Absinthe in Switzerland is back !
On October 07, 2007 in Absinthe news
MOTIER, Switzerland – Absinthe, the drink banned almost a century ago as “madness in a bottle” is making a comeback. The Swiss, who invented absinthe, legalized it this month, hoping to boost a sluggish regional economy and drag a generation of bootleg distillers into the 21st century. Known in France as the “Green Fairy” because of its color, absinthe was banned in much of Europe in the early 20th century, when heavy consumption of the bitter aniseed-flavored tipple was linked to hallucinations, violence and depression.
The Dutch painter Van Gogh is reputed to have sliced off his ear while under the influence. Fellow artists Picasso and Toulouse-Lautrec were also devotees, as were the writers Ernest Hemingway and Oscar Wilde.
But the Swiss, who outlawed it in 1910, laud the high-alcohol drink as a folk remedy and aperitif, and boast that they have never stopped drinking it despite the ban. On March 1, the day the ban was lifted, local distillers gathered in the village of Motier in the Val-de-Travers where absinthe is distilled for a festival celebrating the local brew.
ABSINTHE MINDED
The Swiss also hope to revive the Val-de-Travers economy. In 1910, the absinthe industry employed 600 on the Swiss side of the border and 3,000 on the French compared to a handful today. The quest for jobs has pushed concerns about absinthe’s possible side effects off the agenda completely.
“In order to succeed, you should forget the past. Absinthe is rich in culture and we need to use that to our advantage,” said Bernard Soguel, a Swiss member of parliament. “We have an international audience and we need to use our history.”
The Swiss have a unique claim on the absinthe’s history and hope to win “appellation” rights to use its name exclusively. According to legend, the drink dates from 1769 when a Val-de-Travers matron now known as Mother Henriod sold a concoction distilled from a dozen garden herbs to passers-by. The most important ingredient is wormwood, or artemisia absinthium, a relative of the daisy that contains thujone, a substance similar to menthol which is believed to give the drink hallucinogenic qualities. Absinthe is a clear drink that varies from 45 percent to 70 percent alcohol and which turns a light cloudy green or blue when mixed with water.
It is enjoying a revival with rock stars, jet-setters and in trendy urban bars lured by its old world glamour, wild reputation and the drinking rituals associated with it. Modern Drunkard, a magazine which celebrates today’s drinking culture, said even those revolted by absinthe’s taste are likely to be drawn by the spectacle of drinking rituals that involve sugar, water and in some cases setting it on fire.
source: signonsandiego.com