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Thursday, May 21, 2009

The Green Torment


Le Tourment Vert Absinthe....$6.99 / 50ml
Le Tourment Vert Absinthe....$49.99 / 750ml

Artists & Thinkers
"We’re not the only ones inspired by absinthe. It’s captured the imaginations of some of the world’s most famous (and infamous) artists and writers. Masters from Degas to Picasso, van Gogh to Hemingway, Toulouse-Lautrec to Wilde, have found their muse to be green. Not only devoted absinthe enthusiasts, they also celebrated it prominently in their works. The complex flavors. The painterly color. The captivating spirit. These same qualities that made absinthe the artist’s creative juice of choice are now reimagined in Le Tourment Vert. We leave it open to your interpretation." -- importer




Banned!
"About a hundred years ago, absinthe became a victim of its own success. It was increasingly popular, particularly in France, with both the working class and the bourgeoisie. Some claimed it could protect against malaria. Others swore it unleashed their creative muse. The rituals required to prepare it found their ideal setting in the bohemian café scene of the Left Bank. But with the world descending into the turmoil of the First World War, absinthe began to take the blame for society’s decay. The prohibitionists launched a campaign against “The Green Torment”, claiming it was responsible for everything from general debauchery to insanity and death. By 1912, it was banned in the US and many other countries. Now absinthe is back and a whole new generation of distillers is creating a wide range of styles to choose from. In acknowledgement of absinthe’s checkered history we named ours “Le Tourment Vert” (The Green Torment): The very phrase that was used against absinthe by its detractors a century ago." -- importer

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