ALAMEDA, Calif. --
by John Boitnott, Web Producer

On the first day that the legendary alcoholic drink absinthe went on sale in the United States legally in about a century, hundreds of people lined up outside an Alameda warehouse to get their hands on the stuff.

An Alameda distillery was given the green light by the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau to sell its version of absinthe, NBC11's Jodi Hernandez reported.

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SLIDESHOW: People Line Up To Buy Absinthe In Alameda | SLIDESHOW: Absinthe Images

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Absinthe is a liquor known for its use and abuse by major literary and artistic figures.

The drink has been banned for nearly a century because of its 120-proof potency and fears about its herbal ingredients.

Government officials around the world have long suggested the drink has hallucinogenic properties.

In the early 20th century the drink was banned because officials said it "drove people mad."

NBC11's Jim Gaughran reported the company that makes the absinthe, St. George's Spirits, uses an old Alameda Naval Warehouse as a distillery.

It is also the same warehouse where Hangar 1 Vodka is produced, Gaughran reported.

Gaughran said people waited more than two hours before they could even get inside the warehouse Friday

There was no limit on the amount each person could buy, Gaughran reported.

Because there were only about 1,500 bottles available for sale, and the line stayed about the same length for most of the day, there was concern the company might sell out.

Once people finally reached the warehouse, they could try tasting absinthe.

Each bottle cost $75. Cases of four could be bought for $300, Gaughran reported.

The people waiting in line were a diverse bunch. There were people in their 70's, in their 20's, and every age in between, Gaughran said.

"Everybody has their stories about why they came here to get absinthe," Gaughran said. "Some of them have tried it before because there have been several European brands available."

St. George's is the first absinthe made in the U.S. to go on sale in the U.S.

Absinthe: Drink Of Choice

Absinthe is a distilled, highly alcoholic anise-flavored spirit made from herbs, including the flowers and leaves of wormwood.

Absinthe is typically green or clear.

Absinthe was the drink of choice of 19th and 20th century artists and writers such as Vincent Van Gogh, Emile Zola, Edgar Degas, Edouard Manet, Oscar Wilde, Arthur Rimbaud, Ernest Hemmingway and Pablo Picasso.

Vincent Van Gough is said to have sliced off his ear while drinking it, and legend has it, the drink turned normal people into homicidal maniacs.

The liquid's so-called maddening qualities were never scientifically proved.

The U.S. lifted the ban early this year.

The ban on absinthe has been lifted in several European countries as well.

But Alameda's St. George Spirits is the first U.S. company given approval to sell its formula.

The brandy-based drink is made with nine locally grown herbs.