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I was looking for a new ingredient to add to the bar, but just wasn’t sure what. After a little research and looking at recipes that a) interested me, and b) I had all but one ingredient, I settled on Pernod.

A little history for you, Pernod (and Ricard) is a brand name for a liqueur known as pastis. Pastis are characterized by there licorice flavor — that’d be real licorice, not red Twizzler candy. They are made either from licorice or anise and

Pernod is actually a successor of absinthe, the potent liquor that contained a toxic oil from wormwood in quantities that were thought to cause brain damage, and which was outlawed in 1915 in France. One of absinthe’s leading manufacturers, Henri Pernod, then focused its efforts on the lower-alcohol, wormwoodless, anise-flavored Pernod.
Ochef

Having never had it before, I really wasn’t sure what to expect. Luckily when purchasing at Manny’s, my local liquor store, I meet a nice gentleman who was a connoisseur and he suggested I simply try drinking it on ice with water.

I am a convert. It is absolutely fabulous. If you like anise or licorice this is definitely a liqueur for you. When mixed with water you get a very smooth, subtly anise flavored drink. It is smooth, slightly oily and sweet and goes wonderfully well with appetizers such as olives. If you aren’t a big fan of those flavors, don’t dismiss it out of hand. The flavor is not overpowering and there are plenty of cocktails to mix it into.

So far I have simply enjoyed a couple of glasses mixed thusly:

1. fill rocks glass with ice
2. add shot of Pernod
3. fill with water
4. enjoy

Do let me know if you’ve got any favorite recipes.