If you are travelling to London from USA and get a rebellious streak while abroad, I suggest you find a pub that serves absinthe and ask the tapster for a shot. Why is that "rebellious"? Because absinthe has been illegal in the USA since 1912. It was popular in New Orleans. It used to be popular in Europe in the 19th century particularly in France among the art community. Now, I believe it is banned in most European countries, however I am aware that it is served in London. The Ten Bells Inn - located a couple blocks south of Spitalfields Market - serves it. I believe some places in Soho will serve it as well. I do not reccommend more than one shot. Absinthe is a translucent green liquor that tastes like Sambuca and packs a punch 5 times stronger than any shot of liqour you have ever had. Some people say it has hallucenogenic qualities - probably the reason why it was so popular with the art community. The reason why absinthe has been banned by so many countries is that it is distilled using Oil of Wormwood. One drop of pure Oil of Wormwood can kill you. If the absinthe is not distilled properly it can be hazardous to your health. This was a major concern 100+ years ago to governments trying to regulate the production of absinthe so many countries chose to deal with this situation by banning the drink altogether. There does not appear to be any such concern now in London according to my bartender. However not many people are taking absinthe at the going rate of 4 quid per shot. Still, my advice is to try it once, and make it part of your London experience..

I think it's available in certain places in France again, too - but I was told that what they are offering now is not the same as the absinthe that used to be sold, that it was a "kindler,gentler" version.
Could that be the case in London?

When I was studying art history, I learned that absinthe made you go blind, not the drunken sort of blind but the real sort of blind, for good.

What'dya think?

Pernod is absinthe without the wormwood. It got a bad rap because a man who drank many, many drinks from wine to brandy and absinthe did away with his family and his pregnant wife's murder caused the banning of "The Green Fairy." It has been available in spain and some other countries.
Optimistic, you'll love th book by Barnaby Conrad, "Absinthe, history in a bottle." Great photos.

The absinthe with thugone (active ingredient from wormwood) my friend bought in France last year has 30ppm. The old "Green Fairy" days were in the 300ppm range.

The absinthe that is sold now is likely nothing like the drink made famous by the bohemian artists, writers and poets of yesteryear. While it still contains some level of thujone, the chemical found in the wormword plant, absinthe manufactured today is effectively a stronger version of pastis.

Whereas pastis is between 40 and 45% alcohol, absinthe can run up to 70%. Many brands have alcohol contents in the range of pastis.

Much of the hype now is intended to invoke some element of "danger" into the product.

I love the painting by Degas of the couple sitting with a glass of absinthe in the Paris cafe. I have felt like that lady a few times in my life......

The one available here is called absinthe and even comes with the slotted spoon for the cube of sugar but it's not the true drink. It will not make you go blind but you will wake up wondering if you were Arthur or Martha.

Some used to claim that it acted as an aphrodisiac, hence "Absinthe makes the heart grow fonder."

Ahhh... then you'd better come to Cape Town because we seem to have no problem serving it here. We stopped in at a pub/restaurant last friday night to bid farewell to a friends son who was leaving to live in London, and the moment the 'kids' saw us 'oldies' arriving, they ordered a round of absinthe for us. I think I could get used to drinking it, yummy flavour! I didn't realise it was that alcoholic and none of us started hallucenating.... I think.... haha! We were ordered to down it like a shot, but next time I think I like to sip it to savour the flavour. Maybe ours was a "gentler" version

Absinthe is available in the CDG duty free shop.

Michael that's a pastis, that I mentioned, it is still illegal in France.

INTERNATIONAL LAW #
E.U. #
We have received report that European Union treaties may make sales of thujone-containing absinthe legal in all EU countries.
England #
Available in stores and some pubs, now appears to be legal for sale (tesco and harrods). No confirmation of thujone content.
Canada #
Thujone containing absinthe available in liqour stores, including the Czech brand Hill's Absinth which is a very low thujone brand. We have been told that all brands of absinthe commercially available in Canada contain extremely low levels of thujone (thanks to Aaron).
Czech Republic #
Absinthe Legal. Thujone containing absinthe available in stores including Tesco, a large supermarket chain.
Absinthe is common in the Czech Republic. One submitter (JT) writes: "And there's another 'traditional' way of drinking it there: Take a tequila-shot glass, teaspoon filled with normal sugar and a lighter. Fill the glass and hold the spoon over the glass so you 'spill' a little onto the sugar. Light the sugar and wait for start forming caramel, drop it in the glass, stir, and consume immediately."
Germany #
Thujone-containing absinthe available at bars and stores in Germany, in 2002 it is quite popular in some parts of Germany and Austria
Italy #
Thujone containing absinthe sold in some smartshops -- DiO-LeCclo
Netherlands #
1909 ban on absinthe sales lifted Jul 2004. Thujone-containing absinthe sold in liquor stores, as long as thujone quantity remain within European-accepted levels. (Thanks Tino and Enrico)
New Zealand #
Thujone containing absinthe sold in liquor stores.
Portugal #
Thujone containing absinthe sold in liquor stores, bars, clubs, and supermarkets.
Sweden #
Absinthe sold in all liquor stores marked as containing wormwood extract:
"In Sweden absinthe can be bought in all liquor stores (Pere Kermann's Absinthe, made in France). And the way it works in the EU is that if a product is legal in one country it is automaticaly legal in all EU countries.

It says on the front label "Spiriteux aux extraits de plantes d'absinthe" and on the back label " ingredients: alcohol, water, aroma, wormwood infusion, sugar, colouring: E131-E102. It is sold as containing thujone." - from Ulf
Spain #
Thujone containing absinthe widely available.

cigalechanta, it's interesting that Netherlands only lifted the ban a few months ago given their liberal social attitude towards so-called "vice"..

By the way, if anyone's heading to Auvers-sur-Oise, the château there (which is full of wonderful exhibits) has a great space devoted to the absinthe culture, with all kinds of fancy knicknacks associated with using it.

So... we're saying that it's perfectly fine, a part of the experience while in Europe, to enjoy a substance that has been banned in the US?...I'm sensing a double-standard here... :-?

travelnut, no one is saying that. Most people do not even like pastis, let alone absinthe.. I'll continue to eat unpasturised cheese though banned here.

ZZZZZzzzz!!

We kept being served small amounts of Genepi as an after dinner liqueur in the Fr. Alpes a few years ago and brought some little bottles back as souvenirs. I discovered that it is made from wormwood, also. Some restaurants even had Genepi-flavored ice cream.

OO!! grandmere, one of our favorite digestifs. At our Hotel in the Gorge de Loup, we drank alot of it and a friend near Paris makes his own with the herbs he gathers at his family home there in the Alps.