Happy Hour: A Black Market Mini (History)

Raise a glass to our latest knowledge drop - courtesy of a mini purple faery.

Absinthe was created in the canton of Neuchâtel in Switzerland in the late 18th century by the French physician Pierre Ordinaire. It rose to great popularity as an alcoholic drink in late 19th- and early 20th-century France, particularly among Parisian artists and writers.

Known as la fée verte (the green fairy), absinthe gave rise to l'heure verte, the time (5 pm) when drinkers of all sorts went to a café for their absinthe, what we would now call a 'Happy Hour'. 

The consumption of absinthe was opposed by social conservatives and prohibitionists, partly due to its association with bohemian culture.

Absinthe has often been portrayed as a dangerously addictive psychoactive drug and hallucinogen, which gave birth to the term absinthism. The chemical compound thujone, which is present in the spirit in trace amounts, was blamed for its alleged harmful effects. 

By 1915, absinthe had been banned in the United States and much of Europe, including France, the Netherlands, Belgium, Switzerland, and Austria-Hungary, though it has not been demonstrated to be any more dangerous than ordinary spirits. Recent studies have shown that absinthe's psychoactive properties (apart from those attributable to alcohol) have been exaggerated.

Absinthe's revival began in the 1990s, following the adoption of modern European Union food and beverage laws that removed long-standing barriers to its production and sale.