Absinthe & Edgar Allan Poe

Today is National Absinthe Day. For many years Edgar Allan Poe scholars purported that Poe was a 'victim' of Absinthe. The Virtual Absinthe Museum refutes that claim.

Edgar Allan Poe is frequently described as a heavy absinthe drinker, or even a casualty of absinthism. This, like many of the stories about Poe's troubles with alcohol, is an unsubstantiated myth, albeit a longstanding one. The feeling of many of Poe’s present day admirers (and, in earlier days, his enemies) that he was the kind of person who ought to have drunk absinthe, has convinced many of them that he in fact did. In fact there is not a shred of evidence that Poe ever drank absinthe, and there is substantial circumstantial evidence that not only was he not an abuser of the green drink, but he may not even have been aware of its existence.  Read More HERE.

Of course, knowledge has not clouded AbsintheAmerica from making a Custom Etched Bicentennial Edgar Allan Poe Absinthe Bottle (2009). Still available. Love the disclaimer:

NOTE: IF YOU CHOOSE BOTTLE TO BE FILLED WITH ABSINTHE, YOU MUST BE AWARE THAT THIS IS NOT SOLD TO BE OPENED OR CONSUMED. BOTTLE WILL CONTAIN ABSINTHE MIXTURE OF 120 PROOF AND 100MG/LITER. CONTENTS IS [sic] DANGEROUS AND MUST NOT BE CONSUMED AS MIXTURE IS HIGHLY TOXIC AND DANGEROUS. THIS IS MERELY A UNIQUE ONE-OF-A-KIND DIPLAY [sic]METHOD TO CELEBRATE A TRUE LITERARY MASTER AND PIECE OF OVER-INDULGENT HISTORY. YOU MUST INDICATE VIA CHECKOUT MEMO THAT YOU ARE OVER 21 YEARS OF AGE AND WILL NOT OPEN BOTTLE OR CONSUME CONTENTS. THIS IS REQUIRED. IF YOU DO NOT WISH TO ABIDE BY THESE CONDITIONS, PLEASE SELECT ANOTHER OPTION. ABSINTHE AMERICA IS NOT AND WILL NOT BE RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY HARM THAT MAY COME ABOUT BY MISUSE OF THESE NOVELTY ITEMS.

Want some Chocolate with your Absinthe? Check out my post today on DyingforChocolate.com