Provençal anise spirit, 40-45% ABV, served diluted 1:5 with cold water — the louche turns it milky.
1932 Marseille, Paul Ricard. Filled the gap left when absinthe was banned in France in 1915. In 1938 French law raised the legal ABV ceiling for anise spirits to 45%, and Ricard promptly took his pastis up to that limit. The 5pm aperitif on Marseille terraces is now civic ritual.
Ricard and Pernod together hold ~80% of French pastis sales. Janot in Aubagne and Henri Bardouin from Distilleries et Domaines de Provence are the connoisseur picks — Bardouin uses 65 plants and herbs vs. Ricard's roughly a dozen.
Yellow-amber neat, milky pale-gold once watered. Star anise and licorice forward, fennel and Provençal herbs underneath. Cool, dry, slightly bitter finish. Always served with extra ice water on the side.
Anethole — the essential oil from star anise and fennel/anise — is alcohol-soluble but water-insoluble. Drop the ABV by adding water and anethole drops out of solution as micron droplets, scattering light. The louche is physics, not garnish.
Variations
Pastis de Marseille (45% ABV, legally defined, anethole minimum); Ricard (more licorice root, slightly sweeter); Pernod (cleaner anise-forward); Henri Bardouin (artisanal, herb-heavy); Mauresque (with orgeat); Tomate (with grenadine); Perroquet (with mint syrup).
On the Palate
Where Pastis sits in the French flavor cloud
Ingredients
Serves 1How it's made
4 steps · 16 min active + 30 days waiting
- 143200 min
Macerate 80 g star anise + 30 g licorice root + fennel + coriander in 1 L neutral spirit 30 days.
Watch outGive the anise and licorice a full 30 days in the spirit — the maceration is slow, and cutting it short leaves the liquor thin and green-tasting.
- 210 min
Strain; sweeten with 200 g sugar dissolved in water.
- 35 min
Filter; bottle at 40–45% ABV.
- 41 min
Serve: 30 ml pastis in tall glass, top with 150 ml cold water — turns milky (louche).
Watch outPour the cold water in and watch it bloom milky-white — that louche is the anethole dropping out, and it means the ratio is right.
