1911 Beverages de luxe

writer, in traducing Absinthe, points out that it is twice re- ferred to in the Bevelations o£ St. John, and quotes the folio w- ing : "And the third angel sonnded his truinpet, and there fell a great star from the heavens, bnrning like a lamp, and it fell upon a third part of the rivers and npon the fonntains of waters. And the name of the star is called Wormwood, and the third part of the waters became Wormwood, and many men died of the waters becanse they were made bitter." However correct this qnotation inay be, the alleged "revela- tions" of Miss Corelli embody the worst abuse that has ever been heaped upon Absinthe. It came into vogue as a fébrifuge or cure for fever, and in this way by easy stages to Paris, and there became a popular drink on the Boulevards, where the five o'clock gossip hour at the cafés came to be known as "the hour of Absinthe.' 1 Thereafter the manufacture of the article devel- oped into an extensive industry in France and Switzerland. It is classified as a liqueur or aromatized spirit, prepared by pounding the leaves and ûowering tops of various species of worniwood with angelica root, sweet flag root, the leaves of dittany of Crète, star-anise fruit and other aromatics, and mas- cerating thèse in alcohol. After soaking for about eight days the compound is distilled, yielding an emerald-colored liquor, to which a proportion of an essential oil, usually that of anise, is added. An American authority includes in his recipe ver- mouth, small fennel, coriander, angel sweet root, liquorice, calamns, bitter almonds, small leaves of vermouth, peppermint leaves, camilles and juniper, and gives from three to four weeks as the distilling period. There are four ways of serving the drink, and possibly more, but thèse are known best : Absinthe Cocktail, Absinthe Frappe, Absinthe a la Parisienne, and Absinthe aux Dieux. This brief narrative is x>erhaps interesting at this time, be- canse the law prohibiting the manufacture of Absinthe, follow- iug one already existing prohibiting its sale, became effective in Switzerland last October, This was voted upon by référ- endum nearly two years ago. In fact, both the sale and manu- facture were legislated against at the same time, but the opéra- tion of the law as regards manufacturing was deferred until the distillers Avère afforded an opportunit} 7 to dispose of their stocks. The French cantons voted against the prohibition law in the référendum, but were outvoted by the German cantons, where little Absinthe was consumed. An item of interest in connection with the new law is the adjustment of the terras of compensation which the Fédéral Government desires to make to the distillers for the losses which its passage and enforcement involves, and which, by the way, rather points a moral for ému- lation by those of our States that have wiped out distilleries, breweries, etc., without any suggestion whatever of compensa- tion for disturbance.