absinthe

Definition 
This alcoholic drink, not invented until about 1790, is made from various species of wormwood, Artemisia absinthium, the plant so named because it was dedicated to Artemis, Greek goddess of the hunt and the moon. Long prized for its aphrodisiac powers, the drink can cause blindness, insanity, and even death. For this reason absinthe was banned in the United States in 1912 and in France three years later. Still, many great writers and artists praised the drink, including Dumas fils, de Maupassant, Anatole France, Verlaine, Rimbaud, Toulouse-Lautrec, Degas, Gauguin, Picasso and Van Gogh—the last artist reportedly drank it in a concoction of five parts water to one part absinthe and one part black ink!