ABSINTHE: The Second Ending of Prohibition!

Prohibition has ended. Again!
You can now legally buy absinthe. For over a hundred years, you couldn't. In some countries, it is still illegal. It was often thought of as an aphrodisiac. Doctors used it as medicine. It became known as "the green fairy," from it's green color.
Some people believed that in large quantities it could be fatal, as it was thought to attack the central nervous system.
Originally invented in Switzerland, it was banned there in 1907. The United States followed by banning it in 1912, and France in 1915.
Science eventually proved that absinthe was not the culprit that the drink police thought it was.

Herbsaint is a great absinthe substitute. It is distilled in Kentucky, but was originally from New Orleans.

The Absinthe Drip is a great showpiece for a bartender to present to his guests.
Making and consuming this cocktail will take you back to early twentieth-century Paris quicker than the phone booth in "Midnight In Paris."

Pour 2 ounces absinthe into a large slender glass, similar to a champagne flute.
Place an absinthe spoon over the top of the glass.
(An absinthe spoon is a small flat spoon with small perforations, and the fancier ones are exquisitely decorated.)
Place one lump of sugar on top of the spoon.
Slowly pour water, drop by drop, over the sugar.
The dripping of the water will melt the sugar, and consequently sweeten the drink.
It will also lessen the alcohol content.

The following quote about absinthe is attributed to Oscar Wilde:

"After the first glass, you see things as you wish they were. After the second, you see things as they are not. Finally you see things as they really are, and that is the most horrible thing in the world."