cascode
Pastis Henri Bardouin
Anise Liqueurs — France
Reviewed
February 8, 2021 (edited July 21, 2023)
Appearance: (neat) Transparent old gold. (louched) Off-white, creamy with a hint of yellow. The louche is thick by 1:1 and persists up to 1:4. Cloudy, dense and pearlescent.
Aroma: Fragrantly herbal when neat with liquorice, mint and floral aromas (freesia and violets). A hint of green Chartreuse, cardamom and something medicinal (but pleasant) in the background. The nose dies off with dilution.
Flavour and Texture: Herbal, sweet and anise-driven entry but it’s not unrelenting or ham-fisted. The anise is complex and nuanced with woody, herbal qualities and there is a very fine balancing floral component. The palate is crisp and refreshing. It’s like salmiak rockies that have been stored in a dresser drawer with a wildflower drawer liner or potpourri.
The texture is not creamy and dense like absinthe but it does have “weight” on the tongue. The finish is medium/short with anise flavours lingering. There are no hard bitter or sharp flavours in the aftertaste but it is a little truncated.
A very good pastis – one of the best. Henri Bardouin has a complex recipe that includes over 60 botanicals, but like all pastis the complexity is there to balance and support star anise, which is the undisputed prima donna of this drink.
It’s always hard to review pastis as they can’t help but seem like absinthe’s younger and less talented sisters (still cute and charming for sure) and I miss the complex bitterness and lime overtones of grand wormwood and melissa. It is, however, a much simpler drink to prepare as it just needs a good pour of ice water followed by a couple of ice cubes. I guess you could call it the “everyday” substitute absinthe. Pastis also seem to have (to my stomach anyway) a naturally calmative property, and I very much enjoy taking them as either an aperitif or digestif. They are also delicious and cooling on a hot summer day.
Distilleries et Domaines de Provence was founded as Distillerie de Lure in 1898 but its modern incarnation dates from 1974. They are acknowledged as one of the premier pastis producers and they also create RinQuinQuin peach aperitif and a range of other liqueurs.
If you do not already know pastis, the so-called "milk of Marseilles”, and want to become acquainted you could do a lot worse than getting to know Henri Bardouin.
“Very Good” : 85/100 (4 stars)
90.0
AUD
per
Bottle
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Pastis was entirely new to me as well. Fascinating history and lineage!
I love star anise ( use it in Asian cooking )...I need to try this.
@PBMichiganWolverine Not really. Most Amari have an herbal and bitter citrus character with a sugary background. Pastis are focused on anise and the palate is only mildly sweet. Technically they are liqueurs, but I don’t think of them as such as the sugar content is quite low. The closest thing to pastis would be ouzo, but it is very tightly anise in flavour whereas pastis have a more complex palate. Anise flavoured spirits have been made in the Mediterranean for ages but pastis were first made in the 1930s after absinthe was banned. There is a vague similarity between the two, but the critical ingredients in absinthe are grand wormwood, fennel and green anise. These are not usually found in pastis which instead uses star anise and liquorice as primary flavourings. Rather than amari I’d compare pastis to old Tom gin. The flavours are different of course, but they have a similar texture and sugar level and both are ethanol with a primary botanical ingredient – juniper in gin, anise in pastis. If you’ve never had any of these drinks I’d suggest a taste first and it all really hinges on whether you like the flavours of anise and liquorice. The best place would be a French restaurant as they will know how to serve it properly. In the unlikely event a bar has pastis they will probably just present it as a shot, which would be disgusting. You need to dilute it with about 4 parts ice water and add a couple of ice cubes.
@cascode I’ve never heard of pastis, but a quick google search indicates it’s a anise liqueur? Is it like amaro ?