"Absinthe is special. It's the only spirit that was banned in almost every country around the world for most of a century," says Evan Rail, whose latest book is, The Absinthe Forager: A True Story of Deception, Betrayal and the World's Most Dangerous Spirit.
"The Absinthe Forager" unravels the mystery of a man who defrauded collectors at the height of the spirit's popularity. Photo courtesy of Melville House.
At the turn of the 19th century, as bohemians downed bottle after bottle of the green tipple, conservatives worried about the fall of French civilization. Phylloxera, a devastating infection that dried out grape vines, had hit the European wine industry and there wasn't as much wine to drink. As the industry stumbled to its feet, wine producers wanted customers to return to vino. That was enough motivation to ban absinthe.
Henri Privat-Livemont's 1896 poster for Absinthe Robette is considered the pinnacle of Art Nouveau absinthe ads. Photo courtesy of Melville House.
Then, there was the demonization of wormwood, one of the herbs used to make the spirit. A Swiss farmer who massacred his wife and children after drinking several bottles of wine, cognac, and a few glasses of absinthe made international headlines. It was the absinthe that became the focus of the tragedy.
Wormwood, anise, and fennel are the trinity of herbs used to make absinthe. Additional herbs including lemon balm and verbena are macerated and distilled to give the liquor its green color.
Rail knows the man he describes in his book. He was a legend in underground circles and private parties where pre-banned absinthe was the drink of choice. Eventually, he was exposed having committed nearly $200,000 worth of fraud.
The fraudster frequently posted photos of what he claimed were pre-banned bottles he had discovered, making people who had been collecting for decades skeptical. Then, a collector in the United States tasted one of his fabricated spirits and knew it wasn't authentic.
For those looking to partake in modern absinthe, Rail recommends brands such as Lucid, Jade, and St. George. He also says drinkers should be wary of absinthes that are sweetened or artificially colored.
In his research for the "The Absinthe Forager," Evan Rail tasted pre-banned absinthe, which is becoming extremely limited due to consumption. Photo by David Surowiecki.