amounts of wine and spirits that day. Yet absinthe became the scapegoat for the horrific murders.

Within months, a petition with more than 80,000 signatures demanded a ban on absinthe. Vaud’s legislature banned the drink in 1906, and the campaign gained momentum over the next several years. In 1908, Swiss voters approved a national prohibition of absinthe, and the ban took effect in 1910.

ABSINTHE HISTORY: DID IT REALLY CAUSE ISSUES?

The compound in the drink, thujone in wormwood, was deemed the villain in this story. There were ideas that this would cause hallucinations, tremors, and other problems. However, later research has questioned how much thujone actually contributed to the problems historically attributed to absinthe. Studies of vintage absinthe have found that thujone levels were generally much lower than previously believed, with researchers concluding that ethanol was more likely to explain the condition historically called “absinthism.”

The drink, however, was very strong. Typical absinthe was about 45–74% ABV, with many traditional styles at 60–70% ABV. For comparison, most wine is around 12–15% ABV, while vodka, gin, and whiskey are commonly around 40% ABV!

Since this beverage was so high in alcohol content, it could absolutely cause some issues. But the same can occur with heavy drinking of other alcoholic beverages. Research into historical absinthe has found that, apart from ethanol, there was not a clear chemical explanation for the syndrome of “absinthism.”

THE GREEN FAIRY RETURNS

After decades of prohibition and general distrust, absinthe history entered a new chapter as interest in the drink returned. In 2005, Switzerland lifted its legal prohibition and reopened the door to legal production and distribution. Other countries also had their own rules surrounding absinthe, including regulations governing ingredients and thujone levels.

The drink is once again sold as a legitimate distilled beverage. The ritual of adding water and sugar has also made a comeback.

Today, the drink is marketed around its craftsmanship, ritual, and history rather than its illicit and dark past.

WHAT I FIND INTERESTING

This story started as a curiosity, and I didn’t think I would become so invested in the history of absinthe since I myself do not drink alcohol.

However, the interesting part was how it rose to the height of popularity and how it was such an adored and glamorous drink in social circles. And later, to be riddled with scandal and mania, is what truly captivated my attention.

If you’re looking for other historical facts and visuals, please visit my YouTube channel, where you can see some of these stories come to life. I also share food reviews and discoveries here on Consume and Devour.

SOURCES

• Swiss Confederation — “Absinthe: Swiss local product leaves behind its shady past” — history, ingredients, l’heure verte, artists, prohibition, and legalization.
• Science History Institute — “The Devil in a Little Green Bottle: A History of Absinthe” — history of absinthe, the Lanfray case, anti-absinthe campaigns, artists, prohibition, and the role of alcohol and thujone.
• Lachenmeier et al., PubMed — “Absinthe: history of dependence to thujone or to alcohol?” — research on thujone and the historical condition called “absinthism.”
• Lachenmeier et al., PubMed — “Chemical composition of vintage preban absinthe…” — chemical analysis of historical absinthe and thujone levels.
• Eadie, PubMed — “Absinthe, epileptic seizures and Valentin Magnan” — historical and medical context surrounding thujone and the neurological claims associated with absinthe.
• Swiss Federal Council — “Lifting of the Absinthe Ban” — official documentation of Switzerland’s 2005 legalization and thujone regulation.

AI VISUAL DISCLAIMER
All visuals in this article were created using AI and are intended for historical illustration and storytelling purposes only. They are artistic interpretations and should not be considered authentic historical photographs or archival images. Where historical photographs or documents are referenced, they are identified as such.