Is Absinthe banned? Not anymore!

Absinthe prohibition: The most important points summarized

• Absinthe was banned in (almost) the entire world at the beginning of the 20th century.
• Since 1988, the sale and consumption of absinthe have been legal again in the European Union.

What is Absinthe and why was Absinthe banned?

In the following article, you'll find some information about the "Absinthe Prohibition." There are many rumors and half-truths about what absinthe is and why it was banned. With this blog post, we hope to clear up some of these misconceptions. We hope you enjoy reading it!

Absinthe, affectionately known as the Green Fairy, is a high-proof spirit containing the herbs wormwood, anise, and fennel. Authentic absinthe traditionally contains 68 percent alcohol and is naturally green in color. It was invented in the late 18th century in French-speaking Switzerland by a physician named Dr. Pierre Ordinaire. After a period of peak popularity at the end of the 19th century, the green, wormwood-based drink was banned at the beginning of the 20th century.

Absinthe was banned in these countries

The worldwide ban on absinthe was initiated by Switzerland. Following a referendum in 1910, the "Green Fairy" was banned there. The absinthe ban was even enshrined in the Swiss constitution and remained in effect until 2008. Absinthe was subsequently prohibited in the Netherlands (1909), the United States (1912), and France (1914). Germany banned the high-proof drink in 1923.

Why was Absinthe banned?

During the time of prohibition, absinthe was considered a drink that drove people mad and violent. A sensational murder case from 1905 was the catalyst. Mr. Jean Lanfray, a Swiss farmer with an obvious drinking problem, murdered his wife and children in a drunken stupor. Horrified by the brutality of the act, a trigger was quickly identified: the devilish spirit absinthe, as the farmer had consumed a glass of the high-proof liquor along with several glasses of wine and brandy. This was a godsend for the prohibitionists; they now had a media-savvy event that justified their desire to ban the drink. In their opinion, absinthe was poisonous, caused hallucinations, and led to the downfall of morals and social order. The only solution, they believed, was prohibition!

Absinthe as a scapegoat

The murder case was a pivotal moment in the debate surrounding absinthe's prohibition, as it intensified discussions about the drink, its ingredients, and its effects. At first glance, the story seemed to clearly demonstrate the diabolical powers of absinthe. However, the farmer had already consumed a considerable amount of (other) alcohol that evening before adding two glasses of absinthe. This fact was conveniently ignored, as the drink was already widely considered poisonous. The Green Fairy was increasingly becoming a scapegoat for all of society's problems. The wine industry, in particular, championed a ban, as absinthe producers represented new competitors in the market, whom a prohibition offered a convenient way to eliminate.

The lifting of the Absinthe ban: What happened?

Almost the entire world complied with the ban on the spirit absinthe. Only England, Portugal, and Spain resisted, so the production and consumption of the drink were never prohibited there. However, the drink faded into obscurity even in these countries, as France was its true capital. Without the support from the land of the Green Fairy, interest in the drink waned more and more.

A renaissance of the spirit of absinthe began in the 1990s when an importer specializing in alcoholic beverages noticed that there was no legislation in Great Britain prohibiting its sale and consumption. Hill's Liqueur, a distillery from the Czech Republic, subsequently began producing Hill's Absinthe for the British market. The burgeoning distribution of absinthe was accompanied by a series of articles in lifestyle magazines that extolled the drink's supposedly hallucinogenic and aphrodisiac effects. It was even reported that van Gogh's self-inflicted mutilation (he cut off his ear) was due to the drink's influence. While this is untrue, it ensured that absinthe was once again a hot topic.

Absinthe in films

Even Hollywood films have featured absinthe as a drink typical of the era; for example, in Bram Stoker's Dracula (1992), a glass of absinthe with an absinthe spoon was seen; in the film From Hell (2001), Johnny Depp got drunk on opium and emerald green absinthe while hunting Jack the Ripper, and Kylie Minogue eroticized moviegoers as the Green Fairy in the film Moulin Rouge.

The Absinthe prohibition is lifted: The Green Fairy is legal again

All these events combined created a renewed demand for the historic drink. Importers and distilleries began reviewing country-specific legislation. In the Netherlands, for example, the sale of absinthe has been legal again since July 2004, after Amsterdam wine merchant Menno Boorsma successfully challenged the ban in court. Existing laws were also amended in other countries, as legal challenges against absinthe bans generally had a high probability of success within the EU. A key factor was that both Spain and Portugal permitted the production and sale of absinthe.

