Anise and other Anise- flavoured spirits

Question 1

History- Anise and other Anise Flavoured Spirits

Answer 1

􀂃Anise-extracts originally used as a medicine for stomach aches and circulatory problems.
􀂃18th: absinthe produced by Mme Henriod in Switzerland. Her Elixir d’Absinthe share a lot of ingredients with the Chartreuse and was used as a medicinal spirit.
􀂃1787: recipe passed on to Henri Dubeid and Henri Louis Pernod that commercialised it.
􀂃19th: big success of Absinthe boosted by antimalarial properties in foreign legion + artistic world’s endorsement.
􀂃1860: L’heure verte: accepted bourgeois ritual. Absinthe craze.
􀂃Late 19th: anti-absinthe movement started => 1915: Absinthe banned in France.
􀂃1928: launch of Pastis by Pernod following Absinthe’s ban
􀂃1932: launch of Ricard. Top selling spirit brand
􀂃Now: some Absinthe allowed in France.

Question 2

Defintion- Anise and other Anise Flavoured Spirits

Answer 2

EU = must take their flavours from star anise, green anise and / or fennel and should be the most dominant aroma when mixed with neutral alcohol

Question 3

Production- Anise and other Anise Flavoured Spirits

Answer 3

Base spirit: neutral alcohol obtained from column still distillation.
􀂃Flavours obtained by:
a. Maceration
b. Distillation
c. Addition of aniseed-flavoured extracts
d. Combination of these

Question 4

Absinthe

Answer 4

Ingredients:
1. Grand wormwood – ancient medicinal herb recommended by Pythagoras to aid childbirth
for musty floral notes & bitterness
2. Star anise for flavour
3. Green anise for flavour
4. Fennel for flavour
5. Petite wormwood for colour (jade)
􀂃
Process:
1) 24h maceration of botanicals in hi abv alcohol (traditionally wine based)
2) Flavoured spirit diluted and redistilled to 80% abv
3) Colouring plants added for short maceration
NB: most new absinthes made by adding extracts to alcohol. Only real Absinthe will ‘louche’, not those made from extract.
􀂃
Thujone levels: max 10mg/l. Thujone: terpene contained in wormwood with hallucinogenic properties.

Question 5

Pernod and Pastis

Answer 5

Ingredients: liquorice added to botanical mix.

Pernod: Neutral alcohol macerated with liquorice
+ distilled and rectified star anise & fennel blended with neutral alcohol and distillates of other botanicals.
Combination blended, sweetened, coloured and bottled.

Pastis: Liquorice roots must be part of the botanical mix
1. dry ingredients (mugwort + star anise + cardamom + sage and 40+ other botanicals) macerated for 3 months
2. blending with distillates and left for a month
Max sugar 100g/l

Ricard: Anethol extracted from anise + fennel and blended with alcohols infused with liquorice root. Blend left to macerate in alcohol flavoured with other botanicals.

Question 6

Ouzo, Raki and other Anise Drinks

Answer 6

Ouzo (Gr): similar to Pastis. Made with a neutral alcohol redistilled with anise + optional other botanicals & mastic.
Max 50g/l sugar
Must be produced in Greece

Raki (Turkey): raisin/sultanas spirit redistilled with anise. More subtle & mellow.

Raki (Lebanon): pomace-based => drier vs. Turkish Raki

Pacharan (ES): sloe-berry infused anise. From dry to semi to sweet.

Question 7

Akvavit (Scandinavia)

Answer 7

Spirit flavoured with spices and herbs of which caraway must dominate.

Blend of caraway + neutral grain spirit redistilled with other botanicals incl. dill, fennel, cumin, coriander & orange peel.
Some aged in oak.

Know as Snaps in Denmark & Sweden.

Question 8

Linseed Flavoured Spirits

Answer 8

The EU is the heartland of anise- based spirits. As with gin there is a generic category of anise flavoured spirits and more closely defined ones.

Question 9

Aniseed Flavoured Spirits

Answer 9

They must have a predominant flavour of anise extracted from star anise, anise, fennel, or any plant that shares the same principal aromas. The spirit base is highly rectified spirit and the flavour can be obtained by maceration and/or distillation, the addition of aniseed- flavoured extracts, or a combination of these. Only natural flavours can be used.

Question 10

Pastis

Answer 10

It must be made using liquorice root as well. It can be sweetened up to 100 g/L and must be bottled at 40% abv. Anethole levels must be between 1.5 and 2 g/L.

Question 11

Pastis de Marseille

Answer 11

This is the same as Pastis except that anethole levels must be 2 g/L and it must be bottled at 45% abv.

Question 12

An EU legal définition of absenthe…..

Answer 12

is expected in late 2013.