About halfway through Fashion Week, I began to notice a certain thing that was once considered the height of fashion reemerging into popular view. No, I'm not talking about the return of tie dye. At a quite a few after parties and receptions, there was a new shape looming over the bar: the absinthe fountain.

The historical mystique surrounding the drink, its odd ritual preparation, and the chemistry-set-like assortment of associated paraphernalia made the sometimes green liquor a favorite subject of conversation among Fashion Week attendees. Black clad fashionistas chatted casually about green fairy this and wormwood that, while downing cup after cup of the stuff. By the end of the week, more savvy consumers were ordering a truly bizarre array of absinthe cocktails with names like Fire Fairy, White Christmas, and Green Tear. From what I could judge, no mixer was quite up to the task of fully masking the drink's trademark (read: love it or hate it) taste of cloves, licorice, and anise, but I have to say the absinthe Caprihina I tried was quite tasty.

And what of the beverage's storied side effects, said to have inspired the likes of Oscar Wilde, Pablo Picasso, Edgar Allan Poe, Vincent van Gogh, and Ernest Hemingway? Well, reviews seemed to be mixed. The only thing that people could agree on was that more than four glasses of the stuff could give you quite a stomach ache. In the course of my purely professional research into this strange brew, I found myself feeling a bit light headed, lethargic, and alternating between strongly contended and convival feelings. In other words, it was alot like being pleasantly tipsy. Well, you never know until you try.

Fasion Week open bars aside, absinthe has already cultivated a considerable fan base in New York. Classy spots all around town, including White Star, Weather Up, Please Don't Tell, Hotel Delmano, The Dove, Black Rabbit, and The Ginger Man, now boast their own selections of absinthe and a variety of ingenious cocktails featuring the potent liquor.

If you're looking to try out the stuff for free, there's free Pernod absinthe at Tuesday Nite Disco every week. On the other hand, if you feel like dropping some major cash to try and meet the green fairy, Club Avion in Brooklyn boasts a bottle of premium La Clandestine absinthe priced at $500, not including tip. According to La Clandestine, that makes it the most expensive bottle of absinthe in the United States. After years of being illegal in America, it appears people are thirsty for more of this unique concoction. Destined to be the next PBR? No, but that's a good thing.