Nothing gets more questions on the bar than absinthe. Allured by the tall glass fountains and the beautifully etched green bottle, everyone wants to know what the mystery is. Absinthe is a distilled spirit made from grand wormwood, anise, and fennel. Most premium absinthes are distilled from white grape spirit although absinthe can also be distilled from grain, beets, or potatoes. But what is most important in absinthe distillation is the presence of wormwood as that it what differentiates it from other anise spirits such as chartreuse or sambuca.

Wormwood is a bush indigenous to Southern Europe and northern Africa that grows in dry regions, although now it is found all around the globe. Historically the leaves and flowers were used to cure stomach ailments, comfort pregnant women with labor pains, and better blood circulation.

But wormwood’s real claim to fame is thujone, which was thought to cause people to hallucinate and bring Van Gogh to cutting off his left ear. Thujone is what led to absinthe’s ban from the U.S. and most of Europe through most of the 20th century. But it is now speculated that their bizarre images were due to an inexpensive chemical added to enhance the green color in bargain bottles of absinthe. Thujone has been studied widely and today it is known that it does not cause hallucinations. It can kill you in high enough doses and cause muscle spasms, but fret not – you will die of alcohol poisoning first.

So what’s all the fuss about? Well, whenever you can’t have something you always want it and none of us in the States have been able to get it in our lifetimes until the ban was lifted in 2007. Furthermore, it is drank with tradition and showmanship that trumps any other spirit on the market. And it’s delicious. Traditionally it is drank in a special glass that has a little bulge or bulb in the bottom of it that measures out the absinthe. A special slotted spoon is placed on the glass with sugar cubes. Some pour the absinthe through the cubes so that they can be lit on fire and caramelized, but others claim that will add a burnt flavor to the absinthe. A special water fountain is used so that you can slowly drip the water into the absinthe. This is called louching and you will notice the color of the absinthe change from clear to a milky color. These are the herbs and botanicals in the absinthe that aren’t water soluble, so they create cloudy effect.

Absinthe is not for everyone. It has a very rich anise flavor and is very strong, that is why it is watered down. However, absinthe is a brilliant piece of modern human history from Hemingway’s favorite cocktail of absinthe and champagne to Degas’s beautiful painting of a woman absinthe drinker. It can sculpt a culture that is cosmopolitan, thinking, and brave and there isn’t any other distilled spirit that can say the same.