Summer Drink: Pastis

All over France in the summer, people sit in outdoor cafes and drink a tall glass of pastis mixed with water. A quintessential French experience, pastis is a liqueur made from anise.

When absinthe was banned at the beginning of the 20th century, pastis was developed as a substitute, as it was made with the same anise and herbs as absinthe, but without wormwood. Before serving, pastis is often diluted with water; a general rule of thumb is one part pastis per 5 parts of water. Pastis on its own is a transparent yellow-green color; when water is added, it becomes a milky color.

Pastis is also added to cooking - it's a good pan deglazer, and a good addition to melted garlic butter and escargots. It is also mixed in various cocktails in France, such as a tomate (pastis with grenadine) or a cornichon (pastis with banana syrup.)

It's easily available in most liquor stores such as BevMo, specialty European stores, and can be purchased online.

(Image: Kathryn Hill)

Comments (8)

Also, Pastis w/milk (instead of water) was a favorite after-dinner drink of my "French family" when I studied abroad in college. YUM!

posted by kwatkins on June 6th 2008 at 11:21am
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My husband is -- or rather, was -- a huge pastis fan, and would drink it regularly. However, he has now gotten onto absinthe, which is no longer banned (the story of how it was banned is an example of an over-reaction based on no scientific evidence --- the hallucinogenic claims of wormwood are now proven to be poppycock).

The traditional recipes for absinthe survived here in Switzerland (where it originated and never really died out) and in France (Czech Absinthe is a fake, I am afraid -- stick to the beer there).

We did a taste test yesterday of the 2 of them side by side, and the absinthe is far superior to pastis - more refined, elegant and complex (true absinthe is not bitter), so if you are interested in pastis, I urge you to try absinthe. I am pretty sure you can order it b mail order -- in any case, there is no reason it shouldn't be legal.

posted by mschatelaine on June 6th 2008 at 10:24pm
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Really, once you have tasted a good Swiss or French absinthe, you won't be interested in Pastis again...

Here is a good site with lots of information (there are others)

http://www.wormwoodsociety.org/index.php?option=com_frontpage&Itemid=1

posted by mschatelaine on June 7th 2008 at 12:28am
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Both drinks which never taste the same once you are back home.

And, in truth, both probably fairly evil drinks best suited to hard core drinkers...

posted by Lesley - London on June 7th 2008 at 12:57pm
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...unless you are on holiday or in Switzerland...

posted by Lesley - London on June 7th 2008 at 1:09pm
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not true Lesley

posted by mschatelaine on June 7th 2008 at 11:58pm
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mmmm.... evil drinks!

posted by quercus on June 9th 2008 at 5:54am
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quercus, I also have some Grappa and some Ouzo knocking about somewhere if you want to make a night of it...

posted by Lesley - London on June 10th 2008 at 9:40am
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