Definition: absinthe

Absinthe is a spirit drink made from ethyl alcohol of agricultural origin or distillate of agricultural origin, which:

a) is flavoured with wormwood (Artemisia absinthium L.) or its natural extracts, combined with other plants such as aniseed, fennel or other similar plants, or their natural extracts;

(b) is obtained by maceration and distillation;

(c) has a bitter taste and the smell of aniseed or fennel, and

d) becomes cloudy when water is added.

While Pliny the Elder praised the merits of absinthe in his Natural History and Artemisia Absinthium was considered a medicinal plant, traces of its existence can already be found on an Egyptian papyrus dating back to 1600 BC. This perennial plant was attributed with therapeutic powers bordering on witchcraft. It quickly became the poison of alcoholics, the liquor of decline and madness. Its main component, thujone, which is blamed for its toxicity, was isolated in 1900 by chemist Friedrich Semper.

The manufacture, import, transport and sale of absinthe or imitations of absinthe, as well as their possession for sale, are prohibited by law in Switzerland and France.

Absinthe is more myth than reality. What makes the product valuable is its aura of prohibition. Whether in countless newspaper articles or on websites dedicated to this drink, absinthe, the latest fashionable drink, is served in the most chic bars in Europe. Considered a diabolical drink or praised as the Green Fairy of Val-de-Travers, the drink has become almost immortal.

Going back to its roots, the origins of absinthe are not really certain. The recipe was probably invented in Couvet (NE) towards the end of the 18th century by Henriette Henriod. Its production quickly developed to become a cult drink in Europe.

Then, on 28 August 1905, in Commugny (VD), Jean Lanfray, under the influence of alcohol, particularly absinthe, killed his wife and children in a fit of delirium. This incident led the Grand Council of the canton of Vaud to enact a law banning absinthe on 15 May 1906. Its preamble stipulated in particular that the retail sale of the liqueur known as "absinthe" was prohibited. The ban also extended to any imitation or similar drink, whatever its name. This law was immediately challenged by opponents who considered it unconstitutional. However, the popular verdict upheld the legislator's decision. A similar ban on absinthe was also voted by the people a year later in the canton of Geneva.

At the federal level, an initiative committee against absinthe was formed in 1906. The initiative was signed by 167,814 citizens. On 5 July 1908, all cantons except Neuchâtel and Geneva accepted the initiative by 241,078 votes to 138,669, with a turnout of 49%. The Absinthe Act, based on Article 32 ter of the Federal Constitution, came into force on 7 October 1910. This article on the prohibition of absinthe was repealed on 1 January 2000 as part of the revision of the Constitution. This kind of "detail" should be regulated by law rather than by a fundamental text. However, the ban on absinthe remains enshrined in the Foodstuffs Act and Ordinance.

Many people are surprised that the ban on absinthe is included in food legislation rather than in the Alcohol Act. Because of this connection, it is the Federal Office of Public Health (FOPH) and the cantonal chemists who are responsible for this matter, not the Swiss Alcohol Board (SAB). The FBA only intervenes indirectly in absinthe matters when: untaxed alcohol is used to produce absinthe; unlicensed distilling equipment is used.

The FBA's supervisory bodies note a violation of the ban on absinthe. They are then required to report these offences to the competent federal and cantonal authorities.

Despite the ban, clandestine absinthe production in Switzerland has never completely ceased. At present, however, it can be said that absinthe production in the Jura region is negligible. If there are any indications of illegal production, inspectors from the Federal Alcohol Board undertake investigations. If these indications appear to be well-founded, the cantonal chemist is notified and is legally obliged to follow up on the matter. If absinthe has been produced, the entire production is illegal, even if the alcohol used has been taxed.

Chemical analyses carried out by the FBA laboratory show that the maximum permitted levels of thujone in the Additives Ordinance are almost never exceeded in samples from clandestine production. These spirits are nevertheless illegal because they bear the name absinthe and their alcohol content exceeds 45% by volume.

