World Absinthe Day 5th March

When And Where Was Absinthe Banned?

Year & Country                               Legal Instrument

1898-Congo Free State.                        Colonial decree restricting absinthe

1906-Belgium                                             Loi du 25 septembre 1906

1909-Netherlands                                     Absintwet (Absinthe Law)

1910-Switzerland                                        Constitutional prohibition following the 1908 referendum

1912-United States                                     USDA Food Inspection Decision 147

1915-France                                                 Loi du 16 mars 1915

1915-New Hebrides (Vanuatu)                   Absinthe (Prohibition) Act

1923-Germany                                          Gesetz über den Verkehr mit Absinth

1931-Italy                                                    Prohibition of “Assenzio” (Regio Decreto 18 June 1931)

When and How Was Absinthe Legalised?

Absinthe’s commercial return in Europe began to take shape in 1998 under EU Council Directive 88/388/EEC, a flavourings framework that set controlled thujone limits in alcoholic beverages. In July 1998, George Rowley worked with UK Trading Standards to interpret and apply this Directive to commercial absinthe, followed by Directive-compliant laboratory testing at Prague’s VŠCHT University.

Commercial French distillation resumed in June 2000 with La Fée®, developed in collaboration with Marie-Claude Delahaye, marking the return of French-produced absinthe after nearly a century of prohibition. The United States later clarified federal approval for compliant absinthe import and sale on 5 March 2007.

The Verified Historical Record

A First-Hand Account by George Rowley, Supported by Independent Documentation

21 July 1998

Regulatory foundation established for the commercial return of absinthe in Europe, laying the groundwork for its global resurgence.

July 1998 – Europe

Application of EU Council Directive 88/388/EEC to Absinthe

The regulatory position of absinthe was clarified through detailed evaluation of EU Council Directive 88/388/EEC (22 June 1988), including Annex II, by George Rowley, who identified the maximum thujone limit for alcoholic beverages above 25% ABV at 10 mg/kg (10 ppm combined alpha- and beta-thujone). This enabled laboratory testing to determine whether absinthe could comply with existing EU law.

Working with Trading Standards Officer Paul Passi (St Albans), Rowley examined the Directive’s specific reference to alpha- and beta-thujone. The legislation regulated thujone levels, it did not prohibit absinthe by name.

Effectively, Rowley relied on existing EU flavourings legislation to demonstrate that absinthe was already lawful, provided it complied with the Directive’s thujone limits thereby restoring the category to commercial circulation.

At the time, no laboratory had calibrated analytical protocols specifically for thujone testing in absinthe. When asked why, despite the Directive applying across EU Member States, the response was that such testing had simply not previously been requested.

To resolve this, Rowley with assistance from Radomír Horák in Prague approached the EU-recognised laboratory at Vysoká škola chemicko-technologická v Praze (VŠCHT), the Chemical and Technical University in Prague. Certified analytical reference standards for alpha- and beta-thujone were obtained from the United States and supplied to enable gas chromatographic calibration for Directive-compliant analysis.

This process formed part of the compliance framework that enabled the commercial reintroduction of absinthe under existing EU law.

The initial certified chromatographic analysis of absinthe conducted at VŠCHT Prague recorded thujone levels within the permitted limits. However, the sample did not meet overall specification due to elevated aldehyde levels. The alcohol base was subsequently reformulated for the UK market, after which the product was retested and confirmed as compliant.

October 1998, The German Customs Incident

The first shipment of compliant absinthe from Prague was stopped at the German border. (The Czech Republic did not join the EU until 1 May 2004.)

Customs officials placed the consignment into a regulatory “grey area” pending further documentation. Additional compliance evidence was requested.

In response, laboratory analyses and spectrographic thujone testing were provided, confirming compliance with EU Council Directive 88/388/EEC and the applicable EU thujone limits.

After approximately two weeks, the goods were released, subject to the condition that they transit north-west to the United Kingdom via Germany and the Netherlands, avoiding France.

