page_title: Absinthe
section_title: Growth of consumption
hierarchical_section_title: Absinthe / History / Growth of consumption
context_page_description: Absinthe is historically described as a distilled, highly alcoholic beverage. It is an anise-flavoured spirit derived from botanicals, including the flowers and leaves of Artemisia absinthium, together with green anise, sweet fennel, and other medicinal and culinary herbs.
  Absinthe traditionally has a natural green color but may also be colorless. It is commonly referred to in historical literature as la fée verte. It is sometimes mistakenly referred to as a liqueur, but is not traditionally bottled with added sugar and, therefore, classified as a spirit. Absinthe is traditionally bottled at a high level of alcohol by volume, but it is normally diluted with water before being consumed.
  Absinthe originated in the canton of Neuchâtel in Switzerland in the late 18th century. It rose to great popularity as an alcoholic drink in late 19th- and early 20th-century France, particularly among Parisian artists and writers. The consumption of absinthe was opposed by social conservatives and prohibitionists, partly due to its association with bohemian culture.
context_section_description: Absinthe's popularity grew steadily through the 1840s, when it was given to French troops as a malaria preventive, and the troops brought home their taste for it. Absinthe became so popular in bars, bistros, cafés, and cabarets by the 1860s that the hour of 5 p.m. was called l'heure verte ("the green hour"). It was favoured by all social classes, from the wealthy bourgeoisie to poor artists and ordinary working-class people. By the 1880s, mass production had caused the price to drop sharply, and the French were drinking 36 million litres per year by 1910, compared to their annual consumption of almost 5 billion litres of wine.
  Absinthe was exported widely from France and Switzerland and attained some degree of popularity in other countries, including Spain, Great Britain, United States, and the Czech Republic. It was never banned in Spain or Portugal, and its production and consumption have never ceased. It gained a temporary spike in popularity there during the early 20th century, corresponding with the Art Nouveau and Modernism aesthetic movements.
  New Orleans has a cultural association with absinthe and is credited as the birthplace of the Sazerac, perhaps the earliest absinthe cocktail. The Old Absinthe House bar on Bourbon Street began selling absinthe in the first half of the 19th century. Its Catalan lease-holder, Cayetano Ferrer, named it the Absinthe Room in 1874 due to of the popularity of the drink, which was served in the Parisian style. It was frequented by Mark Twain, Oscar Wilde, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Aleister Crowley, and Frank Sinatra.
caption: An advertising poster for Absinthe Beucler
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