![]() ![]() Their 'proof' was found by injecting it into mice's brains however, this obviously isn't how humans consume it," explains Elise, rolling her eyes. "The 'dangerous' ingredient was thought to be the thujone in the wormwood plant. Chilling posters from this time - also on display - made it clear that the 'Green Fairy' would spell certain doom for all who dared to consume it. Absinthe's consumption was soon being vigorously campaigned against by the church and the authorities. According to the museum's cultural liaison officer Elise Berthelot, absinthe's popularity didn't go down well with the wine trade, especially as the local vineyards were suffering from an insect blight that was pushing prices up. Today, at the Pontarlier Museum, a whole floor is given over to the drink. By the end of the 19th century, there were 25 distilleries in and around Pontarlier producing absinthe, providing a living for around 3,000 of the town's 8,000-odd inhabitants. Its ties with absinthe are strong, and by all accounts the town was once awash with the stuff. My journey begins in Pontarlier, a laid-back town at the foot of the Jura Mountains in eastern France. Dozens of small, family-run distilleries are blending their botanicals in the traditional absinthe heartlands of Switzerland and France. Yet for all the industry's fondness for nostalgia, it's also looking to the future, and is enjoying a renaissance not unlike the gin revolution in the UK. The moment the water is added the spirit turns cloudy, like pastis.Īlthough seldom encountered in the region's watering holes, the sugar-and-spoon ceremony is a big part of the experience at the bars and tasting rooms of local absinthe distilleries. Traditionally, it's served à la Parisienne - an elaborate ritual centred around an absinthe fountain (a large, ornate jar with spigots, resting on stand).įrom this, ice-cold water is dripped through a sugar lump perched on a slotted spoon lying on the rim of a glass of absinthe. With an alcohol content typically ranging from 50% to 60%, absinthe isn't for the faint-hearted, but in moderation it can be enjoyed just like any other spirit. It's here you find the good stuff: a refreshing spirit distilled with up to 10 botanicals - including aniseed, mint and melissa - to disguise the bitter taste of key ingredient wormwood ('absinthe' in French). However, this trip, to absinthe's heartland on the French-Swiss border, has convinced me that absinthe's notoriety is undeserved. And, while it's never been banned in the UK, it's always been something of a daring novelty - an edgy ingredient in cocktails like the Sazerac and Corpse Reviver No 2, or a noxious, flaming shot knocked back by fearless stag-do hellraisers. ![]() During the heady days of La Belle Epoque, La Fée Verte ('The Green Fairy') acquired a reputation as the mind-bending tipple of choice for Van Gogh, Zola, Rimbaud, Toulouse-Lautrec and a host of other bohemian artists and writers active in Paris. Nevertheless, absinthe is still a drink that strikes fear into the heart of many a spirit lover. I almost expect the police to jump out and arrest us for illicit drinking, but thankfully, as of 2008 in Switzerland (2011 in France) this is all above board. It was at tree-shrouded springs like this, he tells me, that absinthe was covertly sipped during the century-long ban. I'm standing at Fontaine à Louis, a spring-fed woodland fountain in the region where the drink originated, the Swiss Jura, and Yann Klauser, head of the local absinthe museum, Maison de l'Absinthe, is adding water from the spring to his own shot. The sun-dappled forest floor is thick with beech leaves. This article was adapted from National Geographic Traveller (UK).Īs I sip a cold glass of absinthe, I can't help but think my surroundings are a little incongruous. ![]()
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