The process of chromatography, used to separate out a compound into its various components, was concerned with one substance in particular: thujone. Mr Lachenmeier used chromatography to analyse samples of absinthe from its pre-ban state, through its contraband incarnation to the modern day version. But were his accusations justified?Ī 2008 study led by Dirk W Lachenmeier, a food chemist, aimed to put the mystery of the green fairy to bed once and for all. Though Magnan’s findings were denigrated by many scientists of the time, his opinions were repeated often enough to signal the beginning of the end for absinthe’s heyday. After conducting experiments on animals comparing the effects of absinthe with other forms of alcohol, Magnan concluded that absinthe was a different kettle of fish from the rest and as such, should be regarded as absinthism, not alcoholism, and should be banned outright. Though this was the direct catalyst for its banning, absinthe’s reputation had suffered in the years building up to the murders due to the findings of influential psychiatrist Valentin Magnan.
#ABSINTHE WORMWOOD SERIES#
This ill-feeling towards the spirit came to a head in 1905, when a Swiss peasant murdered his whole family under the influence of absinthe (among other intoxicants), prompting the town's mayor to condemn the spirit as “the principal cause of a series of bloody crimes in our country.”
By 1915, most countries around the world had outlawed the substance, believing it to be responsible for insanity, sexual deviance, a general slipping of standards in French culture and customs and even their poor showing in the First World War. Why? The Devil behind the Green FairyĪbsinthe’s fall from grace was as swift as it was absolute. However, over 100 years ago, the popular liqueur (by then known as absinthe) was banned in most countries around Europe, starting with Switzerland. Since then, its popularity steadily grew, being used and memorialised by such artistic greats as Pablo Picasso, Ernest Hemingway and Oscar Wilde. In the 18 th century, the herb began to be distilled for use as a recreational liqueur, with its current embodiment believed to have been invented by French physician Pierre Ordinaire and popularised by commercial producer Henri-Louis Pernod in the 1790s. The first documented use of the substance appears in the Egyptian scroll Ebers Papyrus from 1550BC however, the document itself is a compilation of texts going back as far back as 3500BC, suggesting that wormwood may have far older origins. Going back millennia, the herbal plant wormwood has been used for medicinal purposes to combat back pain, menstrual pain, venereal disease, anaemia and jaundice.
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