About
The love affair with Absinthe began to blossom during a 2004 trip to Madrid, Spain. Absinthe, the “Green Fairy” flowed throughout the nights and as a mere tourist I began feeling as if I was walking step by step with other famed absinthe drinkers. Walking the nights side by side with Pablo Picasso, Oscar Wilde and Ernest Hemingway. A rare and delicious treat was the absinthe, as it was not allowed in the U.S. since it was banned in 1912. One night we traveled through one of the great stone archways at Plaza Major and down the stairs on to Calle de Cuchilleros and into the world’s oldest restaurant. Sorbrino de Botin, which opened in 1725 and was mentioned in Hemingway’s The Sun Also Rises, was one of his favorite spots. In the brick-lined, cave-like basement I dinned on Hemingway’s favorite dish, the roast suckling pig. The meal helped solidify the feeling of being an expatriate and the love affair with Madrid and absinthe was set in stone.
