Absinthe, also known as "the Green Fairy," is the boozy little troublemaker that stirred up Europe’s artistic and social scenes in the 19th century. This emerald-green elixir first bubbled up in Switzerland in the late 1700s as a cure-all for just about anything. By the mid-1800s, it became the drink of choice in Parisian cafés, captivating bohemians, writers, and artists—everyone from Van Gogh and Hemingway to Oscar Wilde loved to indulge in its “mind-expanding” charms.

The concoction itself is based on a trinity of botanicals—wormwood, anise, and fennel—with wormwood’s thujone compound getting much of the credit (or blame) for absinthe’s reputation as a “hallucinogen.” The preparation ritual became part of the mystique: ice-cold water slowly dripped over a sugar cube on a slotted spoon, releasing those complex herbal aromas and diluting the potent spirit to perfection.

But alas, with fame came infamy. By the early 20th century, absinthe had become the poster child for everything from madness to moral decay, and the Green Fairy was practically banished across Europe and the U.S. through a series of absinthe bans. The myths were later debunked — it turns out absinthe wasn’t sending people on wild, hallucinogenic trips after all (at least, not any wilder than any other high-proof spirit).

In the late 20th century, absinthe started making a comeback, and now it’s available in much of the world as a fascinating relic of cultural rebellion and a tasty bit of mischief.

Today, whether you’re a cocktail connoisseur or a literary romantic, a sip of absinthe is like a little wink from history, reminding us of its storied past and its once-outlawed allure.