The major’s daughter married a Swiss man named Pernod, who began producing absinthe based on Ordinaire’s recipe. The sisters then passed it on to a Frenchman, Major Dubied, in 1797. Upon Ordinaire’s death, he left his secret recipe, which likely included wormwood, anise, dittany, sweet flag, melissa, coriander, veronica, chamomile, parsley, and spinach to the Henriod sisters of Couvet. The concoction was known as La Fee Verte (the Green Fairy). He eventually produced a 136-proof elixir, which became a popular tonic in the area. Like many country doctors of the time, he prepared his own remedies and began experimenting with wormwood and other herbs. He discovered the wormwood plant growing wild on his frequent horseback journeys in the countryside. Ordinaire settled in Couvet, a small village in western Switzerland. Modern absinthe was probably invented in 1792 by a French physician, Pierre Ordinaire, who fled to Switzerland during the French Revolution. Wormwood had the reputation as a protection against the plague, and people slept with it in their pillows, hung it from the rafters, and burned it as a fumigant. In the Middle Ages, wormwood was used as a popular treatment for flatulence in dogs and was also known to kill intestinal worms. The Russian translation for wormwood is Chernobyl, the name of the city that was the site of a nuclear meltdown in 1986. Wormwood is mentioned 12 times in the Bible. It was prescribed by Hippocrates for jaundice, anemia, rheumatism, and menstrual pains. Wormwood is a shrub-like herb native to Europe and Asia. It is from wormwood that the terpene thujone is obtained, which has been identified as the hallucinogenic compound in absinthe. However, the real kick in absinthe is not the alcohol, but one of its principal herbs, wormwood. Absinthe has been described as similar in taste to Nyquil and similar in appearance to the mouthwash Scope.
A green liqueur, it’s extremely bitter in taste, and, at 160 proof, has about twice the alcohol concentration of whiskey. The fans of absinthe praise both its hallucinatory and stimulatory effects. Consequently, they didn’t block the return of absinthe.Īmerican visitors flooding into Prague have helped make absinthe a popular drink, as it was for Hemingway, Van Gogh, Oscar Wilde, and fin de siècle France. Czech officials were wary of restricting personal liberties in a way reminiscent of the old communist regime. The Wall Street Journal reported that Czech distiller Radomill Hill began producing absinthe and selling it in bars in Prague in 1990. The legalization of absinthe, a toxic liqueur fashionable in Europe at the turn of the 19 th century, may well be one of the more insidious evils of recent times. But with the flood of new freedoms, a few evils have slipped in as well. Would you like to support 3 minutos de arte? Our project.The fall of communism in Eastern Europe resulted in dramatic gains in civil rights and liberties. You can also find more material using the search engine. Stories Behind Works of Art: Ulysses and the Sirens, John William Waterhouse.įundamental Paintings to Understand the History of Painting: The Burial of the Count of Orgaz, El Greco.įundamental Paintings to Understand the History of Painting: The Incredulity of Saint Thomas, Caravaggio.įundamental Paintings to Understand the History of Painting: Les Demoiselles d’Avignon, Picasso. Stories behind the Works of Art: Monet and the Rouen Cathedral. Finally, you see things as they really are, and that is the most horrible thing in the world.” After the second, you see things as they are not. With his clever humor, the writer Oscar Wilde described the enchanting power of the “green fairy” as follows: “After the first glass of absinthe, you see things as you wish they were. And that is something that has contributed greatly to defining the artist we have in our collective imagination: that “cursed artist,” often drunk, who led a marginal, stormy life of “romantic” decadence and self-destruction.Īccused of provoking madness and criminal behavior, absinthe became illegal in different countries until its prohibition came to France in 1915. The myth (which probably has a lot of reality) is that many great creators drank it just before working, thus stimulating their creativity. Viktor OlivaĪbsinthe (also generically referred to as Pernod, which in fact was its most important trademark) is the drink we identify with the Parisian bohemia of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.Ī green drink with a powerful hallucinogenic effect, it was considered the “green fairy” or “inspirational muse” of poets and painters. We could make this publication thanks to small donations.
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