Let’s All Welcome “The Green Fairy!”

photography by androog

Lately everything we see on television or on billboards has something do with the environment. You’ve seen and heard about, the “lets keep it green campaign.” I’m sure we are all for it, keeping emissions down with your car, turning off a light in a room you’re not using, or powering down your computer. Let’s all keep the environment healthy and go green! Well, why not add one more variable to the cause, let’s go green with our alcohol!

If you haven’t heard, as of December 2007 absinthe is now legal in the United States. Absinthe is the infamous spirit for which the famous artist Van Gogh eagerly consumed one night, started to hallucinate, (I assume at this point had one really bad trip) and promptly cut off his ear. And it’s color bares beautiful shades of green.

Absinthe is a distilled alcoholic spirit that usually has an anise flavored characteristic with some other herbs depending on the blenders discretion. The main ingredient that makes absinthe so distinct is the use of a medicinal plant called grand wormwood. It was believed for many decades that absinthe has some kind of hallucinative effect on people that made them delusional or psychotic. Which in turn led to several countries prohibiting the sale and consumption of it, including the good ‘ol USA. It has been banned since 1912.

Of course through time and evolution of distillation practices, and several studies, it is known that absinthe won’t make you hallucinate. However its legend has been written and for the last century people have searched the globe to find a bottle for themselves. A perfect scenario would be in the classic film Eurotrip where a group of freshly minted graduates take a european vacation for the summer and consume absinthe for the first time. One character starts having a conversation with an imaginable green fairy and two siblings(twins I might add) unknowingly start making out with each other. Oh what a night to remember!

Now I can’t speak to having done anything like that but I have consumed absinthe before and nothing extraordinary happened to me. It was one of those things on my list that I have always wanted to do. I had to fly to France to try it. And with it being so widely available now, it should be easy to find if you should have any inkling to try it.

The first American made absinthe is made in the Bay Area by St. George Spirits in Alameda, CA. Legend still holds true that absinthe is popular, they sold out of their first allocation within the month. So in keeping with the times (old and new), we can all go green with the likes of Van Gogh, Picasso, Hemingway and Oscar Wilde. All were known to drink absinthe. As far as being relevant like they were…absinthe can only do so much.