The French Lucid and the Swiss Kübler, were approved for sale in the U. S. in 2007. We’re talking real, honest-to-Satan absinthe, not some lame-ass substitute. Now, the great green elixir of darkness — basically high-proof neutral spirits flavored with wormwood, anise, and pungent herbs — has been illegal in the U. S. since 1912, and that hasn’t changed.

So what are they making legal? It’s a matter of chemistry. The government never banned absinthe itself but rather thujone, the wormwood-derived compound that supposedly gives the stuff its mind-bending edge. However, modern chemical analysis shows that thujone survives distilling in quantities so small they are actually legal. This is something of a double-edged sword: That same analysis also shows that the old brands that spawned absinthe’s dark legend didn’t have all that much thujone, either — all along it was just really strong, herb-flavored booze. Plus, half the excitement of absinthe was the fact that it was contraband.

Well, okay. Glamour is a big part of why we drink what we drink. But so is taste, and a good absinthe has that in spades — provided you handle it right . It’s designed, you see, as a sort of cocktail concentrate: hence the strong herbal notes and the high proof (traditionally, between 120 and 140). So you don’t want to drink this stuff in shots. But mixed with a lot of cold water and a little sugar, it makes for a refreshing drink with a complex, herbal fragrance. But these things go down easy, and if you overdo it, all bets are off.

1. Versinthe ($55) The only one of these in which the anise dominates, and at 90, the lowest in proof, this is nevertheless a good training-wheels absinthe.

2. Mansinthe ($65) Marilyn Manson not only has impeccable taste in women, he’s a fine judge of absinthe, too — as this, made in Switzerland to his taste, demonstrates.

3. St. George Absinthe Verte ($75) A nontraditional blend of herbs makes this, the only domestic absinthe on our list, something of an acquired taste. Worth checking out, anyway.

4. Top pick: Vieux Pontarlier ($65) An absolutely classic French absinthe. As good as it gets.

5. Pernod Absinthe, shown left ($65) Pernod was the leading brand of absinthe before the ban. Now it’s back, and it’s clean, balanced, and tasty.