I try very diligently to steer clear of writing about places that are considered “tourist traps.” However, I occasionally find it worthwhile to take something buried deep within one of these traps and expose it for its historical and/or symbolic significance.
It is for this reason Trish and I found ourselves plodding around The French Quarter of New Orleans, searching for a single place of bygone relevance out of thousands. After a couple of miles Trish’s back hurt and my bum knee wasn’t much better. It was with profound relief when we stumbled upon the corner of Bourbon and Bienville and saw the sign we had been looking for; “Jean Lafitte’s Old Absinthe House.”
We entered the 212-year-old tavern through the tall Spanish doors and took a seat at the old copper coated bar. Trish ordered a Tequila Sunrise and since I was in an absinthe house, ordered the strongest green fairy they served. The bartender, Stephani, poured my poison over a sugar cube on a perforated spoon, then lit it on fire. I watched the flame burn a solid minute before it began to die out.
Jean Lafitte was known as a mysterious pirate, privateer, spy, smuggler, mercenary, leader of thieves and all-around bad guy. On a better note he was also called an entrepreneur, ship captain, diplomat, businessman and for a very brief period, a war hero and good guy.
His place and year of birth are not documented but it is believed he was born in Basque-France around 1780. He emigrated to New Orleans as a child, and by 1803 became involved in smuggling, piracy and other illegal activities with his brother. The building now known as The Jean Lafitte Old Absinthe House was built in 1806 and was then a grocery store. Lafitte did not own it, nor did he have any legal connection to it, but he and his brother did use it to store supplies for their smuggling operations.
In 1815 General Andrew Jackson came to New Orleans to defend it against British invasion in the War of 1812. Jackson found the defense of the town inadequate. Legend tells us Andrew Jackson met with Jean Lafitte in a secret chamber on the second floor of the Absinthe House. Jackson wanted help to fight off the British. Lafitte wanted he and his men to be pardoned from pending allegations. Lafitte also wanted his ships back that the government had confiscated in a recent battle with he and his privateers. Jackson agreed and when The British assaulted, not only did they face the small American army, but Lafitte’s Pirates, woodsmen, Indians and mercenaries. We know the result; the British were routed, and the Americans won the war. Jackson went on to become president and Lafitte went back to being a pirate.
There is no record of Jean Lafitte drinking any absinthe in the Jean Lafitte Absinthe House. That is where I and countless thousands of others come in, to indulge in the green fairy, in the first Absinthe house in what became the Absinthe capitol of the United States. It was then, in the 1840’s, the copper coated bar was installed. After all nobody wants too many Absinthe fires burning on a wooden bar. Around this time the building was named simply, “The Absinthe House.”
Diluted with sugar and water, Absinthe typically runs well over 100 proof alcohol, (136 proof in my case) and if it’s the real thing, wormwood extract is added, and you end up with Van Gogh cutting his ear off. Even so, Absinthe became extremely popular with the Victorians, particularly with the writers and artists of the era.
But the party ended in 1912 when Absinthe was outlawed in the United States. It only got worse from there. With prohibition in 1920 there was talk of destroying the building as a symbol of a new era. There is some evidence the place was a speakeasy, which may have prompted the tough talk. But twelve years later, when prohibition ended, the house still stood and became a lawful bar again. However, it would be many more decades before Absinthe was legal again. In fact, not until 2007 was it permissible to dance with the green fairy.
The building was renamed Jean Lafitte’s Old Absinthe House at a time when Jean Lafitte had been dead 180 years. The name worked, but its hard to say whether most people are attracted to his name or the “Absinthe.” Indeed, I talked to some fellow patrons who seemed unaware of the meeting here between Jackson and Lafitte, and its historical significance both in this light and the fact that it was the first Absinthe house here. Visitors have included Oscar Wilde, Walt Whitman, Mark Twain, Robert E. Lee and Alister Crowley. More recently Frank Sinatra and Liza Minelli have been added to the list.
Don’t expect a grand palace or a rich display of antiquity. At a first glance inside it could be loosely defined as a dive bar. It takes a little time of roaming the circular interior to get a feel for the value. Walls plastered with thousands of business cards and football helmets hanging from the ceiling offset the history. But upon closer inspection; the 170-year-old copper coated bar, an ancient fireplace, a somewhat obscure plaque in the adjoining courtyard, commemorating the meeting here that helped to win the war of 1812 and, of course, a taste of the green fairy herself, one begins to feel like a privileged guest.
It is noteworthy to add that many patrons have seen and felt paranormal activity within these walls. Some have even described the ghost of Jean Lafitte himself. Whether this was the result of a green fairy haunting, or that of a true spirit is up for debate. You must survey it yourself. As for me, I am more into the history of such a place than ghosts. But whatever the reason you’re visit will be a well-remembered one, as is mine.
So, if you find yourself in the malaise of sweaty tourists and con artists of the French Quarter, duck into Jean Lafitte’s Old Absinthe House at the corner of Bourbon and Bienville, say hi to Stephani, and soak up 212 year of history.