INTOXICATING, 'MESMERIZING' AND ILLEGAL -- FOR NOW -- ABSINTHE LIQUOR HAS
FERVENT DEVOTEES

It's no surprise that Boston filmmaker and artist Thomas Pascale finds
inspiration in Pablo Picasso, Edgar Degas and Vincent Van Gogh. But
it's not just their art that awakens his creative muse, it's what they
drank -- absinthe, and a lot of it.

When Pascale, 42, prepares to begin a new painting, he pulls out his
absinthe, the green-colored, anise-flavored liquor that was popular
among turn-of-the-century artists and writers. But unlike many of
them, who drank absinthe as if it were water, Pascale indulges in moderation.

The drink has been illegal in the United States since 1912, but that
doesn't stop him from ordering it on the Internet, buying from
"underground" vendors, or picking up a bottle or two when he travels
to Europe.

He mixes the liquor with ice-cold water and imported sugar, creating a
milky cloud that swirls inside the glass and is, he says,
"mesmerizing." Several sips later, he's ready to paint.

"It gives me a beginning point, to get everything going in a creative
direction," he says. "Different kinds of perspectives and ideas come
up -- a new outlook."

Absinthe ("AB-synth") is a bitter liquor distilled with wormwood,
which contains the neurotoxin thujone, a close relative of
tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, which is the active agent in marijuana.
Undiluted, Absinthe's alcohol content ranges from 60 to 85 percent.

In the 19th century, absinthe gained a reputation for inducing wild
hallucinations and delirium; Van Gogh is rumored to have cut off his
ear after an absinthe overdose, and the drink was blamed for murders,
diseases and general societal ills, eventually leading to an almost
worldwide ban.

But things are about to change. For Americans, absinthe now beckons --
from the back door. In June, Ontario legalized the liquor, and Quebec
will follow suit in September.

There has long been a small underground group of absinthe fans in
Boston, Pascale says, but the drink is enjoying a modern-day revival
there, thanks to increased accessibility and its recent presence in
pop culture.

Baz Luhrmann's summer movie musical "Moulin Rouge" featured several
scenes with absinthe, including a sequence where a green fairy
sprinkles magic dust on indulgers. Artists ranging from singer Trent
Reznor of Nine Inch Nails to author and vampire maven Anne Rice have
paid homage to it.

There's even a Boston band named after the drink.

"There's such a history behind absinthe and so much creativity
hovering around this liquor," says Michael Durwin, bass player for
Absinthe, which formed in 1991. "We looked at our music and thought we
were a cutting-edge band, so that name was perfect for us."

Band members make it a tradition to take a shot of absinthe before
going onstage -- ("It's like naming your band Whiskey and never
touching hard liquor. You have to try it," Durwin says) --and it has
influenced their song lyrics and their attitude.

"Because of all the artists and authors who had done absinthe, it made
us think we had something to live up to," Durwin says. "We had the
freedom to be creative, to do something spontaneous and unplanned."

Durwin has attended absinthe parties in Boston and has even hosted a
few. He says that the mystique surrounding absinthe is almost as
intoxicating as the liquor itself.

"It's the drink," he says, "but the idea of it, too."

More Than A Fad

Oscar Wilde once said that, with absinthe, "you see the things that
you want to see, wonderful curious things."

Perhaps that's why absinthe has survived attacks from temperance
zealots, doctors, and politicians, as well as bans across the world,
to emerge once again as a popular drink.

"When I first discovered absinthe, I thought it was a fad and that it
would come and go," says Betina Wittels, who has sold absinthe
antiques and collectibles from her home in the Southwest for the past
five years. "But I don't believe that anymore. I think it's going to
be the next Absolut Vodka. It's not just an interest in a drink, it's
an interest in a way of life that we've forgotten."

Indeed, part of the allure of absinthe is the ritual involved in
drinking it. Wittels says that absinthe is meant to be sipped slowly.
"To me, it's reminiscent of that era where people took the time to
relish the moment," she says.

Pascale says it takes several minutes to drip ice water over the sugar
when preparing a glass of absinthe, creating a heightened sense of
anticipation. "It's really an occasion," he says.

It can be a spectacle, too. Some absinthe drinkers dip the spoon
filled with sugar into the absinthe to soak it with the liquor, then
light it on fire. The flame stretches as the sugar
caramelizes.

Extensive lore and a colorful history surround the drink, which was at
one point hailed as a tonic for creativity and the path to genius by
such writers and artists as Ernest Hemingway and Henri de
Toulouse-Lautrec, and at another was blamed for the downfall of
society. Pascale remembers the first time he tried the drink, about
five years ago.

"From what I had read, I was expecting it to hit me over the head, but
it's very subtle," he says. "There's a certain clarity that comes with
it that's so unlike alcohol, which is a dulling of the senses. After
the first bottle, I never went back to liquor."

Some Younger Fans

Although Pascale expects absinthe drinkers to be older because of the
expense -- quality absinthe can cost between $100 and $250 a liter --
and because, he says, "I'm not sure younger people would really be
able to appreciate it," the drink also has a following among
20-somethings.

Erik Flynn, 21, a student at Boston College, discovered absinthe while
studying in Prague. He tried it initially because of the novelty, he
says.

"Part of the effect of it comes from the actual absinthe, and the
other part from the fact that you're drinking absinthe and you have
this mentality about it and you get revved up because of it," he says.

When Ben Keidan, 22, goes abroad, friends beg him to bring some home
with him.

"It's a fun novelty drink," says the Boston native and recent graduate
of American University. "I think it tastes something like
Jager(meister, a strong liquor), but more brutal, like if you added
100 proof to it. It feels like your lungs are on fire."

According to a spokesman for the Food and Drug Administration, thujone
was declared a banned additive in 1972 because it was considered to be
poisonous. If you try to bring it into the United States, absinthe can
be confiscated and destroyed.

Criminal prosecution could follow, although there has not yet been a
court case to test this. The law is unlikely to change, says the spokesman.

"There's been no new information presented to this agency about it, so
we haven't changed our policy," he says.