Aniseed-flavored spirits Some 1,500 years before Christ, these licorice-flavored spirits were valued as healing agents by the Egyptians. In the nineteenth century, absinthe, a potent aniseed aperitif distilled from wormwood, became a highly fashionable drink on both sides of the Atlantic, but intemperate enjoyment of it proved dangerous because it often led to madness or death. Consequently, early in the…