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Absinthe and the Art of War

In this timeline, absinthe never faced its decline in the early 20th century and instead became the patriotic drink of choice across Europe. This, my dear notes, has led me to the peculiar sight of war waged not on the precarious threads of sobriety but under the kaleidoscopic haze of wormwood and anise. Soldiers across the trenches on the Western Front—be they British, French, or German—carry flasks of absinthe almost as dutifully as their bayonets. Someone referred to it, rather optimistically, as 'liquid courage.' Though I daresay there’s a fine line between courage and attempting to poetic...