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absinthe
(redirected from Green Fairy)

    Also found in: Wikipedia, Hutchinson 0.06 sec.
absinthe (ăb`sĭnth), an emerald-green liqueur liqueur (lĭkûr`), strong alcoholic beverage made of almost neutral spirits, flavored with herb mixtures, fruits, or other
..... Click the link for more information.  distilled from wormwood wormwood, Mediterranean perennial herb or shrubby plant (Artemisia absinthium) of the family Asteraceae ( aster family), often cultivated in gardens and found as an escape in North America.
..... Click the link for more information.  and other aromatics, including angelica root, sweet-flag root, star anise, and dittany, which have been macerated and steeped in alcohol. It was invented in the 1790s by a Dr. Pierre Ordinaire, a Frenchman who lived in Switzerland, and the liqueur became enormously popular, particularly in late-19th-century Paris. Genuine absinthe is 70% to 80% alcohol. Because it caused harmful neurological effects (due to the presence of thujone, a toxic chemical in wormwood), absinthe was banned in many countries; where it still is available it is no longer as toxic as it once was.

Bibliography

See study by J. Adams (2004).



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This year, a century after a Swiss vineyard worker triggered absinthe bans across Europe by murdering his wife and children while under the influence of the Green Fairy (along with copious amounts of wine and brandy), absinthe containing up to 35 milligrams of thujone per liter became legal again in Switzerland, where the drink was invented.
The search for real absinthe: like Tinkerbell, the Green Fairy lives ... by Sullum, Jacob / Reason
Kylie Minogue embodied it, sprinkling Paris with green fairy dust.
Absinthe minded by The Advocate (The national gay & lesbian newsmagazine)
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