I'm not saying I agreed with it being outlawed, but I totally understand why absinthe was illegal in this country until five years ago. My last adventure in drinking (not sipping, but drinking) absinthe, a group of us ended up in a pool at my friend's parents' house in the middle of the night, naked, with his older brother coming out to scream at us to stop being so loud because he was taking the LSATs in the morning. And this is the kind of debauchery absinthe leads to with it's very special "let's get naked" buzz. Today marks National Absinthe Day to celebrate the five-year anniversary of its US ban being lifted, giving you all the more reason to come out for a dance with the green fairy tonight. We've done our homework and come up with this cheat sheet to the best places in town to get your green drank on in honor of the high holiday.

["Absinthe Drinker" by Viktor Oliva via]