The absinthe glass is named after the concoction it has traditionally transported to the eagerly awaiting palette - the potent liquer known as absinthe. Dating back over 200 years, absinthe is associated with the rowdy French bistros, and has been quaffed by such famous people as Vincent Van Gogh, Pablo Picasso, Claude Monet, and Ernest Hemingway, who hailed it as an aphrodisiac and enhancer of creativity.
Absinthe is potent not only due to its alcohol content, but also as a result of its original recipe containing a neurotoxin known as thujone. Injuries and deaths suspected to be related to absinthe led to its being banned in the early twentieth century. However, the drink has made a comeback and has, in the early 21st century, been again allowed in most European countries with strict limits on the percentage of thujone. Absinthe gets its green color from the inclusion of chlorophyll in the recipe.
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The absinthe glass itself is usually large, of durable construction, with a large mouth or opening. These glasses are nearly always made of thick glass, since they often took considerable abuse at the hands of patrons in the bars of the day. Their sizes were 5 to 7 inches in height. Styles differed for those exclusively used for absinthe (Cordon, Reservoir and Pontarlier), and those used for a variety of drinks (swirl, East, Chopes Yvonne, Lyonnaise and Mazagran). Many were like measuring dosometers, with rings included in the glass to denote the proper dosage.
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