Most people mistakenly believe that absinthe is illegal in the United States. In reality it is perfectly legal to sell it, providing the seller has a license to distribute alcoholic beverages in their State, to own it or to drink it, providing the person is over the legal drinking age for any alcoholic beverage. In fact, most bottled absinthe sold in the United States has never been illegal.
The reason why it was thought to be illegal and banned for so long was due to a law in the early 1900s which prohibited the sale or import of any absinthe containing over 10 parts per million (ppm) of thujone the active and hallucinogenic ingredient in Wormwood an herb found in many parts of the world. Recent chemical analysis has shown that most bottled absinthe contains less than 10 ppm and always has, even in the 1800s the hay day of absinthe use. Since bottles of vintage absinthe have been analyzed and found to contain much less than this quantity of thujone. This in fact made the law for the importing of bottled absinthe obsolete. Absinthe is now returning for use in the United States by fanciers of this mysterious liquor.
If absinthe ever had more than 10 ppm of thujone it was in home-made absinthe with poor quality control. You can order absinthe all over the internet at the present time. It is not cheap at this point and will set the purchaser back anywhere from about $75 to $200 per ½ liter to 1 liter bottle.
Commercial absinthe traditionally has a very high alcohol content. 140 proof or higher proof absinthes are not uncommon. However it is possible to buy 90 proof versions of this elixir if you shop around. Let me also say that at the concentration of thujone used to make absinthe now as in the time of Van Gogh or Ernest Hemingway would have no noticeable effect on the drinker beyond the extremely high alcohol content the drink brings to the table.
I have personally sampled over a dozen brands purchased from those European Countries and Canada, where it was legally sold during the American ban due to the inability of chemists to quantify the thujone content of absinthes. Ounce for ounce it is as strong but no stronger than other similar proof beverage. I have never experienced any hallucinogenic effect from the so called “green fairy”.
Once you decide to try it you may be disappointed that you did. First, the cost if very high as I have previously stated. Second, the taste is like anisette but very bitter. The bitter taste is usually compensated for by adding cold water to the liquor via a specially made spoon which accommodates a lump of cubed sugar. The sugared water then mixes with the absinthe which causes a color change to a cloudy light green to white mixture with some of the bite taken out of it.
Finally, there is to magic in this beverage. You will not learn the meaning of creation. You will just get very drunk. Drink too much of a 140 proof beverage and it could be dangerous.
There are two warnings I offer beyond all the other warnings about alcohol usage. While it is legal due to the fact that it does not break any law that is on the books, you may run into a Customs Agent who has not yet been enlightened about the recent chemical findings relating to absinthe. More important, however is to be careful not to drink home-made absinthe as this may contain a much higher concentration of Wormwood chemicals than the commercial varieties. If you drink this you are betting your life on the skills of the maker. That’s a very bad gamble.
