While the recipe for absinthe was originally discovered in 1792, it wasn’t put into use until it was sold to Henri Louis Pernod in 1797. Shortly after, he started producing absinthe in a fair quantity (but nowhere near as close as it became) in Couvet, Switzerland. Things didn’t really kick off that big right away though. Only a few litres of absinthe were created per day. By 1805, things started to change and its popularity increased.
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In 1805, the company upgraded severely. Henri Louis Pernod ended up opening a bigger distillery (specifically for absinthe) in Pontarlier, which is a town in France. This could be some of the reason why some people think that absinthe originated from France as well.
Absinthe was starting to become popular and many people noticed that it was going to become very common in bars, cafes, and essentially everywhere because of how attractive it is. The taste was impossible to match and the buzz was unbelievable. The drink gave a newfound answer to writers struggling from writers block and artists trying to think of something to paint. With the popularity of absinthe becoming so big, a lot of businessmen wanted to join in on the opportunity.
Not too long after the upgrade was made by Henri Louis Pernod did others start to copy the whole business plan. A lot of new absinthe brands were made and they were all just copying want Pernod had created. Various brands such as Oxygenee, Pernot, and Armand Guy all tried to profit off of the concept which Pernod owned the rights to. On a side note, the present owner of Armand Guy is Francois Guy and he played a big role in terminating the ban of absinthe in France by doing a lot of studying to prove it is safe which led to it being popular. |
