The Dedalus Book of Absinthe

According to the Wikipedia, Absinthe "is a distilled, highly alcoholic, anise-flavored spirit derived from herbs including the flowers and leaves of the medicinal plant Artemisia absinthium, also called wormwood ... Absinthe is often referred to as la Fée Verte ("The Green Fairy") because of its coloring ... Due to its high proof and concentration of oils, absintheurs typically add three to five parts ice-cold water to a dose of absinthe, which causes the drink to turn cloudy (called "louching"); often the water is used to dissolve sugar to decrease bitterness. This preparation is considered an important part of the experience of drinking absinthe, so much so that it has become ritualized, complete with slotted absinthe spoons and other accoutrements." Beginning with the 1905 Absinthe Murders, this book offers a splendid cultural history of this most myth-riddled drink. And who didn't drink the bitter swill!? Verlaine, Rimbaud, Baudelaire, Oscar Wilde, Aleister Crowley, Alfred Jarry, Van Gogh, Toulouse-Lautrec, Ernest Hemingway and Picasso all guzzled the stuff and often penned peans to it. So, next time you fancy getting hammered, read this first, and then do it with style!
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Mark Thwaite

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