The ban on absinthe in 1915 paved the way for the rise of pastis, a beloved French aperitif that remains a cultural icon ...

Absinthe became popular during France’s Belle-Epoque period in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. This also was the time of the decimation of France’s wine industry by the phylloxera pest. As an ...

(The French wine industry, hoping for recovery, entirely agreed.) Among absinthe’s many devotees, the ban created an instant market for unopened pre-ban bottles. More than a century later ...