Tickets Alert: Tours of London’s only absinthe distillery
Starting next month, you will be able to go on tours of London’s first ever absinthe distillery.
Absinthe was first produced in 18th century Switzerland and quickly became known as the famed aperitif of the Val-de-Travers, but by 1915 the alluring green elixir was nicknamed the “Green Devil” and banned in numerous countries around the world — the only spirit in the history of alcohol to be singled out in a ban as such.
The ban was due to the drink’s “pernicious effect” on the drinkers, both moral delinquency as well as the medical effects of such strong alcohol and allegations of psychoactive effects. In fact, there’s never been any evidence that it’s anything more than just a very strong alcoholic drink.
Not that didn’t stop Dracula from using it to seduce Miss Mina Harker.

“Absinthe is the aphrodisiac of the self. The green fairy who lives in the absinthe wants your soul. But you are safe with me.”
The Devil’s Botany distillery opened near Walthamstow in 2021 and will start offering tours and on-site tastings next month.
Starting on 1st February, the absinthe distillery will open its doors to visitors every Saturday afternoon for cocktails and tastings. The distillery’s new tasting room offers a place for curious imbibers to discover how absinthe is made and how it can be drunk.
Devil’s Botany will also be hosting a distillery tour and tasting each Saturday at 2pm. The tours, which include four tastings, cost £25 per person and tickets are available here.
The distillery is in the Heybridge Road industrial estate, a few minutes walk from Lea Bridge station (between Stratford and Tottenham Hale). The 55 and 56 bus routes that run between Hackney and Walthamstow also pass by it.
Devil’s Botany’s absinthe is made from British wheat spirit and 14 botanicals, including English and Swiss grand wormwood, green anise, fennel seed, devil’s claw root, lemon balm, meadowsweet, peppermint and elderflower, among other herbs and spices.
Will the tour prove the proposition that “Absinth makes the heart grow fonder”?
(I’ll get my coat)
I didn’t realized that absinth appeared in Dracula the movie. It’s different from Bram Stoker’s novel