It’s an old cliché – "it just doesn’t taste the same back home..." – but this seems so true when applied to pastis. Best enjoyed sitting outside a bar in the south of France, soaking up the rays and partaking in the full ritual: slowly add water from one of those cute oh-so-French jugs, watch the ice swirl and the drink turn opaque. But this cultural flavour experience doesn’t appear to translate as well to northern Europe and beyond. So who’s drinking pastis – and which brands – in the UK and other countries?
A recent trip to Pernod’s production plant in Marseille revealed some of the secrets to making these legendary anise-flavoured drinks, and an insight into better appreciating their mysterious flavours. The city is home to two of the leading brands, Pernod and 51 (the classic local tipple); Ricard, despite its claim ‘Pastis de Marseille’ is actually now made in Lille. Images of the Provençal city perhaps also re-enforce those surrounding its very own aperitif: that café-terrace moment overlooking the Vieux Port, early evening drinking in macho smoky bars…
Marseille asserts itself as the birthplace of commercial pastis. Henri-Louis Pernod set up in 1805 initially as a producer of absinthe, which became very popular in France by the 1850s. At the turn of the century, excessive consumption of absinthe was believed to surpass wine prompting its ban in 1915. This allowed the production of pastis to really take off, as people changed the ingredients focusing on anise. By the 1930s, there were many small-scale illicit manufacturers, each using a different recipe and mix, working around the Vieux Port and fines were common. Ricard was the first to put his name on the bottle and one of those who influenced the government into sanctioning pastis as a legitimate business.
The Pernod factory is impressively automated and surprisingly low-key with technology dominating any romantic image you might have of pastis. It’s basically made from pure alcohol – which arrives in tankers at 96%, is analysed and nosed to make sure it’s neutral – flavouring extracts (made elsewhere), purified water and sugar. The strongly scented cuverie and laboratory are controlled by just three people, the process being mostly mechanised.
The ingredients are added together by weight – each brand or product has a particular recipe – which is calculated on the computer system. It’s all in code: nobody knows the exact constituents (apart from star anise, liquorice and essence of herbs including mint, coriander and fennel) to safeguard the Ricard family’s secret formulae. The mix in each vat is then ‘brewed’ for 20 minutes. The next most important element is the filtration, which affects density, colour etc: 51 has a specific type, there’s another for Pernod. In addition to lab analyses, samples of all products and ingredients are taken from each stage of production and tasted every day.
They produce 6 x 200 hectolitre (hl) batches per day of 51 (about 17 million bottles per year including larger sizes); 4 or 5 x 200hl per week of the different Pernod products (4 million bottles); and 30hl every two weeks of Pernod aux extraits de plantes d’Absinthe, Oxygénée and other small-run specialities. Different bottlings are done for different markets with the recipe varying accordingly: the Pernod for France is “heavier and stronger,” for Britain “more aromatic.”
I tasted the following at room temperature mixed one-fifth pastis and four-fifths water:
Pastis 51 ‘2004 collection’ (for Christmas and New Year in laser-etched bottles), 45% - creamy beige colour with orange-brown hints, quite strong liquorice and aniseed aromas, fairly powerful but with nice rounded mouthfeel, herb notes lending a bitter twist to the sweetness (this is sweeter than Pernod), yet finishes smoothly with drier bite.
Pernod (export), 40% - much greener colour with yellow and mint tinges, more aromatic and perfumed nose showing floral and citrus notes; these aromas carry to the palate then it turns more liquoricey and sweeter but again balanced, a touch more elegant but also blander.
Pernod aux extraits de plantes d’Absinthe, 68% - paler, less vivid grey-green colour and less opaque; very powerful nose showing lots of herbs, floral and liquorice notes, the alcohol is obviously stronger but not overpowering; full-bodied with a kick but has plenty of flavour and aroma, big mouthful leading to bite of slightly bitter herbs and dry finish (no added sugar). Pernod-Ricard has developed a process that reduces the molecules of wormwood to very low levels.
Oxygénée, 53% - lightly mint green in colour, can actually see through it; lovely nose displaying quite complex mix of aromatic herbs, lemon and liquorice; powerful yet elegant flavours with bitter herbs v touch of sweetness on the long finish.
Henri-Louis Pernod 1805 Anis aux plantes et aux épices, 45% - opaque, deep golden-beige colour; delicious nose: very herby with lavender notes, citrus & orange peel, complex and extremely aromatic; these flavours linger in the mouth with intense herbal and floral characters leading to elegant dry finish, perfumed and very long.
The latter speciality products aren’t on sale in the UK, which is a shame although they wouldn’t be an easy sell or have wide appeal. Sales of Pernod to key markets in 2002 were (in litres): France 306,000; UK 614,000 (on average 620K per year); USA 128,000 and Germany 804,000. Distribution in France is split 23% on-trade and 77% off, whereas in the UK it’s 50/50. A different story emerges in comparison to their other brands. Sales of Ricard are 2/3 in France and 1/3 internationally with 30,000 litres per year shipped to Britain, where it’s stocked in selected Sainsbury’s in the south, Francophile restaurants, style bars and no doubt a few independents too. In France, 51 is in national distribution but a significant part of the volume is accounted for in the south (especially Provence-Alps-Côte d’Azur), where it’s brand leader. In terms of export, 51 isn’t sold in the UK but has a presence on France’s borders, particularly Catalonia, Andorra and Italy plus Switzerland and Belgium.
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PASTIS HENRI BARDOUIN |
What about the profile of the typical pastis drinker? In France it does seem to go beyond middle-aged men in bars: Pernod-Ricard say their consumer “includes young and older adults, male and female.” A blue coloured, ready-to-drink product Pastis Bleu was launched in France with particular success in the south, tellingly “among all age groups.” However, they’re keeping tight-lipped about actual volumes. “Pastis Bleu has not been launched in the UK and there are no plans to do so,” Crispin Stephens commented, brand manager at Pernod-Ricard UK. “The new Pastis drink that has been launched is called Ricard Bouteille – ready to drink with 1 measure of Ricard, 5 measures of water.” It’ll be interesting to follow its progress and who’s consuming it. Pernod also claim to be “in the process of researching average age of drinkers… it’s well balanced between men and women.”
Outside of these giant brands, there are several artisan producers making distinctive, high quality anise drinks resurrecting the original blends of the 1930s. These are mostly stocked by a handful of specialist independent shops such as La Maison du Pastis (00 33 (0)4 91 90 86 77, lamaisondupastis.com) in Marseille, set up by Frédéric Bernard in 2003. His ‘Tradition’ house label is made by Janot; others include Jean Boyer, Henri Bardouin, LaPouge (based on Ricard’s 1935 recipe), Armand Guy and Jules Girard. These quality products sell for €25-€40 a bottle, but you’d bet a little niche business like this could succeed in say London, by offering tastings and serving tips to help lower the cultural barrier. As Gérard Nyssens (Production Director at Pernod-Ricard) suggested: “they don’t know how to drink or taste it and add too much ice: you need time to let it mix with the water.”
