Dominik Miller, spokesman for Century, one of the notorious high-thujone absinthes from the Czech Republic, calls Breaux and his team “thujone denialists.”

historian Jad Adams, whose book “Hideous Absinthe: A History of the Devil in a Bottle” was published last week, said from his home in Greece, “Absinthe certainly does have psychoactive effects. Otherwise, why bother banning it?”

Dr. O, spokesman for Century, one of the notorious high- absinthes from the Czech Republic, calls Breaux and his team “ denialists.”

Suppose I told you that I saw gasoline for 99 cents a gallon today. You would probably think that I was hallucinating from tasting absinthe while researching this article. But just like my 99 cent gasoline, absinthe's psychotropic reputation is a myth based on cloudy history.

Its premium counterpart, Jade, distilled by Breaux personally and awaiting U.S. approval, has a lighter, bouncier flavor