[kach22i]

Originally posted by grudk
Absinthe was hugely popular in Europe in the last century, and even threatened the French wine industry. The drink was later outlawed in much of Europe and in America due to some highly publicized murders and other events, which were linked in the publics mind to the Absinthe -- much as alcohol was linked to a myriad of sins in the temperance movement. It is probably true that some absinthe caused human illness, but the wormwood is not thought to have been the problem -- rather, heavy metals from poor distillation techniques. Some of the 'nagative' imagery comes from Van Gough, with the amusing 'ear' incident related to absinthe. But consider that he also drank paint and paint thinner.

A drink with a colorful history, sounds like something to stay away from.