Legend has it that absinthe was invented by a French doctor named Pierre Ordinaire, around 1792. But it was the nuns of the convent of Couvet, on the border of France and Switzerland, who commercialized the drink.

At first it was sold as a medicinal potion to treat fever and stomach problems. This is how it became very popular among French soldiers. A character named Major Dubied bought the recipe from the nuns, and set up the first absinthe distillery, which he marketed under the name Dubied Père et Fils, in 1797.

By the middle of the 19th century, absinthe was already being marketed throughout Europe. In France it became the most popular drink in the country. In many cabarets at five o'clock in the afternoon, l'heure verte, the Green Hour, was celebrated, where absinthe was drunk.