How to drink it: Straight up, with some sugar (to make it less bitter) or in a cocktail.
Want to party like it's 1899? Well, now you can--sort of. After nearly a century-long ban on absinthe in the U.S., a federal agency has begrudgingly allowed two European distillers to sell the mysterious liquor Stateside. Renowned for its supposedly hallucinogenic effects, the anise-flavored alcohol was rumored to have caused an epidemic of psychosis in France in the late 1800s--most infamously, leading Vincent van Gogh to cut off his ear. But before you kick one back Parisian-style, consider this: absinthe may not be the transcendent experience marketers want you to think it is.
Often referred to as the Green Fairy, absinthe...