The chemistry was compliant.
The hesitation was historical.

This episode demonstrated that absinthe’s return was grounded in regulatory compliance and scientific verification not folklore.

First coverage on absinthe in the press:

Evening Standard – 30 November 1998

Article: A Drink to our absinthe friends
Author: Tim Lusher
Publication: Evening Standard (London)
Format: Print edition

The Guardian – 1 December 1998

Article: Green fairy fires spirits after long absinthe
Author: Stuart Millar
Publication: The Guardian (London)
Format: Print edition

The Daily Telegraph – 3 December 1998

Article: Absinthe… that’s the spirit
Author: Tom Hodgkinson
Publication: The Daily Telegraph (London)
Format: Print edition
Context: Tom Hodgkinson — Green Bohemian Ltd (with George Rowley, John Moore and Gavin Pretor-Pinney)

Verbatim Extracts

“Sipping the drink, I felt as if I were penetrating an ancient Bohemian mystery, making a connection with all those artists who had painted and written about the absinthe dens of 19th century Pris. But there was something about absinthe that climed with our own era.”

“Since Monday, when news of absinthe’s arrival became public, we have been inundated with calls from the media. We have appeared on Newsnight, and even given interviews to Newsweek magazine.”

“Absinthe-the spirit of of freedom”

Citation

Hodgkinson, Tom. “Absinthe… that’s the spirit.” The Daily Telegraph, 3 December 1998, print edition.

30 November 1998,  Press Coverage & The Johnny Depp Episode

On Monday 30 November 1998, the Evening Standard reported on absinthe’s legal return under EU compliance. Further national coverage followed during the week, including The Guardian on Tuesday 1 December.

At the time, the principal shipment remained delayed at the German border pending additional laboratory documentation. UK stock was effectively limited to residual samples.

Midweek, during filming of Sleepy Hollow in Hertfordshire, Johnny Depp read the press coverage. His assistant contacted us requesting a bottle ahead of his scheduled Sunday departure to the United States.

With no commercial stock available, a white stretched limousine was dispatched across London to collect part bottles from John Moore and Gavin Pretor-Pinney, before proceeding to our headquarters at Bayford Hall, Hertfordshire.

By coincidence, that same morning a small back-up courier consignment had arrived directly from the Prague distillery. When the limousine reached Bayford, the assembled contents were exchanged for a sealed, distillery-fresh bottle.

When asked about the urgency, it was explained that Mr Depp was departing on Sunday by private jet to visit Hunter S. Thompson, during the renewed attention surrounding Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. It was later understood that the bottle was shared.

The Express, Sunday 20 December 1998

Article: Depp is keen on mean green stuff
Authors: Henry Fitzherbert & James O’Brien
Publication: The Express (Sunday edition)
Format: Print edition

The Daily Telegraph, 8 December 1998

Article: High Spirits
Authors: Daily Telegraph
Publication: The Daily Telegraph
Format: Print edition

Within days of scientific clearance under EU law and subsequent national press coverage, absinthe moved from customs documentation and regulatory review into international cultural circulation.

The Groucho Club Launch, 8th December 1998

(Today this serve is not recommended. Any preparation involving flame presents fire risk. Referenced here strictly for historical context.)

Classic Bohemian Sour (1998 Style)

Historical reference

Dick Bradsell also created the absinthe cocktail ‘Hammer of the Gods’ during this period part of the broader late-1990s London revival moment that saw absinthe return to serious cocktail culture.

9 December 1998, Coordinated Public Reintroduction of Absinthe in London

National Media Moment

On the evening of 29 November 1998, Newsnight reviewed the following morning’s front pages. Among them was The Guardian, carrying the headline “Green fairy fires spirits after long absinthe ban.” Host Jeremy Paxman highlighted the story during the programme.

The following morning, after the broadcast, the Newsnight production team contacted George Rowley to film a segment on the return of absinthe to London.

