Early history of Pernod – anise flavored liquor

Absinthe is an anise flavored spirit. In 1792 Dr, Pierre Ordinaire worked out a wormwood liqueur made with 15 other herbs, notably anise, badiane, parsley, melissa and chamomile. This botanicals were steeped in 68% alcohol. Henri Louis Pernod later purchased the recipe in 1797.

 In 1797 Henri Louis Pernod and Daniel Henri Dubied opened the first absinthe distillery in Couvet, Switzerland.

Pernod later built another distillery in Pontarlier, France in 1805. Pernod expanded the business and he began to label the drink with his own name.

By the 1850 no less than 12 distilleries were producing absinthe in France and the most popular brand at the time was Pernod.

Absinthe was a popular drink among artist and bohemians of the 1800s, it was the subject of paintings by Monet, Degas and Picasso.

 The drink was credited with hallucinogenic properties, and is believed to have fostered some of the delusions that drove the painter Vincent Van Gogh to cut off his ear.

By the late 1800s, France’s rate of absinthe consumption had topped 13 million liters of absinthe per year.

Early history of Pernod – anise flavored liquor