<Tr> <Th> Ingredients </Th> <Td> <Ul> <Li> Wormwood </Li> <Li> Anise </Li> <Li> Fennel </Li> </Ul> </Td> </Tr> <Ul> <Li> Wormwood </Li> <Li> Anise </Li> <Li> Fennel </Li> </Ul> <P> Absinthe (/ ˈæbsɪnθ / (listen) or / ˈæbsænθ /; French: (apsɛ̃t)) is historically described as a distilled, highly alcoholic (45--74% ABV / 90--148 U.S. proof) beverage . It is an anise - flavoured spirit derived from botanicals, including the flowers and leaves of Artemisia absinthium ("grand wormwood"), together with green anise, sweet fennel, and other medicinal and culinary herbs . Absinthe traditionally has a natural green colour but may also be colourless . It is commonly referred to in historical literature as "la fée verte" (the green fairy). Although it is sometimes mistakenly referred to as a liqueur, absinthe is not traditionally bottled with added sugar; it is therefore classified as a spirit . Absinthe is traditionally bottled at a high level of alcohol by volume, but it is normally diluted with water prior to being consumed . </P> <P> Absinthe originated in the canton of Neuchâtel in Switzerland in the late 18th century . It rose to great popularity as an alcoholic drink in late 19th - and early 20th - century France, particularly among Parisian artists and writers . Owing in part to its association with bohemian culture, the consumption of absinthe was opposed by social conservatives and prohibitionists . Ernest Hemingway, James Joyce, Charles Baudelaire, Paul Verlaine, Arthur Rimbaud, Henri de Toulouse - Lautrec, Amedeo Modigliani, Pablo Picasso, Vincent van Gogh, Oscar Wilde, Marcel Proust, Aleister Crowley, Erik Satie, Edgar Allan Poe, Lord Byron and Alfred Jarry were all known absinthe drinkers . </P>

What liquor does not have sugar in it