Absinthe’s history mirrors the way it’s meant to be prepared: a mix of the misunderstood and the legitimately unusual. For most of its existence, the spirit has been slandered, ostracized and, in ...

Le louche refers to the transformation that happens when water is added to absinthe, turning the liquor from a deep green to a milky, iridescent shade. At left, a classic pour. At right, an absinthe ...

One of my favorite parts of tending bar is clearing up misconceptions about alcohol. The biggest one has to be the old saw about beer before liquor or vice versa. (Answer: It doesn’t matter, except ...

When you think of absinthe, thoughts of the green fairy, hallucinations and late 19th century artists like Hemmingway, Toulouse-Lautrec and Van Gogh are probably top of mind. But, with the rise of ...

FAIRYTALES: “The No. 1 misconception is that it will make you completely trip out," says The Conundrum bartender Jax Hammond of absinthe, a legendary and often misunderstood spirit that's acquired the ...

Thursday is National Absinthe Day — a good time to celebrate the Green Fairy, its legendary nickname. Absinthe is said to have originated in Switzerland in the late 18th century and by the mid-19th ...

Graydon Carter’s semiprivate club carries over absinthe’s tradition as the spirit of choice for the artistically inclined: from Rimbaud and Toulouse-Lautrec to… Well, we’re not sure who dines there; ...

There's something romantic about absinthe — that naturally green liquor derived from wormwood and herbs like anise or fennel. Vincent Van Gogh and Oscar Wilde drank it. Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec and ...

Stay on top of what’s happening in the Bay Area with essential Bay Area news stories, sent to your inbox every weekday. The Bay Bay Area-raised host Ericka Cruz Guevarra brings you context and ...