Absinthe is banned, this is what it looks like today

Some countries, such as Belgium, legalized the green drink, citing sufficient EU legislation. In Germany, where since 1923 not only the production of absinthe but even the distribution of recipes for its production had been illegal, the ban was relaxed in 1988 due to existing EEC regulations. A thujone content of up to 35 mg/l in alcoholic beverages was now legal. This was stipulated in the new Flavorings Regulation 88/388/EEC, which was revised and published again in 1991 (91/71/EEC). However, "absinthe" was not explicitly mentioned; the directive stipulated that a spirit declared as a "bitter spirit" could contain up to 35 mg of thujone. This effectively meant that absinthe with up to 35 mg of thujone was also legal, as long as it was declared as a "bitter spirit."

In 1998, this regulation was also incorporated into the European Spirits Regulation. This regulation was revised again in 2008, and since then, absinthe no longer needs to be declared as a "bitter spirit" but simply as a "spirit." The limit of 35 mg thujone remained in place (EC 110/2008). Since then, in Germany, as in most EU countries, original absinthe made with wormwood is once again permitted, meaning it can be legally purchased. The thujone content may be up to 35 mg/kg. (You can learn more about absinthe and thujone in our blog article.)

What is the situation in other countries regarding the lifting of the absinthe ban? In Switzerland, the 1910 ban on absinthe was removed from the constitution in 1999, but absinthe remained prohibited by law. This changed in 2005, when its production and sale were also permitted in Switzerland. In the USA, the ban was lifted in 2007, albeit with various conditions. France lifted its ban, which had been in place since 1915, in 2011. In conclusion, it can be said that, in principle, no country still adheres to the over 100-year-old ban on the Green Fairy.

Is Absinthe still toxic?

The question of whether absinthe is toxic or not has always been debated. This question first arose because wormwood, one of the main ingredients in absinthe, contains thujone, which can indeed be toxic. Nevertheless, thujone is only harmful in very high doses. Absinthe doesn't contain enough thujone for us to worry about our health. In other words, absinthe is not toxic, which is why it was legalized again. It's important to mention that absinthe didn't contain much thujone in the past either. Historical absinthes have been analyzed, and the amount of thujone was below today's legal limit: 35 mg/liter. But what does this mean for the effects of absinthe? Is it all nonsense, or is the absinthe buzz actually different from the buzz we experience with (regular) alcohol?

The Absinthe high, or what is the effect of Absinthe?

If you're hoping to see pink elephants after a few glasses of absinthe, we're sorry to disappoint you. Absinthe doesn't cause hallucinations. But the "absinthe rush" is different from the rush of other hard liquors. This is due to the high alcohol content of over 60 percent (vodka and whiskey, by comparison, have "only" 40-45%) and the active ingredients of the distilled herbs. Wormwood (thujone) and fennel are particularly noteworthy. Fennel contains fenchone, which is also said to have certain effects. These ingredients can cause you to experience a physical and mental activation after a few glasses of absinthe. In this sense, absinthe can impair your perception, but in a more energizing way than tiring, as with other spirits. All in all, it's quite an interesting sensation; just don't drink too much absinthe, otherwise the alcohol intoxication will overpower the effects of the absinthe. You can learn more about the effects of absinthe in our separate article.

Absinthe Percent: What is the alcohol content of Absinthe?

Absinthe is known for its exceptionally high alcohol content. Indeed, the alcohol content of absinthe can be quite high, ranging from 25% in Liqueur d'Absinthe to 80% in particularly strong absinthes like Hamlet Absinthe. The traditional alcohol content of absinthe is 68%. However, since absinthe is diluted with water, the alcohol content of a glass is approximately 18% – only slightly higher than a good glass of red wine. Absinthe should never be drunk neat. Unfortunately, this is still common practice in many bars, where the absinthe is often set on fire. We strongly advise against this! (Learn more about the various drinking rituals in our shop.)

We hope you enjoyed our blog post about the absinthe ban. If you have any further questions, please leave us a comment or follow us on our social media channels.

Greetings from the world of absinthe,

Your ALANDIA Team