Filming took place that same day at Detroit, where the Prague-inspired ritual recently encountered at Café FX in Prague was demonstrated on camera.

The report aired that evening.

By January 1999 the USA press start to pick up on the story

Absinthe was back.

When and How Was Commercial Absinthe Production Lawfully Resumed in France After the 1915 Prohibition?

The Renaissance and the Reality

The absinthe renaissance did not begin with marketing. It began with regulatory compliance supported by bartenders, mixologists, actors and artists who embraced its cultural return.

There was, however, a significant complication.

The Czech “Absinth” that helped spark renewed interest in 1998 was rapidly imitated. It soon became clear that this product was not traditional absinthe in the historic French or Swiss sense although at the time, few fully understood the distinction.

It was a post-modern interpretation:

• Artificially coloured often electric blue-green
• Lower in traditional wormwood content
• Minimal anise character
• No natural louche when water was added
• Bottled at 70% ABV

In other words, it did not reflect the classical absinthe tradition of 19th-century France and Switzerland.

Yet it served as the catalyst. Some consumers still appreciate this modern, lower-anise style. Without it, the category’s reopening may never have occurred.

It was imperfect but it ignited the return.

The revival had begun.

1999 – The Search for Authentic French Production

From Compliance to Heritage Restoration

1999 became an important transition year.

The regulatory compliance achieved in 1998 had reopened the door, but it had not yet restored absinthe’s authenticity. The Czech “Absinth” that had catalysed the revival was not representative of traditional French or Swiss absinthe.

George Rowley made it his mission to return real absinthe to France a formidable challenge, as absinthe remained listed under the 1915 prohibition on the French statute books.

The journey began at the Musée de l’Absinthe, just outside Paris in Auvers-sur-Oise, where Rowley accompanied by his then French-speaking fiancée, Bridget Jane Howden-Firm met founder Marie-Claude Delahaye, one of the world’s foremost authorities on the spirit.

The initial reception was cautious. The Czech product then being imported into the UK did not resemble the historic French absinthe tradition she had dedicated her life to preserving. It was not recognised as authentic.

Seemingly an impossible task under the then-active French Absinthe Ban, Rowley proposed a structured solution:

• Locate a former French absinthe distiller
  • Work from pre-ban methodology
  • Reconstruct a historically accurate recipe assisted by research from the French Absinthe Museum
  • Personally verify each distillation run with Marie-Claude
  • Overcome the ban through ingenuity or lobbying ingenuity won the day

That commitment personal verification of every production run began then and continues to this day with La Fée®.

Several French distillers were approached, including Ryssen, which initially showed strong interest. However, given that its largest client at the time was Pernod, the opportunity did not progress.

A suitable distilling partner was eventually identified: Suprex (now part of the La Martiniquaise-Bardinet group).

Together, the legal framework was examined in detail. A crucial discovery emerged:

The Law of 16 March 1915 prohibited the manufacture, sale and circulation of absinthe within France. However, it did not explicitly forbid distillation under customs bond where production was intended solely for export.

That distinction would prove decisive.

Before the ban, France had been producing an estimated 36 million litres of absinthe annually. Major houses such as Pernod Fils, together with numerous regional distillers, formed a significant part of the national spirits economy at the outbreak of the First World War.

The 1915 legislation addressed domestic manufacture and trade during a period of intense social and political pressure. Over time, the category itself evolved.

Absinthe gradually gave way to what became known as pastis an anise-based spirit containing little or no wormwood. Thujone (alpha and beta), derived from Artemisia absinthium, was effectively removed from formulations. Alcohol strength was reduced from the traditional 68–72% ABV typical of pre-ban absinthe to the 40–45% ABV range of modern pastis.

In effect, the defining botanical structure of historic absinthe was replaced by a softer, lower-proof anise spirit aligned with post-war tastes and regulatory caution.

