Ted Breaux serving his Lucid absinthe at Tales of the Cocktail.
photo: Carla Spartos
Seemingly everywhere you turn here at Tales of the Cocktail, someone’s pushing absinthe, the bitter, anise-flavored spirit distilled from wormwood made famous by Belle Époque artists and madmen. Within 24 hours of arriving in the Big Easy, the Buzz was invited to sample no less than three brands, including Lucid, La Fée and Marteau.
But isn't absinthe illegal in the U.S.? Apparently the law only prohibits absinthe that contains more than 10 mg per liter of thujone, the active ingredient in wormwood, and most "authentic" absinthe contains less than that amount.
And so this March, U.S. regulators approved Lucid, making it the first absinthe to be legally distributed on these shores in 95 years. It hit the shelves in New York last month, where it retails for $59.95 a bottle. It will soon be available in all 50 states, according to its creator, New Orleans–born chemist Ted Breaux.
La Fée absinthe tasting.
photo: Carla Spartos
Now others are trying to elbow their way into the market. Gwydion Stone, the pony-tailed founder of Seattle’s Wormwood Society, is hoping to release his Swiss-made absinthe, Marteau, in October. And the U.K.-based La Fée – poured at posh London hotels such as Claridge’s and Sanderson – is in New Orleans gauging the American audience.
It's enthusiastic, according to Breaux, who says the "whole country assaulted New York" in an attempt to get their hands on the initial shipments of Lucid.
Traditionally served diluted with water and tempered with sugar, absinthe is now popping up in cocktails in trendy bars. In NYC, Employees Only shakes up a Lucid mojito while Milk and Honey uses La Fée in its Sea Fizz cocktail. Breaux says he has received numerous inquiries from fine-dining restaurants too.
What about tales of green fairies and lopped-off earlobes? “Properly distilled, there is nothing harmful about absinthe,” says Breaux, who maintains that bad alcohol from unscrupulous distillers is to blame for the spirit’s 19th-century notoriety. As for Van Gogh, “He was drinking loads of other alcohol,” says a La Fée rep. “And smoking all kinds of weed.”
– Carla Spartos