Absinthe on Wikipedia: time for a re-think?

I may have dabbled a little bit with Wikipedia in the past and I remain full of admiration for those enthusiasts who give their services for free in order to get the truth about their area of "passion" out there. It is indeed something that many feel passionate about and I often read and learn from their wisdom without always thinking of the work that goes into the finished articles.

I followed some of the recent discussion about an edit to the English language version of the Absinthe article that proposed changes to those behind the origins of absinthe and also went into some detail about the role of women in absinthe from its birth to the 21st century. This edit was deleted.

This is how the Absinthe article currently starts (full article here).

and this is how it continues in the History section which a casual reader might miss and a thorough reader would get to about 5 minutes later:

The first part states:

Absinthe was created in the canton of Neuchâtel in Switzerland in the late 18th century by the French physician Pierre Ordinaire.

The second part states:

The first evidence of absinthe, in the sense of a distilled spirit containing green anise and fennel, dates to the 18th century. According to popular legend, it began as an all-purpose patent remedy created by Dr. Pierre Ordinaire, a French doctor living in Couvet, Switzerland, around 1792 (the exact date varies by account). Ordinaire's recipe was passed on to the Henriod sisters of Couvet, who sold it as a medicinal elixir. By other accounts, the Henriod sisters may have been making the elixir before Ordinaire's arrival. In either case, a certain Major Dubied acquired the formula from the sisters in 1797.

It is surprising to see an apparent fact stated in the first part:"Absinthe was created ... by the French physician Pierre Ordinaire," only for the second part to open up a completely different story: "the Henriod sisters may have been making the elixir before Ordinaire's arrival.'

How confusing! How could I find the truth that Wikipedia would agree on? I turned to ... the Absinthe (spiritueux) article Wikipedia (the French version). Which states: "La légende veut que ce soit le docteur Pierre Ordinaire (1742-1821) qui ait inventé la recette vers 1792. Les travaux de Marie-Claude Delahaye[ et de Benoît Noël ont montré que cette recette devait également beaucoup à une herboriste suisse du canton de Neuchâtel : Henriette Henriod pour M.C. Delahaye ou Suzanne-Marguerite Henriod pour B. Noël. Celle-ci aurait mis au point la première recette d'absinthe, qui était un breuvage médicinal. Cette question ne semble toutefois pas définitivement tranchée." (Translated as "Legend has it that it was Dr. Pierre Ordinaire (1742-1821) who invented the recipe around 1792. The work of Marie-Claude Delahaye and Benoît Noël have shown that this recipe also owes much to a Swiss herbalist from the canton of Neuchâtel: Henriette Henriod for M.C. Delahaye or Suzanne-Marguerite Henriod for B. Noël. She is said to have developed the first recipe for absinthe, which was a medicinal beverage. This question, however, does not seem to be definitively settled."

It just happens that we have been able to go to the experts mentioned in the French version of the Absinthe article (Marie-Claude Delahaye and Benoît Noël) as well as the Swiss expert, Pierre-André Delachaux. All three feature in Chris Buddy's Absinthe movie which also features absinthe makers Ted Breaux and Claude-Alain Bugnon. The full film which is essential viewing for absinthe lovers can be seen on YouTube

All three experts are crystal clear: absinthe was not created by Pierre Ordinaire. It was created by a lady or ladies. In fact only Marie-Claude Delahaye mentions her by name, while the others are specific about her background, but not her name.

Several other absinthe historians appear in the Absinthe movie. Barnaby Conrad, author of Absinthe History in a Bottle, writes about Dr. Ordinaire here:

David Nathan-Maister, well-known absinthe expert, writes about this in The Absinthe Encyclopedia: see the last paragraph on this page (more legible version foillows):

The only "authority" I can find voting for Doctor Ordinaire seems to be the 1896 Pernod Fils brochure, but that seems to be little more than a marketing brochure published by a company that may have been a little biased.

So why is so important to examine this Wikipedia article on Absinthe? Because absinthe has been plagued by untruths, some of which have been further distorted and used against the category. Currently the English-language version of the Absinthe article is especially important because some companies still use the Ordinaire legend, presented as fact. It is important because it is the most viewed Absinthe page across all languages of Wikipedia (50,000+ views per month, in comparison with 13,000+ Russian, 11,000+ German, 8.000+ Spanish and French, 6,000+ Japanese and Italian). This makes it possible, indeed probable that Wikipedia editors elsewhere will use the English-language version as a start point: indeed the Japanese version presents Ordinaire as fact and makes absolutely no reference to the Henriods.

At the very least, I hope that the editors of the English-language Absinthe article can present the two accounts with equal weight. Even that tends to downplay the experts mentioned in the French Wikipedia, the experts in the Absinthe movie, and world-famous absinthe writers Barnaby Conrad and David Nathan-Maister. 

Absinthe deserves the truth, even if Wikipedia readers have to weigh up two different versions to find it! Absinthe is a complex drink with a complicated history: absinthe lovers will enjoy examining and debating the two versions. Feel free to leave your thoughts in the comments!