Green Fairy In The City Of Angels

Absinthe, otherwise known as the Green Fairy, is back in Los Angeles after a 96 year ban in the United States.

The ban on absinthe in the US was lifted back in May last year, and since then several brands of the booze have been appearing on liquor store shelves across the country. Now the swanky Bar Noir at the famous Maison 140 Hotel in Beverly Hills has begun “L’Heure Verte” or “The Green Hour”, an hourly absinthe tasting experience.

Visitors to the bar can ask for a glass of Le Tourment Vert, prepared in the traditional French style. The absinthe is poured into a glass and a cube of sugar is placed over the glass on a special slotted spoon specially made for this purpose. Ice cold water is then dripped over the sugar from an authentic absinthe water fountain and allowed to dissolve into the alcohol. Once the sugar is dissolved the drink is stirred with the spoon and served.

Absinthe has a colourful history, shrouded by myths and stories. Some of the world’s most revered writers and artists were said to be absinthe aficionados, Van Gogh, Wilde, Toulouse – Lautrec, Picasso, and Hemingway have all been linked to the Green Fairy. The drink conjures up images of a bohemian Paris in the late 19th century where it was popularised in the legendary Moulin Rouge cabaret bar, the drink was personified in the 2001 film Moulin Rouge by Kylie Minogue.

The drink is also surrounded by scandal, it’s main ingredient wormwood is said to contain hallucinogenic properties. The drink was labeled a psychotropic beverage and blamed for driving people into murderous rages. On the flip side it was also blamed on mass desertions during the First World War.

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