The Wormwood Society

It's true.  After 95 years, real absinthe is now legally available and being sold inside the United States in bars and liquor stores.

We don't say "legalized" because nothing has changed—it appears absinthe may have been technically legal since 1972, possibly much earlier.  What happened?

Absinthe is not prohibited by name in the US, although until recently the TTB (Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau) exercised its discretionary authority not to allow spirits to be labeled as absinthe. 

Owing to new understandings of the regulatory matters regarding wormwood content, and the recent decision by the TTB to approve labels bearing the term "absinthe," several authentic brands are finally emerging into the US market.

Yes, some of these are authentic 19th century-style absinthes.  The European Union and the US have food standards in place that directly and indirectly regulate absinthe's botanical content, and recent progress in knowledge of regulatory matters and distilling practice have made it possible to produce fully authentic absinthes which will meet US regulations.

While these absinthes are not absolutely 100% thujone free, the concentration of thujone falls within the current TTB standard for thujone screening: 10ppm, roughly 10mg per liter, which is the European Union standard.  Not that it matters much, because it's already been amply demonstrated that thujone is unimportant to the quality or authenticity of absinthe. (see our science section)

This new development will permit a large variety of quality European absinthes to enter the US market legally as well as permitting authentic absinthe to be made domestically once again.  At this writing, as many as five domestic distillers are preparing to release products in the U.S. market.

More details about this development will be added as they surface.  Stay tuned!