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Absinthe isn't just served up in movies like "From Hell" and "Moulin Rouge"; sometimes it makes its way to Chitown, too.

Tuesday Dec 14, 2004.     By Erin Brereton

Bars + Clubs Feed

Of all the parties kicking off the holiday season in Chicago, I suspect there was only one where the 70-odd partygoers spent the first hour debating whether or not they were about to break a law.

The crowd gathered in a Wicker Park basement decked out with visual projections, a DJ and some couches one warm November night to try a bright green bitter liquor called absinthe, previously banned in the U.S., but somehow being served as part of this invitation-only tasting party.

With a tarot card reader, an aromatherapy expert and other creativity-enhancing delights, the party promoters promised it would be an evening of adventure. A large paper canvas was hung near the door for impromptu sketching; snacks lined the tables and dance club lights swirled on the walls.

It was a proper Chicago coming-out party for one of history's most infamous alcohols.

The Green Scene
First produced in the 1790s, absinthe is made from wormwood and anise among other ingredients, and has long been credited with producing hallucinations and increasing creativity. Particularly in vogue in the 1800s, artists and writers from Van Gogh to Oscar Wilde were rumored to have been inspired by the drink.

However, spurred by an international reaction to a particularly violent turn-of-the-century crime committed by a man who had been drinking wine, absinthe and other liquors, absinthe had become outlawed in most countries, including the U.S., by 1923.

However, absinthe is not technically illegal in the U.S., as long as it is sold to individuals as opposed to groups, our absinthe importer/host Jacob explained as he carefully poured the thick emerald liquid over a sugar cube and into a glass. He has made a living out of producing, selling and serving the stuff from his home base in Prague.

Two weeks after he served me the first glass of absinthe at the tasting party, I grilled Jacob, then in Argentina, on the green juice.

"The substance Thujone [a chemical that occurs naturally in wormwood] is banned by the FDA, but it is not illegal," he said. "For a single person to buy it for themselves or as a gift, it's quite OK. The FDA only has power over businesses, not individuals. And in any case, their only authority is to confiscate and destroy. We have shipped thousands of orders to USA without any problems."

Jacob first discovered the drink while living in Japan; after reading an article about it, he ordered some from Prague and began researching different varieties.

When he later moved to Prague, Jacob befriended an exec at one of the local historic distilleries and began running a highly successful import/export business out of the country, where absinthe is still produced.

"I tried many different kinds and found the ones with the best taste and effect,' Jacob says. "Then I got large enough where I could have a distillery make an absinthe just for my company, in the way I wanted it. So I did a lot of research and compiled a recipe that has most of the qualities I wanted; that's our Green Fairy brand. I had them use five times more wormwood than they had ever used even in their strongest absinthes."

After Effects
But does absinthe have you seeing flying snails and speaking in unicorn? Not exactly. It's more like a very vivid drunk, Jacob explains.

"It is considered a mild hallucinogenic," he says. "You will not see fairies flying around. However, after two glasses it is possible to see slight color changes on white surfaces. The true hallucinogenic part has to do with the influences on reality. You feel drunk, yet clearheaded. You also get much enhanced creativity. This is what all the artists and poets drank it for."

A Green Fairy Holiday
Looking to give the gift that keeps on giving…hallucinations? Provide a unique drinking experience with a bottle of absinthe, which Jacob sells to individuals via his Web site, GreenFairy.org.

Prices range from about $30 to more than $100 for a bottle, and the site also offers some absinthe accessories, such as a sugar cube-filtering spoon. All orders are taken via credit card on the site and processed and shipped within one business day. If you order too late for the absinthe to arrive before Christmas, the site features a printable history of absinthe card that can be given as a placeholder until the real stuff arrives. "It certainly is a unique gift that people will remember and likely not get two of," says Jacob.

Serving Absinthe
When creating his own brand of absinthe, Jacob tried to use other herbs to meter the liquor's bitter taste, which is not unlike a strong black licorice.

To help tone down the tartness, absinthe is literally watered down by being poured over a sugar cube. "The most important thing to remember is the ratio," Jacob says. "One part absinthe to two parts water. One cube of sugar is enough."

There are two basic ways to prepare absinthe for consumption. The first and most common, often called the Water Ritual, involves pouring cold water over a slotted spoon holding a sugar cube into a glass containing a shot of absinthe. The drink should change color from green to a cloudy white once the water mixes with the absinthe.

The second method, Fire Ritual, involves quickly wetting a sugar cube or teaspoon of sugar in the glass of pure absinthe and then lighting it on fire and holding it over the glass. As the alcohol burns off, the sugar melts into the glass and is stirred into the drink when the flame gets low. The mixture is then quickly downed.

For a detailed description of how to prepare absinthe (including demonstration videos), visit GreenFairy.Org/ritual.htm.