Absinthe Laws – Is Absinthe Legal or Illegal in the US

Remember Prohibition? You know, gangsters, molls, and speakeasies in the roaring twenties? Yeah, sure you do! But did you know that prohibition was still in effect until late last year for one very special drink? Now it is legal to buy absinthe online

That’s right – until November 2007, absinthe – the favorite target of temperance campaigners – was still off limits to drinkers in the United States as it had been for 95 years. Although there were a few pretenders – under brand names like ‘Absente’ – they were imitations that used different ingredients, preserving legality.

But why was it illegal for so long? Absinthe was a victim of its own popularity. In the 19th century a craze for absinthe sprang up in France. Devotees argued that absinthe produced a more lucid and pleasant effect than mere drunkenness. Poets and artists claimed it gave superior creative powers, and soon all Europe was drinking it. By the end of the 19th century, France consumed more absinthe than wine!

Any popular fad creates its own backlash, and a few scientists became famous by ‘proving’ absinthe was dangerous using quite dubious experiments. Temperance campaigners – with the help of wine makers, who were losing money – seized on this ‘evidence’ and demanded its ban. Belgium obliged in 1906, and the Swiss followed in 1907 – by writing it into their constitution!

Following suit, the USA made absinthe illegal in 1912. Then World War 1 became the chief concern; but soon after, temperance campaigners got back to work. 1920 saw the passage of the 18th amendment, banning all alcohol inside the US for 13 long years. Prohibition was repealed in 1933, but absinthe was to spend another 75 years ‘in jail’.

But last year the absinthe laws were relaxed and now the manufacture and sale of absinthe is legal once more. To be sold in the US, Absinthe must be free of Thujone, a chemical reputed – incorrectly – to be responsible for absinthe’s unique properties. In fact, although the chemical is present in wormwood, very little survives the distillation process and both vintage and modern versions of absinthe pass the test.

You needn’t worry if you’re on holiday abroad and buy some absinthe either – the EU regulations for absinthe are the same as in America, meaning you won’t run into any problems bringing the bottle back into the USA.