"Legalise absinthe?" This headline in a French-language daily newspaper on 12 April 1999 caused quite a stir. Many people understood this to mean that the law had changed. This is not the case. After the cantonal chemist confirmed, on the basis of samples, that the limits set by food legislation had not been exceeded, the RFA granted a distillation licence for the product in question. The process is now complete, and absinthe will once again be freely available in Switzerland from 1 March 2005. In Quebec, a form of absinthe is legally sold at the SAQ under the names Absente or Versinthe.

The absinthe or wormwood plant, Artemisia absinthium L, its Latin botanical name, derives from the name of the Greek goddess of hunting, Artemis. In Greek, absinthos means repulsive, a direct reference to the plant's bitter taste.

Absinthe is a perennial plant that can grow to a height of one and a half metres. Its stem and some parts of its leaves are covered with fine hairs. Its finely chiselled leaves are silvery and its flowers are golden capitula. The plant is perennial and can live for around ten years. It has a strong scent and a naturally bitter taste. The shoots are harvested when they are 50 centimetres long and then dried in the air.

The plant contains bitter substances and essential oils containing thujone. It is mainly the high concentration of thujone that makes the plant toxic. Most Western countries have therefore restricted its use.

There are two types of thujone: alpha thujone and beta thujone. It is mainly beta thujone that is found in absinthe extracts.

An expert report on the dangers of absinthe and alcohol on the central nervous system was carried out in 1994 at the request of the Swiss Institute for the Prevention of Alcoholism and Other Addictions (ISPA). It demonstrates the toxic and psychotropic effects of the thujone contained in absinthe. It has long been accepted that the symptoms of an absinthe drinker who consumes 15 grams of this toxic volatile oil would include convulsions, to the point of rendering a human being unconscious. Absinthe drinkers experience the following effects: digestive problems, intense itching, agitation, dizziness, impaired hearing, trembling arms, hands and legs, numbness in the extremities, and loss of muscle strength. These symptoms are followed by delirium, hallucinations, suicidal tendencies, loss of mental faculties, general paralysis and ultimately death.

Is it dangerous to drink absinthe with a thujone content capped at 35 mg per litre, as stipulated in the new regulations in force since 1 March 2005? The answer is no. At 35 mg per litre, thujone poses no health risk. The only risk at present comes from alcohol. It is also important to note that thujone is not soluble in water. Absinthe infusions are therefore free of this neurotoxic substance. Furthermore, thanks to gas chromatography, it has become very easy to determine the thujone content so as not to exceed the level set by law. Imagine that, at the time, absinthe had an alcohol content of up to 70% and the thujone level was estimated at 250 mg per litre, more than seven times the current level.

When water is poured into absinthe, it becomes cloudy, similar to Pastis, Ouzo, and other Arak drinks. All of these drinks contain anise, including absinthe. Without anise, absinthe would have an unpleasant taste, much too bitter. Anise contains a substance called anethole, which becomes insoluble when water is added and forms a white colloidal precipitate. Artists were fascinated by the colour change in absinthe. The water jug and absinthe glass can be found in the works of Edgar Degas, Toulouse-Lautrec and many others. Many publications suggest that Van Gogh's madness can be explained by excessive consumption of absinthe!

This description of the cloudiness when preparing absinthe brings back a painful memory: we were 10 or 12 years old. A friend invited me to play tennis at his parents' country house. After the match, my friend, following his family's custom, said to me, "I'll go and get the bottle my parents use to quench their thirst after tennis." We put in very little absinthe and a lot of water. We drank this cloudy beverage with pride and mixed feelings. Then my friend became concerned because the bottle was still full. To hide our audacity, he topped it up with water from the jug!

We will remember this for the rest of our lives, as the bottle became completely cloudy, forcing us to tell his parents all the details.

The local nickname for absinthe, "la bleue" (the blue one), is quite accurate, but "la verte" (the green one) is misleading for this aniseed-flavoured drink.

Absinthe creates a bacchanalian intoxication, a feeling of momentary joy.

