An absinthe spoon with a sugar cube lies on top of a glass in the absinthe distillery Artemisia in Couvet, Val-de-Travers
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Sunday was National Absinthe Day, and Swiss fans of the “Green Fairy”, which originated in the Val-de-Travers near Neuchâtel in the 18th century, no doubt raised a few glasses to the legendary alcoholic spirit.
Absinthe was banned in Switzerland in 1910, ostensibly over fears it was damaging public health, and wasn’t legalised until 2005. But bootleggers in Val-de-Travers continued to distil the drink in secret.
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Once banned absinthe retains mythical appeal
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Now the drink is legal, the industry is moving to protect it by giving it a special label. But the economic crisis is starting to show its effects, especially in exports to the former boom country of the United States. “There was a terrible crime in 1905, a vineyard worker who had drunk an awful…
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Sales of the highly alcoholic spirit, legal in Switzerland since 2005, have quadrupled over the past six months. Around 40 per cent of absinthe is exported, with two-thirds going to the US, according to the Swiss Alcohol Board (SAB). Exports of the beverage, reached 140,000 litres over the first six months of 2008 compared with…
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In Val-de-Travers, where bootleg versions have been made over the years, locals celebrated its new freedom. But others regret they no longer have the thrill of drinking an outlawed tipple. Ludivines, the “Green Fairy” of absinthe, was symbolically removed on Tuesday from the police station in the town of Môtiers in the Jura mountains. Surrounded…
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The Swiss Alcohol Board (SAB) made a number of busts over the winter but says tracking the illegal stills remains tough. The sale and production of absinthe has been legal in Switzerland since March 1 last year and figures released by the SAB this week show that the “Green Fairy” has taken wing. Almost 130,000…
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If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.