The “La Fée Verte” or The Green Fairy, otherwise known as absinthe, is a beverage mainly made of two ingredients: alcohol and wormwood oil.
The botanical spirit is high in alcohol (between 45% and 75% strength), affordable, and reportedly hallucinogenic. Green anise and sweet fennel are added before distillation.
Depending on the brand, the flavor can range from spicy and floral to sweet, with a hint of aniseed taste.
nvented in Switzerland in the late 1780s, absinthe became a significant threat in European bars until the early 20th century. Later on, it was banned in many countries for almost a century before making a comeback.
An anecdotal account leading to the near-total ban of absinthe from sales in the United States and many European countries was a tragic event in which a Swiss man, allegedly under the influence of an alcoholic beverage, killed his whole family in 1905.
The public was outraged, and the bans came right away. Switzerland, Belgium, and the Netherlands banned the production and sales of absinthe. The United States followed suit in 1912 and France in 1915.
10 /10 Miracle Remedy
The origin of absinthe can be traced back to Ancient Egypt, where wormwood was revered for its medicinal properties. There is also evidence suggesting the consumption of wormwood-flavored wine in Ancient Greece.
However, the absinthe recipe was first patented by a French doctor named Pierre Ordinaire as a cure-all remedy in the 18th century.
He was a retired physician who fled the country and found home in Couvet, Switzerland.
Before death, the doctor left a substantial amount of money and the recipe to the Henriod sisters’ housekeepers.
9 /10 Major Daniel-Henri Dubied
Following the death of their employer, the sisters started making small batches of absinthe and sold the beverage as “Dr. Ordinaire’s Absinthe.”
The business grew, and the drink became a bit more popular, which attracted another French expatriate and merchant, Major Daniel-Henri Dubied.
After tasting the glass, Dubied was interested in buying another bottle of it and the entire business operation. At around 1794, absinthe became more popularly known as an alcoholic beverage instead of a miracle elixir.