On 31 December 2006, the period of tolerance that followed the legalisation of absinthe came to an end. The Federal Alcohol Board assured that it would not conduct a witch hunt, but some distillers feared for their future.

A winding road somewhere in the Val-de-Travers. Fir trees shaken by the wind surround a dry stone wall. In the middle of a vast clearing stands an isolated farmhouse. This is where Jacques*, an illegal absinthe distiller, lives. We will say no more about him: he values his anonymity like the apple of his eye. "Last spring, the Federal Alcohol Board carried out several raids," he confides. "It's better to be cautious." "They want to eliminate us."

Like most of the twenty or so clandestine distillers who remain in the Vallon, Jacques feels like he is living on borrowed time: at midnight on 31 December 2006, the period of tolerance that followed the legalisation of "Bleue" on 1 March 2005 will come to an end. From that date onwards, "illegals" who decide to come out of hiding will no longer benefit from the leniency of the justice system. "Sooner or later, this will lead to the disappearance of the last remaining resisters," Jacques says bitterly. "We feel increasing pressure to eliminate us."

For the distiller, who has been practising his art "for about ten years", it's obvious: legalisation was designed to transform absinthe into a taxed and controlled commercial product. "No one was concerned about the survival of the product's symbolic dimension. It was the underground producers who built its reputation after it was banned in 1910, by opposing the state. I am part of that tradition. If that spirit of rebellion disappears, it will be a huge loss. There's not much left around here already..."

After a swig of absinthe and a glance at his bottle, in which the figurines of the Green Fairy and a representative of the Blue Cross coexist, submerged, he continues: "Can you believe it: the interprofessional association chose former prosecutor Thierry Béguin as its ambassador. It's absurd. He represented the state, legality. There's no better way to shoot yourself in the foot."

Is the rebellious identity of Val-de-Travers dissolving like sugar on an absinthe spoon? Jacques nods: "Things are changing. In the past, the recipes for 'Bleue' were passed down from father to son. Young people continued the tradition. That's no longer the case. With legalisation, many no longer see the point in distilling. And unless you produce large volumes, you can't make a living from it."

This assessment is confirmed by the figures. Apart from Yves Kübler in Môtiers and Claude-Alain Bugnon in Couvet, no distiller in the Vallon makes a living from absinthe. This is a far cry from the situation at the beginning of the 20th century, when the region had fifteen distilleries operating at full capacity. "Contrary to what some people thought, legalisation did not give a boost to the local economy," admits the second, a former clandestine distiller who has now turned over a new leaf. "The pie isn't getting any bigger. It remains a niche market in which you have to make your own place."

Here's an anecdotal aside to give you an idea of how things were in the middle of the last century: "When absinthe was banned, people would pass on the addresses of places where they could drink it, such as the café run by the widow Zurbuchen. You didn't order an absinthe, you just said 'a telephone' and the forbidden drink would arrive. For their part, the inspectors, who were wary of all tricks, carried out numerous anonymous checks to obtain the drink, which was also sold by the bottle. This was the case with Inspector Margot of the Federal Regulatory Authority, who came to order a bottle of Bleue to take away. The widow Zurbuchen skilfully monitored these orders from the back of her café. Inspector Margot received his carefully packaged bottle, paid a hefty sum for it and rushed to the cantonal laboratory in Neuchâtel to have the alcohol content of his absinthe analysed. The next day, he received the certificate, which stated "cistern water"! In fact, some areas of the Val de Travers did not have running water, hence this clarification, which made many people laugh...

Since 1 March 2005, the Swiss Alcohol Board has issued ten distilling licences in the Val-de-Travers, where 90% of Swiss production is concentrated. These have resulted in the production of 214,000 litres of official absinthe, a drop in the ocean compared to the 1.7 million litres of whisky imported each year. The proportion of illegal absinthe is unknown, but it is very small.

