Regulations
Currently, most countries do not have a legal definition of absinthe (unlike Scotch whisky or cognac). Manufacturers can label a product ‘absinthe’ or ‘absinth’, whether or not it matches the traditional definition. Due to many countries never banning absinthe, not every country has regulations specifically governing it.
Australia
Bitters can contain a maximum 35 mg/kg thujone, while other alcoholic beverages can contain a maximum 10 mg/kg of thujone. In Australia, import and sales require a special permit although absinthe is readily available in many bottle shops. Regulation 5H of the Customs (Prohibited Imports) Regulations 1956 (Cth) (the Regulations) prohibits the importation of Absinthe (Schedule 8), unless the permission (in writing) of the Secretary or an authorised person has been granted permission to import the goods and the permission has been produced to the Collector. Item 12A of Schedule 8 of the Regulations, refers to “oil of wormwood, being an essential oil obtained from plants of the genus Artemisia, and preparations containing oil of wormwood.”
The administrative arrangements include the Secretary and authorised officers (appropriately delegated TGA officers) of the Therapeutic Goods Administration may grant permission to import absinthe. The Australian Customs and Border Protection Service is the Collector for the importation of Schedule 8 goods. The domestic production and sale of Absinthe is regulated by State licensing laws.
Canada
In Canada, liquor laws are established by the various provincial governments. As with any spirit, importation by individuals for personal use is allowed, provided that conditions for the individual’s duration outside the country are satisfied. (Importation is a federal matter, and is enforced by the Canada Border Services Agency).
British Columbia, New Brunswick: no established limits on thujone content
Alberta, Nova Scotia, Ontario: 10 mg/kg
Manitoba: 6–8 mg
Quebec: 5 mg/kg
Newfoundland and Labrador: absinthe sold in provincial liquor store outlets
Absinthe is not sold in some provinces, although, in Saskatchewan, an individual is permitted to import one case (usually twelve 750 ml bottles or eight one-litre bottles) of any liquor. Individual provincial liquor boards must approve each product before it may be sold.
Production of spirits in Canada is provincially regulated. Okanagan Spirits in British Columbia released the Taboo brand in 2007: this is possibly the first commercial absinthe crafted in Canada.
Brazil
Absinthe was prohibited in Brazil until 2000. Presently, absinthe sold in Brazil must abide by the national law that restricts all spirits to a maximum of 53.8% alcohol by volume. While this regulation is enforced throughout channels of legal distribution, most major cities have large open air markets where contraband items, including absinthe containing alcohol in excess of the legal limit, are sold without interference from local police.
European Union
The European Union permits a maximum thujone level of 35 mg/kg in alcoholic beverages where Artemisia species is a listed ingredient, and 10 mg/kg in other alcoholic beverages. Member countries regulate absinthe production within this framework. Sale of absinthe is permitted in all EU countries unless they further regulate it.
France
Despite adopting sweeping EU food and beverage regulations in 1988 that effectively re-legalized absinthe, a decree was passed that same year that preserved the prohibition on products explicitly labelled as “absinthe”, while placing strict limits on fenchone (fennel) and pinocamphone (hyssop)in an obvious (failed) attempt to thwart a possible return of absinthe-like products. French producers circumvented this regulatory obstacle by labelling absinthe as spiritueux à base de plantes d’absinthe (‘wormwood-based spirits’), with many either reducing or omitting fennel and hyssop altogether. A legal challenge to the scientific basis of this decree resulted in its repeal (2009), which opened the door for the official French re-legalization of absinthe for the first time since 1915. The French Senate voted to repeal the prohibition in mid-April 2011.
Republic of Georgia
It is legal to produce and sell absinthe in the Republic of Georgia, which has several absinthe production facilities.
Germany
A ban on absinthe was enacted in Germany on 27 March 1923. In addition to banning the production of and commercial trade in absinthe, the law went so far as to prohibit the distribution of printed matter that provided details of its production. The original ban was lifted in 1981, but the use of Artemisia absinthium as a flavouring agent remained prohibited. On 27 September 1991, Germany adopted the European Union’s standards of 1988, which effectively re-legalized absinthe. Unlike Switzerland and France, there are no further restrictions.
New Zealand
Although the substance is not banned at national level, some local authorities have banned it. The latest is Mataura in Southland. The ban came in August 2008 after several issues of misuse drew public and police attention. One incident resulted in breathing difficulties and hospitalization of a 17-year-old for alcohol poisoning. The particular brand of absinthe that caused these effects contained 89.9% vol. alc.
Sweden
The sale and production of absinthe has never been prohibited in Sweden. However, the only store that may sell alcoholic beverages containing more than 3.5% alcohol by volume is the government-owned chain of liquor stores called Systembolaget. Systembolaget did not import or sell absinthe for many years.
Switzerland
In Switzerland, the sale and production of absinthe was prohibited from 1910 to 2005; the ban was lifted on 1 March 2005. To be legally made or sold in Switzerland, absinthe must be distilled and must be either uncoloured or naturally coloured.
United States
In 2007, the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau effectively lifted the longstanding absinthe ban, and has since approved many brands for sale in the U.S. market. This was made possible partly through the TTB’s clarification of the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) thujone content regulations, which specify that finished food and beverages that contain Artemisia species must be thujone free.[98] In this context, the TTB considers a product to be thujone-free if the thujone content is less than 10ppm (equal to 10 mg/kg).[99][100] This is verified through the use of Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry.
The importation, distribution, and sale of absinthe is permitted with respect to the following restrictions:
- The product must be thujone-free as per TTB guidelines,
- The word “absinthe” can neither be the brand name nor stand alone on the label, and
- The packaging cannot “project images of hallucinogenic, psychotropic or mind-altering effects.”
- Absinthe imported in violation of these regulations is subject to seizure at the discretion of U.S. Customs.
Beginning in 2001, a product called Absente was sold legally in the United States under the marketing tagline “Absinthe Refined”, but as the product was made with southernwood (Artemisia abrotanum) and not grande wormwood (Artemisia absinthium) (prior to 2009), the TTB classified it as a liqueur.
Vanuatu
The Absinthe (Prohibition) Act 1915, passed in the New Hebrides, has never been repealed, and is included in the 1988 Vanuatu consolidated legislation, and contains the following all-encompassing restriction: The manufacture, importation, circulation and sale wholesale or by retail of absinthe or similar liquors in Vanuatu shall be prohibited.
