Introduction to Absinthe:

Mari Mayans Absinthe (Absenta) has been produced since the founding of the distillery in 1848 in Formentera where the building still stands as a museum donated to the Island by the family. Officially registered in1880 by Juan Mari Mayans, a herbalist known all over the region for his expertise in high quality distillation and knowledge of fine herbs. He moved the distillery to Ibiza where it is still run by his descendants. Mari Mayans Absenta is made from distilling the leaves and stems of hand-picked Artemisia Absinthium (Wormwood) and is then macerated in herbs. The resulting spirit is a mesmerizing green that clouds when water is added (known as Louche). It is 100% natural and is created to this day using the same formula that made the distillery famous in the last century with exports to France and the rest of Europe.

Absinthe was allegedly invented by Dr. Pierre Ordinaire in 1792, as an all-purpose remedy.  Used as a cure-all, it was nicknamed "La Fée Verte" or "The Green Fairy"; a nickname that has stuck.

Artemisia Absinthium  was used " in medicine and magic. . .to rouse a languid appetite and stimulate digestion."  Ironically, Absinthe originally treated drunkenness though it was often added to wine "to make it more intoxicating".  The name "La Fée Verte" is associated with magic, mythology and provocatively intoxicating female figures.

This long history of magical associations with wormwood and its powers worked to popularize Dr. Ordinaire's concoction, and to heighten Absinthe's popularity and mystical appeal.

The plant has been recognized for centuries (the Egyptians called it Saam) but Dr. Ordinaire probably used a recipe from the sisters Henriod at the beginning of the 19th century. By 1805, the Pernod-Fils absinthe company was set up in Pontarlier, France, by Henri-Louis Pernod.

The popularity of the drink spread further, as it was used as a fever preventative by French troops fighting in Algeria from 1844-1847.  When the troops returned to France, they brought with them their taste for the anisette drink.

Absinthe hit its peak during the years from 1880-1914, named the "great collective binge".  Absinthe is a symbol of inspiration and daring, associated with the artistic life, and is sometimes used as an aphrodisiac.

Absinthe drinking was "one of the special marks of Parisin the 1890s; "the drink of Parisian abandon".

In 1874 the French consumed 700 thousand litres of Absinthe, by 1910 it rose to 36 million litres of Absinthe per year.  It was also exported to New Orleans, where it quickly became extremely popular, but Americans' enjoyment of The Green Fairy was cut short when United States health officials imposed a ban on the drink in 1912.

This ban followed the examples set by Holland, Belgium, Brazil and other countries.  France was last to ban, finally prohibiting absinthe after a long series of debates, in 1915.  Still, the drink remained so popular that it continued to be sold (sometimes in disguised form, one of the more unusual being in hair tonic bottles) as late as the 1920's and 1930's.  It has never been illegal in Spain or the United Kingdom to make, sell or drink Absinthe.

The Absintheur's love affair with the drink begins with an interesting courtship:

  Sugar is placed on a spoon and suspended over a tall glass filled with a shot of green Absinthe.  Then ice-cold water is dripped over the sugar and allowed to fall in beads into the drink.   Each drip turns to a fresh snow-packed white.  The sugar cuts the Absinthe's bitterness, while the method was attractive in itself, the drink's change in colour, drip by drip, resembles alchemy.

The New Orleans Old Absinthe House was famous for its Absinthe fountain, which dripped water into the glasses automatically.

Absinthe is also drunk in a variety of personalized ways. Toulouse-Lautrec made a special concoction called un tremblement de terre (earthquake), which combined Absinthe and brandy.  Absinthe can be served with red or white wine instead of water, or drunk straight by the purist. (look at the cocktail page for more ideas)

In For Whom the Bell Tolls" Ernest Hemingway writes "...one cup of it took the place of the evening papers, of all the old evenings in cafes, of all chestnut trees that would be in bloom now in this month...".

Oscar Wilde added: "The first stage is like ordinary drinking, the second when you begin to see monstrous and cruel things, but if you can persevere you will enter in upon the third stage where you see things that you want to see, wonderful curious things". Wilde goes on to explain how, during this third stage, one imagines tulips and simultaneously feels them brushing against one's shins.

In the cheerful atmosphere of recovery that followed the Franco-Prussian War, l'heure verte "the green hour" became an established daily event. Because of a generally increased liberal attitude in France and relaxed policies for opening cabarets and cafés in France during the 1860s, almost 366 thousand existed in Paris by 1869, and 5 p.m. signified l'heure verte in almost every one.  The cafés were an extremely popular place to socialize; by the 1870s, it became common practice to preface a meal with a cheap aperitif, and of 1500 available liqueurs, Absinthe accounted for 90% of the apéritifs drunk.

The history of Absinthe lends credence to the conviction that if something is too good, it will eventually be stopped.  Absinthe was banned because of the fear of the drink's counter-culture revolutionary aspect; Absinthe is "a symbol of the bohemian spirit".  Absinthe had its own slang, which is attractive to those in the know and undeniably irritating, if not terrifying, to those who are not.

Absinthe has recently regained popularity in the United Kingdom;

As we approach the next decade the thirst for Absinthe will grow as people search for new recreational experiences at home, in bars and clubs.  At the forefront of this growth lies Mari Mayans Absenta which is establishing itself as the most palatable and interesting materialization of the drink's long history.  It is time the green fairy be let out and allowed to fly freely through the bars of the world once again, adding mystique, intrigue and something slightly timeless to modern culture.