PARIS — I've come to the Paris Red Light District to kiss the Green Fairy full on the mouth, to sample the city's absinthe houses, where the notorious and powerful liquor is still cloaked in mystery.
Absinthe's supposed hallucinogenic properties once caused people to equate it with a sinister Tinker Bell, and it is this legacy that permeates Parisians' view of the drink. Many I spoke with still think it's illegal.
This is because absinthe harks back to a specific time and place that's suffused with legend and mystique. While the muse-like virtues of the green liqueur were extolled by Paris artists and writers during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, absinthe was ultimately banned in the United States (1912) and in France (1915), amid fears that it induced madness.
The primary culprit: thujone, the chemical found in wormwood, which was said to make imbibers hallucinate.
But absinthe is making a comeback in America and in Europe, thanks in part to studies that have shown that its dangers were exaggerated.
Today, with thujone content heavily regulated, absinthe is again being served around the world, including in California and, yes, Paris, where a history of bohemian behavior seems perfectly suited to the anise-flavored drink.
At three establishments here, I found the transcendent risk associated with absinthe, however exaggerated, is just as seductive as the complex ritual undertaken before consuming it.
In other words, one gets to feel like a bohemian without, theoretically, going bonkers.
I begin slowly at the Hotel Royal Fromentin lobby (11 Rue Fromentin, www.hotelroyalfromentin.com), in the heart of Paris, where I drink a glass of versinthe, absinthe's weaker sister. The hotel's wood panels, ornate mirror and elaborate stone facade add to the jubilant Belle Epoque vibe, as does the intricate glass fountain sitting on my table.
Even though versinthe pales compared with genuine absinthe, you still prepare it the same way: by placing a measure of the liqueur in a thick, wide-mouthed glass, resting a slotted silver spoon holding a sugar cube across the glass, and then slowly letting icy water drip from the fountain's spigot onto the sugar until it melts away. This dilutes absinthe's bitterness and awakens its herbs and essential oils.
At the wine and spirits shop Les Caves du Roy (31 Rue Simart, www.cavesduroy.fr) you can learn all about absinthe from English-speaking absinthe connoisseur Camille Naud and select from about 30 types.
