Anisette
Encyclopedia
Anisette is an anise
-flavored liqueur
that is consumed mainly in France, Italy, Portugal, and Spain. It is colorless and, unlike some other anise-based liqueurs, contains no licorice.
True anisette is produced by means of distilling aniseed
. Pastis
, a similar-tasting liqueur, is made by maceration, using a combination of aniseed and licorice.
The liqueur has a powerful flavour when drunk straight, and can even produce irritation to the throat if not taken slowly due to its high alcoholic content. In mixed drinks, however, it produces a sweet agreeable flavour. It is often mixed simply with water, where it produces a milky white consistency. That mixture is called in Spanish speaking countries “palomita”. All the liqueur has to be dropped into very cold water at the same moment. Pouring it from a bottle even quickly does no produce the same result. A very white liquid denotes that a good anisette has been used. A “palomita” with just a drop of anisette can be drunk as a refreshing drink.
It is sweeter than most anise-flavoured liqueurs. The sugar is added in as a syrup. Marie Brizard is a well-known producer of Bordeaux-style anisette. Anís del Mono is a Spanish
brand. Alcoholera Española, located in the small town of Chinchón, close to Madrid, served Spanish court since 1777, with enormous quantities of anise drink. It does not adopt fancy names like "Anís del Mono", but just writes Chinchón”, specifying the characteristics of the different kinds of product. Anisette is called just Chinchón dulce, i.e. sweet Chinchón. As a consequence Chinchón beverage, like Cognac, is called directly with the name of the town where it is produced. One does not drink anis or anisette; one drinks Chinchón. Ojén, a town of less than 3.000 people, is also identified with anise beverages. It does not produce drinks any more, nevertheless it is still remembered because, like Chichón and Cognac, it avoided being identified with any generic name; Ojén was a beverage on its own.
Sambuca
is Italy's version of anisette.
Pastis
, commonly drunk in France, is flavored with both anise and liquorice.
novel The Sun Also Rises
and his short story "Hills Like White Elephants
" drink and discuss Anís del Toro — "Bull's Anisette."
In other countries, particularly those in the Mediterranean Basin
, anise-based or liquorice-based spirits are traditionally consumed, including:
Anise
Anise , Pimpinella anisum, also called aniseed, is a flowering plant in the family Apiaceae native to the eastern Mediterranean region and Southwest Asia. Its flavor resembles that of liquorice, fennel, and tarragon.- Biology :...
-flavored liqueur
Liqueur
A liqueur is an alcoholic beverage that has been flavored with fruit, herbs, nuts, spices, flowers, or cream and bottled with added sugar. Liqueurs are typically quite sweet; they are usually not aged for long but may have resting periods during their production to allow flavors to marry.The...
that is consumed mainly in France, Italy, Portugal, and Spain. It is colorless and, unlike some other anise-based liqueurs, contains no licorice.
True anisette is produced by means of distilling aniseed
Anise
Anise , Pimpinella anisum, also called aniseed, is a flowering plant in the family Apiaceae native to the eastern Mediterranean region and Southwest Asia. Its flavor resembles that of liquorice, fennel, and tarragon.- Biology :...
. Pastis
Pastis
Pastis is an anise-flavored liqueur and apéritif from France, typically containing 40–45% alcohol by volume, although alcohol-free varieties exist.-Origins:...
, a similar-tasting liqueur, is made by maceration, using a combination of aniseed and licorice.
The liqueur has a powerful flavour when drunk straight, and can even produce irritation to the throat if not taken slowly due to its high alcoholic content. In mixed drinks, however, it produces a sweet agreeable flavour. It is often mixed simply with water, where it produces a milky white consistency. That mixture is called in Spanish speaking countries “palomita”. All the liqueur has to be dropped into very cold water at the same moment. Pouring it from a bottle even quickly does no produce the same result. A very white liquid denotes that a good anisette has been used. A “palomita” with just a drop of anisette can be drunk as a refreshing drink.
It is sweeter than most anise-flavoured liqueurs. The sugar is added in as a syrup. Marie Brizard is a well-known producer of Bordeaux-style anisette. Anís del Mono is a Spanish
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
brand. Alcoholera Española, located in the small town of Chinchón, close to Madrid, served Spanish court since 1777, with enormous quantities of anise drink. It does not adopt fancy names like "Anís del Mono", but just writes Chinchón”, specifying the characteristics of the different kinds of product. Anisette is called just Chinchón dulce, i.e. sweet Chinchón. As a consequence Chinchón beverage, like Cognac, is called directly with the name of the town where it is produced. One does not drink anis or anisette; one drinks Chinchón. Ojén, a town of less than 3.000 people, is also identified with anise beverages. It does not produce drinks any more, nevertheless it is still remembered because, like Chichón and Cognac, it avoided being identified with any generic name; Ojén was a beverage on its own.
