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Absinthe Day
“Let me be mad, then, by all means! mad with the madness of Absinthe, the wildest, most luxurious madness in the world! Vive la folie! Vive l'amour! Vive l'animalisme! Vive le Diable!”
~ Marie Corelli, Wormwood: A Drama of Paris, 1890
Madness! Love! Animalism! Devilry! Have you glimpsed the Green Fairy?
Absinthe, known as la fée verte, is an anise-flavored spirit crafted from a blend of botanicals, most notably Artemisia absinthium (grand wormwood), green anise, sweet fennel, and an array of medicinal and culinary herbs. In 19th-century Paris, absinthe captivated the fashionable elite, becoming so popular that by the 1860s, bars, bistros, cafés, and cabarets embraced l’heure verte—“the green hour”—at 5:00 p.m. Its intoxicating mystique, combined with its depiction in art as the drink of benumbed, inebriated souls, fueled fears of moral decay, leading several countries to ban it in 1915.
Today, science has dispelled much of the hysteria surrounding absinthe’s psychoactive properties. The trace amounts of thujone, once believed to induce hallucinations, are now considered largely harmless. Since the absinthe revival of the 1990s, many modern brands proudly market themselves as thujone-free. And absinthe isn’t just a French affair—Scotland has its own take on the notorious spirit. Mermichan (Scots Gaelic for “Wicked Fairy”) is a unique blend of grand wormwood, green aniseed, fennel seed, hyssop, star anise, lemon balm, mint, lemon thyme, bramble leaves, heather flower, and Deeside honey.
This tartan uses the classic colors of the green of the drink itself, together with the contrasting warmer colours of vintage advertisements for absinthe which were popularized in the Art Nouveau period! Madness, indeed! 💚 💛 ❤️ 🖤 🧚♀️🧚 🧚 ✨
“After the first glass, you see things as you wish they were. After the second, you see things as they are not. Finally, you see things as they really are, and that is the most horrible thing in the world.”
~ Oscar Wilde
By designer Carol A.L. Martin, this tartan uses the classic colors of the green of the drink itself, together with the contrasting warmer colours of vintage advertisements for absinthe which were popularized in the Art Nouveau period.
In French cafés, 5 p.m. became known as “l’heure verte,” or the “green hour,” signaling the flow of absinthe into the late hours of the evening. Nicknamed la fée verte (the green fairy) for its hallucinogenic properties, absinthe was the drink of choice for all, from the wealthy bourgeoisie to the working classes. The most famous of absinthe drinkers were the Bohemians – artists, writers and intellectuals. Among Absinthe’s insatiable enthusiasts were Vincent van Gogh, Edgar Degas, Oscar Wilde, Pablo Picasso, Edgar Allen Poe, and Mark Twain, who raved about the drink’s creative and poetic effects.
There are actually five main types of Absinthe: Blanche, Verte, Absenta, Hausgemacht, and Bohemian. The French “Verte”, meaning “green”, is possibly the most well-known.
Absinthe is traditionally prepared from a distillation of a neutral alcohol, various herbs, and water. The principal botanicals are grande wormwood, green anise, and florence fennel, often called “the holy trinity.” Many other herbs may be used as well, such as petite wormwood (Artemisia pontica or Roman wormwood), hyssop, melissa, star anise, angelica, sweet flag, dittany, coriander, veronica, juniper, and nutmeg.
Absinthe contains a psychoactive chemical called thujone (in trace amounts). Because of this, Absinthe was rumored to cause hallucinations and said to be addictive. As a result, during the early 20th century many countries banned absinthe. France banned absinthe in 1914, Switzerland in 1910 and the United States banned absinthe in 1912.
Today most countries have lifted the prohibition of absinthe. A few countries never did make absinthe illegal, among them Great Britain and the Czech Republic.
For more on the unique art inspired by "the green fairy," click a vintage-styled advertisement from Tempus Fugit - one of the revivalists for historic spirits and cocktails.