Crucially, the 1915 statute focused on domestic production and sale. It did not clearly extend to export-only distillation conducted under customs supervision a pathway identified and later applied by La Fée® many decades afterwards.

Under French customs law, production under bond for direct export remained legally viable provided that:

• The spirit did not enter French domestic commerce
  • It remained under excise supervision
  • It complied with prevailing EU ingredient and thujone regulations
  • It was authorised by the Direction générale des douanes et droits indirects (DGDDI), France’s customs authority

In practical terms, absinthe could be distilled for lawful foreign markets so long as it remained under bond and never entered the French domestic market.

An application was therefore submitted to the French tax authorities to resume distillation strictly for export. Within the governing legal framework, there were no statutory grounds for refusal.

This interpretation unlocked the door that had remained closed since 1915. Commercial absinthe distillation returned to France under lawful export status restoring authentic production to its historic homeland and marking the true renaissance of absinthe.

25 May 2000 – First Documented French Customs Confirmation Permitting the Distillation and Export of Absinthe Under the 1915 Ban

Issued by

Direction Générale des Douanes et Droits Indirects (DGDDI) French Customs Authority

Signed by

Jean-Pierre Mazé, Chef de Bureau

Addressed to

Suprex, Athis-Mons (now part of the La Martiniquaise Group)

Actioned by

La Fée® LLP – George Rowley

With Historical Collaboration from

Musée de l’Absinthe, Auvers-sur-Oise, Marie-Claude Delahaye

On 25 May 2000, the Direction Générale des Douanes et Droits Indirects (DGDDI) issued written confirmation, signed by Jean-Pierre Mazé (Chef de Bureau), establishing that absinthe-type products could be lawfully distilled in France for export to foreign markets under customs supervision, notwithstanding the domestic restrictions imposed by the Law of 16 March 1915.

The confirmation, addressed to Suprex of Athis-Mons (now part of the La Martiniquaise Group), formally clarified that production for export remained permissible under bond. This administrative pathway was actioned by La Fée® LLP under the direction of George Rowley, with historical guidance and category expertise provided in collaboration with the Musée de l’Absinthe, Auvers-sur-Oise, under the curatorship of Marie-Claude Delahaye.

In May 2000, La Fée® Absinthe became the first commercially approved absinthe to be distilled in France under written customs confirmation since the 1915 ban. A subsequent Suprex fax dated 5 June 2000 confirmed commencement of production, including label printing and the first manufacturing run for export markets.

Suprex, Athis-Mons.
Fax correspondence dated 5 June 2000.
From: Suprex.
To: George Rowley, La Fée® LLP.

Subject: Production of La Fée® absinthe for export markets.

Commercial correspondence relating to the commencement of production activities, including label printing and initial manufacturing for export markets.

Suprex (Athis-Mons; subsequently integrated into the La Martiniquaise Group).
Document reproduced from the private archive of George Rowley.

The Press cover the return of absinthe to France with La Fee:

And then the trouble started. As with all good ideas, it didn’t take long for the copycats to get hold of it and before you could say Toulouse-Lautrec, London was awash with absinthe. Green Bohemia’s director George Rowley and his colleagues were concerned.

“Absinthe is one of the world’s strongest liquors and you have to be careful with it,” he warns. “We were worried that some of our competitors may not be as scrupulous as we were about who they sold it to.”

In addition to the possibility of unwitting absinthe drinkers over-indulging, the directors were, one assumes, just a little concerned about their profit margins. The remedy, they decided, was to launch another brand of absinthe so pure and authentic that it would make the others look like alcopops.

La Fée is, according to Rowley, the ultimate absinthe. As soon as Johnny Depp heard about it, he sent a white stretch limo to pick up a couple of crates. Curator of the Paris Absinthe Museum, Madame Delahaye, has put her seal of approval on the recipe (a closely guarded secret, of course) and it’s apparently the only absinthe mixologist Dick Bradsell will shake a sugar-coated absinthe spoon at.

