Parisian favorite making a comeback

NEW YORK, Sept. 28 (UPI) -- Absinthe has been making a comeback at fashionable bars and restaurants since returning to legal status in the United States this year.

The drink, also known as the "green fairy," had been banned in the United States since 1912 because of its supposed hallucinogenic effects, The New York Times reported Friday.

The dry, slightly bitter spirit is associated with Bohemian Paris just before World War I and was a favorite of the painter Pablo Picasso and writer Oscar Wilde.

It was also rumored to have been responsible for Van Gogh cutting off his ear and for causing epilepsy and delusions, the Times said.

Developed in the French-speaking part of Switzerland in the 1700s, absinthe is distilled from herbs including anise, fennel and wormwood.

It was banned in the United States because of a compound known as thujone that is toxic in excessive amounts but testing of old supplies of absinthe uncovered no significant amounts of the chemical.

New York's Waverly Inn serves absinthe in a traditional fountain filled with ice water, the Times said.