"Launched in 1999, Absente was the first legal absinthe on the market since its ban.
  
Absinthe, nicknamed the "green fairy" and banned in 1915, was reauthorized in 1988, provided that its thujone content (the plant's active ingredient, which, in high doses, was believed to cause madness) did not exceed 35 mg/kg.
  
Highly prized for its absinthe-like taste and green hues, this spirit has attracted many artists, including Van Gogh, Baudelaire, Toulouse-Lautrec, Picasso, and Oscar Wilde..."