Small, but enough to create a climate conducive to denunciation. The reason? Illegal producers, who pay neither tax nor VAT, have lower costs. This difference is partially offset by the price of alcohol, which is more favourable to official distillers (33 francs per litre at Alcosuisse, compared to 39 in pharmacies), provided that the illegal producer sources their supplies in Switzerland. With alcohol purchased in the European Union at around €10 (CHF 15, plus VAT), illegal absinthe generates record margins.

Jacques is one of those who sneak across the border to "do his shopping" in France. He insists that it's not for the money. He sees it as a philosophical stance against the damn government – and a way to limit the risks: you have to register on a list when you buy 5 litres of alcohol.

Smuggling is an exception. Most clandestine distillers buy their supplies from pharmacies, as they did before legalisation. This involves limited risks. "The most important thing is that the alcohol used is taxed," emphasises Marc Gilliéron of the Federal Alcohol Board. "We intervene when things go beyond certain limits, as we did a few months ago with a few large-scale illegal producers who were the subject of criminal complaints."

In this context, do illegal producers still have a future? Marc Gilliéron has no doubt: "The tradition of absinthe is deeply rooted in the Val-de-Travers. So there will always be a few resisters. They just need to know that as of 1 January 2007, any application for a licence will result in criminal proceedings. As this will be a voluntary process, the penalties should be reduced. Otherwise, nothing will change. There will be no witch hunt."

This promise is not enough to reassure Jacques. Beyond the gradual decline in the number of illegal producers, he is concerned about the trivialisation of the "morphine of poets" so dear to Van Gogh and Rimbaud. This concern is shared by historian Pierre-André Delachaux, who has long fought against legalisation: "Drinking absinthe is not just a matter of taste. It also happens in the mind. Consuming a forbidden fruit gives another dimension to the tasting experience. The day when only legal absinthe is available, I would prefer to drink plain water."

The change is already noticeable on the ground. While the vast majority of Vallonniers continue to drink clandestine absinthe, new customs have emerged in the region. "I've seen friends drinking absinthe in the pub," says Pierre-André Delachaux, half-amused, half-sorry. "Some habits are quickly lost..."

* Not his real name.

Absinthe could attempt to obtain a Protected Geographical Indication.

Pierre-Emmanuel Buss

Will absinthe ever benefit from an Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée (AOC)? It's unlikely. At the end of November, the application was submitted to the federal AOC commission. The commission advised the interprofessional association, represented by the Association région Val-de-Travers (ARVT), to settle for a Protected Geographical Indication (PGI). The reason: the main ingredients of the Green Fairy, alcohol, fennel and aniseed, are not produced in Val-de-Travers.

"A PGI would not change much," comments Marc Treboux, a Neuchâtel cantonal chemist who is following the absinthe case. "The level of protection is exactly the same. The AOC has more prestige, but that is not very important in this particular case. Absinthe already has a high profile."

The commission also asked the ARVT to conduct a study to assess the product's level of recognition and its connection to Val-de-Travers. "The aim is to prove that absinthe, La Bleue and La Fée Verte are not generic terms like 'Boule de Berlin', for example," emphasises Marc Treboux.

As with AOC, the path to IGP can be long and fraught with pitfalls. If absinthe is registered by the Federal Office for Agriculture (FOAG), several objections are to be expected. It is not always known, but more than a dozen distillers produce absinthe outside the canton of Neuchâtel.

"In such a situation, the Appeals Commission of the Department of Economic Affairs would rule," Marc Treboux continues. "It is then possible to appeal to the Federal Court. The procedure can take time, as we have seen with raclette cheese."

If absinthe were to obtain a PGI, producers would have to comply with strict specifications. These quality criteria are designed to prevent products that are too dissimilar from coexisting under the same designation. As with wines, distillers would retain considerable leeway to avoid standardisation of flavours.

As a final step, absinthe could be recognised in the European Union. As Isabelle Pasche, a member of the FOAG's legal department, points out, an agreement already exists between Switzerland and the EU for the recognition of AOCs and PGIs in the "wines and spirits" category. This is not the case for cheese, for example.

© Le Temps, 2006.

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