Counterfeit Absinthe

There were three main factors that led to the prohibition of absinthe. The first and perhaps most important was the inferior absinthes sold in the pre-ban era (before 1915). Due to the popularity of absinthe at the time, many counterfeit companies were producing inferior absinthes, many of which were not distilled at all. Some of these imitation absinthes actually contained poisons, such as the toxic metal copper sulfate. One way these imitators were able to give the liqueur its characteristic green color was by using copper sulfate. This is considered the most devastating factor in absinthe's downfall.

The insect that ruined absinthe

The second contributing cause was a small insect. During the 1860s and 70s, an insect called grape phylloxera destroyed two-thirds of the vineyards on the European continent. The wine industry was decimated in what was known as Le Grand Blight du vin Français. It was at this time that absinthe was able to surpass wine as the number one drink in France. By the 1880s, France alone was drinking more absinthe than all the other countries in the world combined. By the late 1880s, the wine industry was beginning to make a comeback, and the only thing standing in its way was absinthe. Wine in France was not considered alcohol, but a way of life, so it was very easy for the wine industry to start its crusade to convince the government that absinthe was evil. These were powerful wine lobbyists who quickly found themselves on the shoulders of government officials, influencing their opinion on the need to ban absinthe.

Absinthe propaganda

And finally, public opinion. At this time, alcohol was blamed for all social immortals, which would soon lead to the temperance movement and the eventual banning of all alcohol in the USA. In 1905, Jean Lanfray (a Swiss laborer) in a drunken rage, murdered his family and then attempted suicide, only to fail and shoot himself in the jaw. It was later revealed that throughout the day, he had consumed; two glasses of absinthe, seven glasses of wine, six glasses of cognac, one brandy coffee and two crème de menthes. After all the alcohol he'd drunk, it was the 2 ounces of absinthe that were blamed for his actions. But due to the moral panic against absinthe in Europe at the time, the murders led to a petition receiving over 82,000 signatures and the eventual banning of absinthe in Switzerland in 1910. And after closely monitoring what was happening in Europe, the United States soon followed suit in 1912, and reluctantly France in 1915.