“We’re really pleased with the end result and it’s created a lot of waves within the drinks industry,” says Rowley. “There just isn’t room in the market for all the absinthes that’s currently on offer, so La Fée is definitely going to cause some casualties.”

Let battle commence.

Transcribed from the print edition of the Evening Standard (4 August 2000). Line breaks and layout may differ from original pagination. Copy held in the private archive of George Rowley.

Independent reference:
Diffords Guide Green Fairy Cocktail

There are now more than 300 cocktails containing absinthe and La Fée listed on Difford’s Guide to Cocktails:
Diffords Guide Absinthe Cocktails

Not as myth.
Not as novelty.
But as a regulated, historically grounded spirit once again.

“Unlike other commercially available absinthes, usually made in eastern Europe, La Fée has overwhelming notes of aniseed…”

“It has an alcohol volume of 68 per cent, which is, perhaps, why its manufacturer describes it as appealing to a ‘niche market’.”

“La Fée has been available in Britain’s most fashionable bars for the past few months.”

“It tasted rather different, however… It offered a much stronger hit than almost any alcohol I’d tasted before and yet it looked so innocent.”

Article Overview

In this June 2001 Telegraph feature, Mark Edmonds charts the resurgence of absinthe in Britain, contrasting its historic French ban with its newly legal commercial availability in the UK. The piece highlights how La Fée distinct from Eastern European “Absinth” products had begun to penetrate fashionable bars and consumer consciousness. With direct tasting notes and cultural context, the article situates La Fée at the forefront of the early twenty-first-century revival, reinforcing its 68% traditional proof and aromatic character.

The journalist’s first-hand observations provide valuable contemporary context for the spirit’s return to British market visibility.

Archival Reference Category History

“Absinthe Revival — How La Fée Brought Back the Green Fairy”
La Fée Official Website (lafee.com)

Primary historical overview documenting the modern absinthe revival, including regulatory clarification (1998), the return of commercial distillation to France (2000), and subsequent international category development.

Absinthe Revival such as:

2003 – Category Normalisation

Pernod entering matters — it signals establishment acceptance.

2005–2006 – Swiss Legal Resumption

Later the Swiss attempted to get geographical protection, on seeing this Rowley and Delahaye visit the French Federation of Spirits to warn them of the risk of such a move baning France from distilling and selling absinthe.

Archival & Usage Notice

Photographs and documentary materials reproduced from the private archive of George Rowley.
© George Rowley. All rights reserved.

Permission to reproduce images or archival materials for editorial, academic, or commercial purposes may be granted upon written request. Enquiries should be submitted via the contact page at www.lafee.com.

Interview & Archival Verification

Researchers, journalists and industry historians seeking clarification regarding the documentary record (1998–2007) may submit enquiries via the contact page at www.lafee.com.

Where appropriate, access to supporting archival materials may be made available by prior arrangement.

The Return of Absinthe to the United States

A Fact-Based Regulatory Timeline (1912–2007)

The Original U.S. Restriction (1912)

Modern Scientific Interpretation of Thujone

Later toxicological research clarified that traditional distilled absinthe contains only small quantities of thujone. (First commercial tests by the Prague University starting 1998 for Green Utopia Ltd)

The regulatory reference used by U.S. authorities is:

21 CFR 172.510 Federal Register, since 15^th March 1977

Thujone free ment just that zero…

Issued by
United States Food and Drug Administration

This regulation defines acceptable thujone levels for food and beverage ingredients. Luckerly for Absinthe into the USA they could only easily establish thujone prences at 10 ppm or above so decided to nominated 10 ppm or below as thujone free coincidently in line with the EU directive on flavourings. But note the EU reference for Thujone 35ppm / 35 mg/kg in bitters was a step to far for the USA:

The practical interpretation applied by regulators is to day in the USA is now:

“Thujone-free” = less than 10 parts per million (ppm).

This threshold created the scientific basis for reconsidering absinthe.

