banning of absinthe

[marallyn]

why was absinthe banned

[5029]

It was considered dangerous - 70% alcohol and contains wormwood - similar to cocaine - which can cause hallucinations. Basically it's a really strong drink and consumption can cause death. Even in bars there's alimit as to how many you can be sold (2 or 3 I think)

[Pinotage]

It was never banned in the UK and you can buy it today.

[parkhead]

There is a recent news sorry on this link about a father of 3 who drank himself to death on this stuff over the "festive" period. Tells you a bit about the stuff too if you are interested.http://www.thesun.co.uk/article/0,,2-2002601727,00
.html

[Cactus]

I believe it was the favourite tipple of Toulouse Lautrec, and if you've ever seen any of his paintings then you'll immediately understand why people want Absinthe banned. Where i come from, it would have been described as "Loony gear."

[Deore]

It was never banned in the uk simply because it was never sold. The absinth you can buy today is a weaker rip off of the real drink because it it illegal to sell any spirit over 40% ABV

[rinkytink]

Absinthe in its original form was banned because it was considered dangerous ie. it can make you blind or cause death. I believe that the original recipie for absinthe was bought by a Mr Pernod and developed into the drink we now know as Pernod. The 'absinthe' that is available today is a watered down/ weaker version of the original drink that uses the notoriety of the original as its selling point. Incidentally it is not illegal to sell alcohol with an ABV of above 40% - Woods Rum is 57 % ABV for example.

[rekstout]

I think customs and excise duty is considerably higher for spritis above 40% ABV - it was certainly for this reason that Gin suddenly went to 37.5% a few years ago

[darth vader]

5029 is corrrect. Not only was it very high in alcohol, it contained wormwood which is hallucinogenic. Nowadays you can buy the stuff as it does not contain wormwood, though the 70% alcohol certainly can still kill if you down a few. But then you can buy good russian vodka with about the same alcoholic content so it's not on its own as a dangerous tipple

[FredPuli]

As it contained wormwood it was mind- bending in time. It had many an addict in artistic and literary circles in C19 Paris. A notable example was the poet Baudelaire , who was moved to dye his hair green ' in honour of it'.It was never illegal in Britain but it never caught on here . It was illegal to import it, let alone sell or make it, in France from 1915 and equally illegal in Belgium ( 1905), Switzerland (1907 and Italy ( 1913). So, it would eventually have been very difficult to obtain in the UK anyway. Pernod is and was simply, like Ricard and the other 'pastis' drinks, made to be as close as possible to it in taste and character but without the wormwood ( and was devised by former makers of French absinthe ). Interestingly, you can now buy alcohol-free 'pastis'; but this bears a warning that it contains licorice ( bad for high blood pressure ) !.

[PaulYukochan]

If it is illegal to sell over 40 % then some shops near me are breaking the law. You can buy Appleton Estate Overproof rum - 75% at the end of my road. Although it is 30 pounds a bottle.