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Switzerland, 1905 : Jean Lanfray, a poor
laborer, aims a rifle at his pregnant wife’s face and fires, instantly
killing her. He then turns it upon his two daughters. His father escaped
only by running for his life.
What was the cause of this muderous rage?
«Absinthe!» cried the Swiss newspapers and temperance leagues. They
called the high-proof green liquor the premier cause of crime in the
country. Lanfray hung himself in his jail cell, but absinthe remained on
trial. Five years later, the infamous drink was banned in Switzerland.
The United States followed suit in 1912, and France in 1915.
The «Green Fairy» was dead. Or was she?
In 1994, an obscure Czech distillery created a green «Bohemian» drink
with virtually no resemblance to absinthe of old, slapped the name
?Absinth? on the label and made a killing in England, where absinthe had
never been banned, only forgotten.
Today, among the many dozens of pretender products that have popped up
to meet the new demand, are a few authentic absinthes. Alongside the
followers of fads are a growing number of connoisseurs who savor the
real thing, taking the trouble to investigate absinthe’s bad rap with a
more objective eye than the yellow press of the 1900’s.
Absinthe -Green Fairy or accursed spirit ? What is the difference
between the imitators trading on a nefarious name and one of the most
sublime aperitifs ever created, perhaps no more harmful than any other
high-proof liquor ?
And just what is the mystique all about?
Open Absinthe, A Myth Always Green, and find out.
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