Insider’s Guide to Auvers- Part II

Half-way between Jean-Francois Daubigny’s inviting maison-atelier on rue Daubigny and the impeccably restored Auberge Ravoux on Auvers’ main street, lies a small white house with a dark green door. Affixed to the left side of the building, high over-head, is a very large metal absinthe spoon. No visitor strolling down the narrow, winding rue Callé could fail to notice it. Modeled after an actual absinthe spoon with its distinctive Eiffel Tower motif, the signage is a humorous twist on the traditional practice of featuring symbols– keys for locksmiths, boots for shoemakers, eyeglasses for opticians–to communicate the business of a given establishment. Opened in 1994 by Marie-Claude Delahaye, a Parisian cellular biology professor, the Absinthe Museum is dedicated to preserving the history and lore of absinthe. Spanning little more than 1000 square feet on two floors, Delahaye built her unique collection of vintage absinthe posters, glasses, water fountains, bottles and related ephemera beginning with the purchase of just a single absinthe spoon two decades ago. Visitors to the museum are greeted by Delahaye, an energetic redhead, who welcomes absinthe buffs and the just-plain-curious as soon as they step into her shrine-like musée. Those unfamiliar with the history of absinthe are free to peruse the books (some written by Delahaye) that rest on a table in the center room. As the museum contains no wall panels providing an overview of the drink’s history, a brief account follows: As early as Egyptian times and later in classical antiquity, absinthe was considered a panacea, prescribed for stomach disorders, jaundice, anemia, rheumatism and even bad breath; leaves from the Artemesia absinthium plant were soaked in wine to create the elixir. Ancestor of today’s anise-based Pastis, absinthe was the most popular and notorious liquor in 19th century France. It is possibly this combination of traits that has served to establish its reputation as the most notorious in history. A favorite drink of Toulouse-Lautrec, Van Gogh, Rimbaud and Verlaine; absinthe was popularized by French soldiers returning from Algeria in the 1830s. While stationed there, they had been prescribed the plant-based alcohol as an anti-viral, anti-fever remedy, which was mixed in their drinking water. Upon returning to France, their taste for “la fée verte” (the green fairy) so named because of the drink’s yellowish-green hue, soon spread throughout France to the general public who sipped it in cafes sweetened with a lump of sugar. Crossing socioeconomic as well as gender lines, absinthe was enjoyed by all– from the top-hatted, well-fed factory owner to the penniless, tuberculin laundress. Absinthe was generally sipped as an aperitif, between 5 o’clock and 7 o’clock in the evening; but those who were addicted drank it at any hour of the day, often consuming up to a dozen glasses in a single day. Part of the appeal of absinthe surely stemmed from the ritual surrounding its consumption. Unlike cognac or whiskey, gin or calvados which were imbibed in ordinary, shot-type glasses, absinthe was enjoyed in stem ware designed especially for the liquor. With an elongated cup, measuring about 4-inches in height, the narrow, footed goblet had a small depression at the bottom used to measure a dose of absinthe: The liquor itself was clear but when combined with water, which was the customary way of drinking it, the mixture turned cloudy. First the absinthe was poured into a glass, and a perforated spoon, usually of tin, was laid across the rim of the glass. Onto this a lump of sugar was placed. Water would then slowly be poured over the sugar which would melt into the absinthe and sweeten the drink. The long-handled spoon would then be used to stir the contents causing the liquor to become opalescent. With the increasing industrialization of alcoholic beverages as the century wore on and the subsequent lowering of prices, alcohol consumption of all kinds rose rapidly in France making it the most “alcoholic” of all nations in the world by the end of the 19th century. Absinthe came under attack by the French Temperance Society and would be the only alcoholic beverage ever officially outlawed in France. Finally banned by the French government in 1915 because it was considered so harmful to one’s health–it was 72% alcohol or 144 proof–absinthe is inextricably linked to the artistic and literary life of Paris during the second half of the 19th century. After viewing Delahaye’s collection of absinthe water fountains and recreated fin-de-siècle bar on the upstairs level, interested parties should proceed to the Auberge Ravoux, a brief and scenic walk through Auvers’ back streets. The Auberge serves up a special house blend of “legal” absinthe for those who wish to experience the ritual surrounding the drink. Known as a Muse Verte, this special aperitif is served in a tall, custom-made verre a l’absinthe Le Musée de l’Absinthe 44, rue Callé Auvers-sur-Oise, France 95430 Tel/Fax 011 33 1 30 36 83 26 The Museum is open weekends from 11 AM-6PM and Wednesday-Sunday June through September. For further reading on Absinthe see: Barnaby Conrad III’s ABSINTHE :History in a Bottle (Chronicle Books, 1988) and Wilfred N. Arnold’s Vincent Van Gogh: Chemicals, Crises and Creativity (Birkhauser Boston, 1992) Bonjour Paris is pleased to have Alexandra Leaf as a contributor.