Besides language, one of the indicators of the strong connection between New Orleans and Paris is absinthe. Th e ritual, the association with la vie bohème (the bohemian life), and the consumption of spirits are all links between the two cities. Absinthe, the anise-flavored spirit enjoyed in glorious excess by Edgar Degas, a visitor to New Orleans, Arthur Rimbaud, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, and so many other members of the demimonde in Paris, was also quite popular in New Orleans.
Absinthe is said to have been invented in Switzerland at the turn of the 19th century. It was an eau de vie flavored with herbs and spices including green anise, star anise, cardamom, and the most important botanical: Artemesia absinthium, commonly known as grand wormwood. When it was first formulated, absinthe…
