Absinthe originated in Switzerland in the late 18th century as an alcoholic drink derived from botanicals like grande wormwood (Artemisia absinthium), anise, and fennel. The drink was first commercialized in the early 19th century in France and other parts of Europe. By the mid-19th century, absinthe had become enormously popular, especially among artists and intellectuals working in bohemian circles in France and other countries. The drink earned a somewhat mystical and hallucinogenic reputation due to its high alcohol content and the active compound thujone contained in grande wormwood. However, scientific studies have found that most vintage absinthes produced in the 19th century actually contained only trace amounts of thujone that would not have caused mind-altering effects.
Global Absinthe: The Rise of Absinthe in France
By the 1860s and 1870s, absinthe had become the most popular alcoholic drink in France, outstripping wine and other beverages. It was especially beloved by artists and intellectuals like Ernest Hemingway, Charles Baudelaire, Pablo Picasso, Vincent Van Gogh, and Edgar Allen Poe. Absinthe houses or bars emerged across French cities, serving the emerald-hued drink in elaborate rituals that involved specialty absinthe glasses, ornate absinthe fountains, sugar cubes, and ice water. The heyday of absinthe even inspired a famous 1875 painting by French artist Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec called “At the Moulin Rouge.” Absinthe became a French cultural icon, representing La Belle Époque or “The Beautiful Era.” However, it also acquired a somewhat bohemian and rebellious reputation as France entered a period of moral reaction in the late 19th century.
Global Absinthe: The Rise of Absinthe Across Europe
From France, absinthe spread throughout Europe during the late 19th century as the drink rose to new peaks of popularity. In countries like Spain, Italy, Germany, Austria, Bohemia, and Switzerland, the Emerald Fairy or Green Fairy as absinthe became known, was embraced by artistic communities. Absinthe houses opened across major European cities, fueling the creative output of many renowned modernist writers, painters, poets, and musicians. Swiss-produced absinthes even became extremely popular exports. The milder anis-flavored Spanish and Italian absinthes were also widely consumed domestically. By the early 20th century, absinthe had become one of the most widely produced and traded alcoholic spirits globally.
Moral Panic and Prohibition
However, in the early 1900s, Global Absinthe faced increasing moral condemnation and prohibitionist pressure across Europe and America. It was blamed for a wide array of social ills ranging from alcoholism and domestic violence to crime and mental illness. The growing anti-alcohol temperance movement successfully spread fears about the allegedly mind-altering and addictive properties of thujone in absinthe. Moral panics grew around the drink’s association with the bohemian subcultures of artists and liberals. Absinthe was progressively banned country by country at this time due to political and public pressure. It was prohibited in Switzerland in 1905, the United States in 1912, France and Belgium in 1915, the Netherlands in 1920, and so on. By the early 1920s, absinthe production and consumption had been effectively demonized and banned across the Western world.
Modern Revivals and Current Markets
However, the allure and mystique of absinthe lingered for aficionados. Underground production and consumption continued in some countries like Spain into the mid-20th century. Then, new research in the late 1980s questioned many of the claims used to rationalize absinthe prohibition. It became apparent that vintage absinthes contained at most trace, non-mind-altering amounts of thujone. This triggered an absinthe revival that has grown ever since. Many pre-ban recipes were reconstructed, and absinthe started being legally produced and distributed again beginning in the 1990s in countries like Switzerland, France, Czechia, and Austria. New craft distilleries also emerged across Europe and America. Today, absinthe has a robust global market as both a niche spirit and object of cultural nostalgia. It is estimated the global absinthe industry is currently worth over $500 million annually with the largest markets in France, Switzerland, the United States and many parts of Europe. While its popularity will likely never reach 19th century heights again, absinthe has undoubtedly cemented its place as an enduring symbol of bohemian cultural rebellion.
this article has traced the rise and fall of the Green Fairy known as absinthe across its development from a botanical drink originating in 18th century Switzerland to a globally popular and traded spirit by the late 19th century, facing harsh prohibition mainly during the early 20th century, and its cultural and commercial revivals from the 1990s onward into modern markets. Absinthe's tempestuous journey illustrates how spirits can intersect with wider societal forces around morality, cultural change, and political pressure over time.
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