{"product_id":"the-absinthe-forger-by-evan-rail-9781685892241","title":"The Absinthe Forger","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eNow in paperback—an astonishing true crime story about an eccentric grifter who blew up the lucrative black market for vintage bottles of the legendary drink of artistic renegades, absinthe...\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eNow in paperback—an astonishing true crime story about an eccentric grifter who blew up the lucrative black market for vintage bottles of the legendary drink of artistic renegades, absinthe...\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThought to be hallucinogenic and banned globally for a century, absinthe is once again legal and popular. Yet it is still associated with bohemian lifestyles, just as when it was the favourite drink of avant-gardists like Toulouse-Lautrec, Van Gogh, and Baudelaire. Today, when vintage, pre-ban bottles are discovered, they can sell for exorbitant prices to private collectors. But such discoveries are increasingly rare.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eWhich is why the absinthe demimonde of rich collectors was electrified when a mysterious bon vivant claimed to be in possession of a collection of precious, pre-ban bottles.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eIs his secret tranche of 100-year-old bottles real? And just who is the shadowy person selling them? And what about rumours of another secret cache, hidden away in an Italian palazzo?\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eJournalist Evan Rail sets out to discover the truth about the enigmatic dealer and the secret stashes. Along the way, he drinks with absintheurs frantically chasing down the pre-bans, visits modern distillers who have seen their status rise from criminal bootleggers to sought-after celebrities, and relates the legendary history of absinthe, from its birth in Switzerland through its coming of age in France, and on to its modern revival.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Penguin Random House NZ","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47428178542828,"sku":"9781685892241","price":38.0,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/9781685892241.jpg?v=1774767022","url":"https:\/\/bookhero.co.nz\/products\/the-absinthe-forger-by-evan-rail-9781685892241","provider":"Book Hero","version":"1.0","type":"link"}