The first time I ever heard of Absinthe was in 8th grade reading Sherlock Holmes. Can't remember the exact page of course... was ages ago. But if anyone gets an itching to read Holmes, heads up to look for Absinthe references.

I'm not sure the first time I encountered absinthe, but I'm pretty sure it was when I first started researching my Irish heritage. Irish lead to tuatha de danann, lead to faeries in general, lead to green faeries, lead to absinthe. My first official introduction was in college while studying romantic literature and dating an art major.

What part of Mississippi or Alabama? I am in Jackson, and the other MIssissippi guy just moved to Missouri. We are underrepresented, especially compared to all those Montanians, or whatever they refer to themselves as.

Hmmm...I remember references to Holmes taking morphine and cocaine, but not absinthe. Is the Holmes canon on line anywhere? Perhaps one could search for the term "absinthe" to see whether Doyle ever mentions it.

Well, I am in college in Alabama. My parents live near Jackson though. We are on the Rankin side of the Reservoir.

I found Sherlock Holmes online: http://www.sherlockian.net/canon/

I also googled Holmes and absinthe, and found this in Yahoo Answers (I bolded the important part in case you want to skim):

Meatball: Was Sherlock Holmes addicted to Absinthe?

Ms. Diamond Girl (voted Best Answer): Sherlock Holmes:

An East End opium den, 1890
© TopFoto.co.uk It seems scarcely credible today that Sherlock Holmes's principal private vice was that he was an intravenous drug user, sometimes of morphine, more often – as on this occasion from the opening passage of The Sign Of Four – of cocaine. The vice is not quite so private that Holmes can't practise it before the concerned gaze of his associate Dr Watson, whose medical training puts him in fear of the physical consequences of Holmes's habit.

Holmes justifies his recourse to recreational drugs to Watson in these words: "I find it… so transcendently stimulating and clarifying to the mind that its secondary action [i.e. whatever damage it might be doing him] is a matter of small moment… I abhor the dull routine of existence. I crave for mental exaltation."

These were not uncommon sentiments in the late 19th century, an era when laws to prohibit the use of drugs of all sorts had not yet been formulated. There had long been an association of the use of opium (both smoked and, in the form of laudanum, drunk) with the creative imagination. Experimentation with it was prevalent among the Romantic poets such as Samuel Taylor Coleridge and Percy Bysshe Shelley. But cocaine was something different again.

The most singular aspect of cocaine in the Holmes stories is not Holmes's habit, but rather Watson's reaction to it. In spite of celebrated cases of cocaine addiction (e.g. Dr. W. S. Halsted) and even reports of death from cocaine use as early as 1891, there was no general medical condemnation of cocaine use in the late 19th century. The retired Surgeon General of the U. S. Army extolled its fatigue reduction and mood-elevating properties, while others vigorously promoted cocaine as an anaesthetic, a cure for alcoholism and opium abuse. Freud's endorsement of cocaine at the time was extreme, suggesting that its therapeutic use might even do away with inebriate asylums

he was an occasional user (a habitual user when lacking in stimulating cases) of cocaine and morphine, though Watson describes this as Holmes' "only vice", and later "weaned" Holmes off of drug use citing its destructive qualities.

Absinthe has always been considered cool in popular culture. Not only was Sherlock Holmes an avid drinker, but the concoction has been featured in many films.

hope this helps. good luck.

ps I found this also:
Any way you slice it, absinthe remains a forbidden drink with a lot of historical baggage. In spite of its rich history, all that people seem to remember about the drink is that artists drank it and that it could lead to absinthism, an addiction that produced hallucinations, convulsions and paralysis.

It's now considered trendy again in some circles to drink absinthe, and there are plenty of people who want on the bandwagon. If you're among them, know that you still must be careful. In 1997, a man who wanted to enjoy the famous absinthe high ordered wormwood oil over the Internet. The only buzz he ended up getting was from the painkillers in the hospital where he went for the ensuing acute renal failure.

good luck.

Going to college in Alabama compared to Mississippi might not have been a bad choice at all. I am currently working on an absinthe group of locals. We're up to three right now. If you know anyone in the area that might be interested let me know.

I don't yet... but I'll try to get some friends and family interested. Maybe I'll be able to find some to join you

Okay, well, I just searched the domain cited above (sherlockian.net) for any occurrence of the word "absinthe." As best I can tell using Google, there are none. That leads me to believe that "Ms. Diamond Girl (voted Best Answer)" is making up stories about the Great Detective, since Conan Doyle evidently makes no mention of Holmes drinking our favorite aperitif. I guess choosing answers by popular vote isn't the best model after all....

Admittedly it has been a while since I read the canon, but I really did think I remembered reading it somewhere...or perhaps I was just remembering rumors? I'd have to reread all the books to know for sure.