Absinthe has had a reputation for a LONG time.

People said it could make you hallucinate. Make artists more creative. Drive people mad. And apparently introduce you to something called the Green Fairy.

But… was any of that actually true?

In Episode 9 of True Mocktails, we’re going down the very green rabbit hole of absinthe — from its medicinal beginnings in Switzerland to its rise as one of the most fashionable drinks in Paris.

We’re talking about La Fée Verte — the Green Fairy, the famous Parisian Green Hour, the artists and writers who helped build absinthe’s mysterious reputation, and the ingredient that somehow ended up taking much of the blame: wormwood and thujone.

Then things get messy.

A horrifying murder case helped turn public opinion against absinthe. Temperance movements wanted it gone. The wine industry had its own reasons for wanting people to fear it. And before long, absinthe had become associated with madness, crime, hallucinations, and moral decline.

Countries started banning it.

But was absinthe really the dangerous, hallucinogenic monster people believed it was?

Or did the Green Fairy become the victim of one of the best smear campaigns in beverage history?

That’s what we’re unpacking in this episode.

I’m your digital home bartender, Princess.

Salu. Let me take a sip.

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See you next time for another round of True Mocktails.