Chasing the green fairy: the absinthe distilleries of France and Switzerland

The spirit took off in popularity because the French troops stationed in North Africa during the French colonial wars in 1830–1847 were encouraged to drink it. Its high alcohol content partly sterilised the water and helped prevent dysentery. They brought that acquired taste back to France and its popularity grew.

By the 1860s the hour of 5pm was called l'heure verte (‘the green hour’) and all social classes were drinking absinthe. By 1910 almost 36 million litres a year were being knocked back. It wasn’t to be taken lightly though; today most absinthe is a hefty 45–70% ABV, but back then it was often well up in the 90s.

‘This is mostly why it acquired its reputation as a kind of drug,’ director Yann Klauser explains as he walks me round the very modern La Maison D’Absinthe in Môtiers, ironically created from the courthouse where illegal distillers were once fined. Here you can taste scores of absinthes and learn its history. ‘There was the Bohemian Paris connection too,’ he points out, ‘but the fact is talk of hallucinations and green fairies is really just testament to how very drunk people got.’

Just like gin in times past, forces of commerce massed against absinthe. The winemakers were seeing their profits falling, especially at a time when their vines were being destroyed by the pest phylloxera, and pressure was put on to demonise the drink. The beautiful old advertising posters for absinthe were replaced by frightening drawings of men being dragged to hell by the Green Fairy, their weeping wives left destitute, their children in the poorhouse.

By 1915 absinthe was banned in the United States, France, the Netherlands, Belgium, Switzerland and Austria-Hungary. Pontarlier, the capital of absinthe with a score of independent distilleries making 10 million litres a year, lost them all and people lost their jobs. Monsieur Pernod didn’t though; he created a new drink with much the same taste as absinthe, but not illegal. You may have heard of it.

The ban on absinthe was only lifted in 2005 and from hidden places the stills reappeared and the old experts went back to work.

Not all distillers are old men though. I met many passionate young people such as Anne-Sophie and Arnaud Bourgeois of Distillerie Bourgeois at La Grange de la Mare, a couple eager to bring back the iconic trade. From Pontarlier you can strike off on the Route de l’Absinthe (The Absinthe Trail) which runs from Pontarlier in the west to Noraigue in the east and features over fifteen artisan distilleries. I quickly realised that each one is different, with the distillers making their own small changes to the recipe and process. You soon learn to distinguish all the complicated aromas and flavours and find your favourite style.

At Distillerie Armand Guy, built in 1890, Pierre Guy (the grandson of the founder) shows me how absinthe is properly prepared using the ‘French Method’. A classic ‘Pontarlier Glass’ designed with a special well at the bottom that holds 30ml of absinthe is placed under the traditional absinthe fountain filled with iced water which has a number of small taps. Over the glass is placed an absinthe ‘spoon’, a cube of sugar is placed on the spoon and the water is allowed to drip very slowly onto the sugar, dissolving it into the absinthe below. Some people use more or less water and some do without the sugar, enjoying the bitter aniseed flavours just as they are. As the water blends with the absinthe it turns opaque (known as the ‘Louche’) and the aromas rise up. Most fountains can drip at least four glasses at once, so it’s perfect to have on the table.

Despite the wormwood in absinthe, good absinthe doesn’t taste all that bitter. Proper distillation smooths it out and the herbal notes come through with just a hint of the ‘amertume’, the bitterness. The aniseed notes, if proper anise and not star anise is used, is restrained and the drink is cool on the palate.

Another way of preparing absinthe involves dipping the sugar in absinthe first and setting it on fire on the spoon before dropping it into the glass and adding the water. This is called the Czech or Neue Bohemian way, but makes absinthe producers pull sour faces when you mention it. That’s because it’s generally used for absinthe made using a cold mix process which doesn’t involve distillation and isn’t what connoisseurs would call true absinthe at all.

Absinthe is also now finding its way into cocktails in Europe and the USA. It has to be used sparingly, as its flavours are powerful, and at the Employee's Bar in New York City for a cocktail called a Billionaire it’s mixed with high-proof bourbon and pomegranate grenadine. There’s also Death in the Afternoon, a drink reputedly created by Hemingway which is simply Champagne and absinthe mixed together. If not actually death, then an early night is on the cards.

With so many independent craft brands of absinthe now available, it is quickly returning to savvy bar shelves and becoming a drink well in tune with the times. The Green Fairy has landed.