This week's The Moth podcast tells a whirlwind story of how L. Gabrielle Penebaz of The Saint Eve discovered absinthe through her lust for Donald Sutherland, and how her pursuit of just one taste of the real concoction led her to create a short-lived but enthusiastic community of partygoers who wanted the same thing. (Here's a direct link to just the story.)
The Moth holds regular readings around town and across the country, and their excellent podcast distills the best of the stories told at their theme nights. They're not all cocktail-related, but they are, every single one of them, varying degrees of fascinating.