That Other Power Hour

Around the end of the 19th century, the French were fond of christening cocktail hours "l'heure verte" in honor of all the absinthe people were knocking back. I've loitered with the green fairy myself, but if I ever spent a full hour in its company, it's likely I'd be interred in some quaint Czech hillside. While absinthe isn't technically classified as a hallucinogenic, the ingredient in wormwood--terpene thujone--is what causes all the upset. Strangely, it's also found in tarragon and sage, and is part of the chemical team present in vermouth. On its own, the silvery leaves of wormwood have been rumored to fight malaria, improve digestion (a good thing when you're wanting for stomach lining), and, of course, to conquer worms!