Over a year has passed since the first absinthes were approved for sale in the U.S., but hype and speculation still surrounds the controversial green liquor. Absinthe bars are springing up like daisies around the country; I went back to the West Coast for a week and saw that the café in a town near me had started serving Absinthe crepes. Marilyn Manson is creating his own brand of absinthe, known as Mansinthe. What does this mean to you? Well, in this column, a little well-placed mythbusting.

Myth: Absinthe makes you hallucinate.

Around the turn of the century, use of absinthe, or “The Green Fairy,” was said to lead to hallucinations, convulsions and, in the case of laborer Jean Lanfray, who murdered his wife and children allegedly under the influence of the stuff, murderous rage. The reasoning behind this is simple. Thujone, which is derived from wormwood, is a hallucinogen — therefore, since absinthe contains thujone, then QED. The problem with this is that, according to modern studies, the percentage of thujone in 19th-century absinthe was actually quite low — barely enough to be noticeable. In addition, studies testing the effects of thujone show that only very high doses — much higher than are present in any drink — can cause the reported effects.

What, then, accounts for absinthe’s powerful reputation? The simple answer is exactly what you’d expect from a liquor — the alcohol. An absinthe like Lucid or La Fee can hit between 60-80% in alcohol content, or 120-160 proof. Compare that to Wild Turkey 101 (proof) bourbon, and you’re looking at a completely different class of drink. And Lanfray? According to one source, he had already drunk “a creme de menthe, a cognac and soda, seven glasses of wine, brandy-laced coffee, another liter of wine and another slug of brandy,” before even touching the Green Fairy.

Myth: Absinthe is illegal in the United States, or, absinthe has been legalized.

Both of these are false. For nearly the last hundred years, almost any amount of thujone has been banned in U.S. beverages; however, in May 2007, it was discovered that the threshold that constitutes a banned amount, 10 parts per million, is still more than is contained in many absinthes. While some (often poor-quality) brands may still be illegal, you can now enjoy several imported and domestic absinthes without facing the police or severing your ear in a fit of passion.

Myth: Absinthe is meant to be lit on fire and poured over a sugar cube.

Stick to just one of these, or, if you’ve got a really good absinthe (St. George Absinthe, the first legal American-produced absinthe this century, is supposed to be fantastic), neither. To serve French absinthe in a way that dilutes the stinging alcohol content and sweetens the bitter notes, put it in a glass and lay the absinthe spoon (which is flat, wide and slotted) over the glass and place a sugar cube on top; at this point, pour water over the absinthe until it has been diluted with three parts water to one part absinthe, and the sugar cube has been dissolved.

Czech absinthe, popularized during the 1990s and described as tasting of windshield wiper fluid, is sometimes served with the sugar cube or absinthe lit on fire. This is not a traditional custom, and does little to enhance the flavor of the drink, other than burning the sugar and potentially lighting you on fire.

Myth: You can make your own absinthe by putting wormwood in vodka.

Would you make your own Champagne by pouring 7-Up into Chardonnay?