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Description

Herbsaint, hailing from New Orleans, was created in 1933 by J. Marion Legendre. Since absinthe was banned in 1912, he created the product to be an absinthe substitute. Originally named Legendre Absinthe, the federal authorities insisted that the name be changed, even though the recipe did not contain wormwood. He acquiesced, and began labeling the bottles Legendre Herbsaint, which loosely translates as “holy herb”.

The name Herbsaint is a play on the French pronunciation of absinthe, absente, and is also the French term for wormwood. The label on the bottle has always featured an image of the Old Absinthe House, a New Orleans watering hole favored by absinthe enthusiasts. The modern version of the liqueur even has wormwood plants on the label, yet another tribute to the absinthe culture of the past.

The original Herbsaint was bottled at 120-proof and was composed of a secret mix of botanicals. The resulting spirit was rich and complex with a strong anise note. By the 1940s, Herbsaint was the favored absinthe substitute in New Orleans and was used in a variety of cocktails, including the Sazerac. The current version is 90-proof, but is still based on the original recipe from the 1930s.