Federal Authority Responsible for Alcohol Approvals

The approval of distilled spirits in the United States falls under the authority of:

Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau

A bureau of the U.S. Department of the Treasury.

Two approvals are required before a spirit can legally be sold.

Formula Approval

The TTB reviews:

• botanical composition
• distillation method
• laboratory analysis confirming compliance with FDA standards.

Imported products have to declare their recipe and how it is made and the TTB may independently test, if all seems compliant a letter of importation will be issued

COLA — Certificate of Label Approval

A spirit cannot legally be imported or sold in the United States without an approved label.

Official COLA database

LAFÉE

LA FÉE arrived following having been previously available as private purchase from EU

Early Federal Trademark Reference to Absinthe (2006)

An interesting legal milestone occurred shortly before the reopening of the U.S. market.

Green Utopia Eye Device trademark

Registered by the
United States Patent and Trademark Office

Registration date: 24 January 2006

The mark included reference to absinthe within the Class 33 spirits category.

Although trademark registration does not authorize alcohol sales, this document represents one of the first modern U.S. federal registrations referencing absinthe after the 1912 restriction.

USPTO record: US Patent And Trademark Office

This is copy of Green Utopia Ltd (La Fée LLP) United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) for La Fée Eye Device tier one Branding including ‘FOR: ALCOHOLIC DRINKS, NAMELY, ABSINTHE AND ANISETTE IN CLASS 33 (U.S CLS. 47 AND 49).

The Swiss Legalization of Absinthe (2005)

Absinthe had been prohibited in Switzerland since 1910.

Following revision of Swiss food legislation, the prohibition was removed in 2005, allowing legal commercial production to resume in the historic absinthe region of Val-de-Travers.

Relevant authority:

Swiss Federal Council

This change allowed legally produced Swiss absinthe to enter export markets for the first time in nearly a century.

The Final Regulatory Race for the U.S. Market

By the mid-2000s two brands were preparing products for the U.S. market once regulatory clearance was obtained.

Lucid Absinthe Supérieure

Lucid Absinthe Supérieure

Developed by Viridian Spirits (USA) with chemist Ted A. Breaux and distilled at:

Distillerie Combier

Key regulatory milestone

5 March 2007

The U.S. Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau issued a Certificate of Label Approval (COLA) confirming that Lucid:

• met FDA thujone limits (<10 ppm)
• complied with federal labelling requirements
• could legally be imported and sold.

This approval marked the first confirmed commercial authorization for absinthe in the United States since 1912.

Kübler Absinthe Supérieure

Kübler Absinthe Supérieure

Produced in the historic absinthe region of Val-de-Travers, Switzerland.

Following Swiss legalization in 2005, Kübler prepared products for export markets including the United States.

The brand entered the U.S. market shortly after the regulatory pathway was confirmed.

Official U.S. Government Clarification (October 2007)

After the first approvals, the U.S. Treasury issued a policy clarification explaining how absinthe could legally be labelled and sold.

Primary document:

TTB Industry Circular 2007-5

Issued by the
Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau

Date issued: 16 October 2007

The circular states:

“TTB will approve the use of the term ‘absinthe’ on labels of distilled spirits products… provided the product is ‘thujone-free’.”

This confirmed that absinthe itself was not prohibited, provided the finished spirit complied with FDA standards.

TTB document:
TTB.gov – Industry Circular 2007-5

Evidence-Based Conclusion

From a strictly documented regulatory perspective:

First confirmed federal approval allowing absinthe to be sold in the United States

Date: 5 March 2007

Product:
Lucid Absinthe Supérieure

Approved by:
Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau

This approval confirmed that distilled spirits containing wormwood could legally be sold in the United States if they complied with the FDA definition of “thujone-free” (<10 ppm).

Global Context of the Absinthe Revival

When placed within the wider historical timeline of absinthe’s return:

These events collectively mark the progressive international restoration of absinthe after nearly a century of prohibition.

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