I found this article on the new absinthe that came out last year. This guy tasted the new absinthe, called Lucid, and says it’s not actually as good as the imported version. I still want to taste Lucid, though…
Barely Legal: American Absinthe Passes the Taste Test

The absinthe revival, which has been on the move for more than a decade, just took a leap forward.

For years, American aficionados of the banned beverage that inspired such artists as Vincent Van Gogh and Marilyn Manson, have made do with quasi-legally imported European brands or, worse yet, near-substitutes made without wormwood, the critical ingredient that gives absinthe its distinctive, biting taste.

You need wormwood to make real absinthe, but the herb is a tricky one to work with — one of its key compounds, thujone, has long been considered the cause of the drink’s supposed side effects: hallucinations, artistic inspiration, degeneracy and homicidal mania. Thujone has been prohibited as a food and drink ingredient in the United States since 1912. (more…)