Absinthe Effects – Lucid Effects of Absinthe

Absinthe has a unique mystique among drinkers. Some of this stems for the almost century-long ban on its manufacture and sale, but even in its heyday it was beloved of poets and artists, who wrote and painted in praise of the ‘green fairy’. What makes absinthe so special?

First introduced as a preventive for malaria among French soldiers serving in Africa, Absinthe soon became hugely popular in France. Adherents of the drink claimed it produced a ‘lucid drunk’, quite different from the normal effects of alcohol – but perhaps even more disturbing.

As Oscar Wilde observed to his friend Ada Leverson: “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.” When questioned further, Wilde launched into a discussion of metaphysics and the Victorian top hat, making us wonder if perhaps he should have stopped at the second glass.

Nevertheless, absinthe was popular with numerous other creative types. Poets celebrated the ‘absinthe glow’ – when mixed with sugar and water (the traditional way to drink), absinthe turns from a deep green to a milky opal shot through with green flashes, as the flavor chemicals react with the mixer to form what is known as the louche.

Artists of all kinds enjoyed the relaxing effects of absinthe, as the relaxing effects of the alcohol combined with the mysterious stimulant powers of the drink. Many claimed that an ‘absinthe fairy’ had come to help them with their creative work, celebrating this alcoholic muse in painting, poetry and prose. Van Gogh was a notable fan, and even artists who were not enchanted by the absinthe fairy, such as the painters Manet and Degas, directly took the drink as a subject.

In 1907 Absinthe was banned in Switzerland – by constitutional amendment, no less – artist Albert Gantner painted a critical poster depicting the green fairy lying dead, slain by pointy-headed moralists while the defeated spirit of Swiss freedom slumps dejectedly in the background.

If you’re curious about how a mere drink can stir such passions, there’s never been a better time to find out. Last year, for the first time in 95 years, the manufacture and sale of absinthe in the USA became legal again!