Who believes in evil spirits?

ABSINTH has a strange history. There aren't many drinks that carry such a weird resonance. It conjures up an element of danger, mystery and decadence. In a world that is getting flooded with increasingly squeaky-clean and "sophisticated" spirits, it's good to get something evil and twisted back on the scene.

So what is it? To the best of our knowledge, absinthe (the French spelling) started life as a herbal remedy that was brewed up on the stove of the Henriot sisters, who lived in the Swiss Alps in the late 18th century.

There were plenty of these elixirs around at the time, but what made this one special, it appeared, was the combination of anise and wormwood (artimisia absinthium) in the recipe.

By the turn of the last century, the Henriot sisters' recipe had passed to a certain Henri-Louis Pernod - yes, the same one - whose absinthe was to become the most popular spirit in France.

It was the first rock'n'roll spirit, drunk in vast quantities by French bohemians such as Baudelaire, Verlaine, Huysmans and Rimbaud. Various miraculous properties were attributed to it and absinthe became the 19th-century equivalent of LSD.

Inevitably, the self-appointed guardians of the nation's morals objected. Absinthe copped the blame for every one of society's ills. By 1915 the French and Swiss governments had banned it.

Like everyone else, I assumed it was banned here. But this was not the case. It appears that the British drinks trade simply stopped selling it. Now absinth (the Czech spelling) is back, thanks to a strange coming-together of two journalists, the ex-drummer from the Jesus and Mary Chain and a businessman who found it alive and well in - where else? - Bohemia. They have now started shipping it to the UK (contact Green Bohemia on 01992 511445, or visit the Web site at www.absinth.co.uk).

At 70% abv, this is not a spirit to be taken lightly. It's to be approached with trepidation, respect and a sense of awe. "We're only selling it to bars where people know their customers," said one of the importers, Tim Hodgkinson. "Even then, we're recommending people have no more than two at a time. It's not for part-time drinkers."

The barmen honoured with a bottle or two are leaping on it with glee - you can drink Absinth Sours at the Groucho Club in London, while cocktail maestro Dick Bradsall is intoxicated with its flaming possibilities (at this strength, the danger is the bar will explode). And new Manchester bar and restaurant Reform is causing a bit of a stir with the stuff.

So what of the legends? Have a couple, and you'll experience an intoxication unlike any other - detached, but intense. Intriguingly, wormwood contains thujone, which has the same chemical structure as THC (tetrahydrocannabinol), the psychoactive ingredient in cannabis. Who knows? Whatever the case, we can now join Rimbaud in his toast: "Long live the Absinthe Academy!" n

by Dave Broom