Sambuca
Sambuca
Sambuca is an Italian anise-flavoured, usually colourless, liqueur. Its most common variety is often referred to as white sambuca to differentiate it from other varieties that are deep blue in colour or bright red ....
is Italy's version of anisette.
Pastis
Pastis
Pastis is an anise-flavored liqueur and apéritif from France, typically containing 40–45% alcohol by volume, although alcohol-free varieties exist.-Origins:...
, commonly drunk in France, is flavored with both anise and liquorice.
In Spanish-speaking regions
- Anís del Mono is the trade-mark of a popular anís made in SpainSpainSpain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
. The name is SpanishSpanish languageSpanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
for "The Monkey's Anisette." It was first produced in 1870 under the trade-mark name Anís del Juliano or "Julian's Anisette." - Anís Najar is a brand produced in Arequípa, PeruPeruPeru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....
since 1854. It is a high quality dry variety with a very high alcohol content (46.2º GL). - Chinchón (drink) is the name of a town identified with “anis” beverages. The different producers joined in “Alcoholera Espanola. S. A.” It produces different kinds of anise beverages. Anisette is called simply “Chinchón dulce”, i. e. “sweet Chinchón”. Between the dry anise beverages excels a dry “Chinchón” with the privilege of having 70% ethanol by volume.
- Cazalla is the name of town with less than 5.000 people, identified with dry anise beverages. Today there is only one producer. The tradition of Cazalla is using only Pimpinela anisum L.
- Aguardiente is the Colombian word for this drink. It means "Fire Water"
- Cartujo is one of the most widely know brands in Latin AmericaLatin AmericaLatin America is a region of the Americas where Romance languages – particularly Spanish and Portuguese, and variably French – are primarily spoken. Latin America has an area of approximately 21,069,500 km² , almost 3.9% of the Earth's surface or 14.1% of its land surface area...
. It is made in VenezuelaVenezuelaVenezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...
and is usually mixed with juices, yogurt, or simply water. Still, many people prefer to drink it straight. It contains 300 ml of alcohol per litre (i.e., 30% ABVABVABV is a three-letter acronym that may refer to:* Alcohol by volume, a measure of the alcohol content of alcoholic drinks* Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, Nigeria, from its IATA airport code...
). - Anis Mico is the most popular brand of anís produced in MexicoMexicoThe United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
. - Anís Gorila is produced in Puerto RicoPuerto RicoPuerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...
. - Anís 8 Hermanos is produced in ArgentinaArgentinaArgentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
.
Outside Spanish-speaking regions
While anísette is most popular in Spanish-speaking countries, it is widely known in English-speaking countries as well. Characters in Ernest Hemingway'sErnest Hemingway
Ernest Miller Hemingway was an American author and journalist. His economic and understated style had a strong influence on 20th-century fiction, while his life of adventure and his public image influenced later generations. Hemingway produced most of his work between the mid-1920s and the...
novel The Sun Also Rises
The Sun Also Rises
The Sun Also Rises is a 1926 novel written by American author Ernest Hemingway about a group of American and British expatriates who travel from Paris to the Festival of San Fermín in Pamplona to watch the running of the bulls and the bullfights. An early and enduring modernist novel, it received...
and his short story "Hills Like White Elephants
Hills Like White Elephants
"Hills Like White Elephants" is a short story by Ernest Hemingway. It was first published in the 1927 collection Men Without Women.-Plot summary:...
" drink and discuss Anís del Toro — "Bull's Anisette."
In other countries, particularly those in the Mediterranean Basin
Mediterranean Basin
In biogeography, the Mediterranean Basin refers to the lands around the Mediterranean Sea that have a Mediterranean climate, with mild, rainy winters and hot, dry summers, which supports characteristic Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrub vegetation...
, anise-based or liquorice-based spirits are traditionally consumed, including:
- PastisPastisPastis is an anise-flavored liqueur and apéritif from France, typically containing 40–45% alcohol by volume, although alcohol-free varieties exist.-Origins:...
and anisette: SambucaSambucaSambuca is an Italian anise-flavoured, usually colourless, liqueur. Its most common variety is often referred to as white sambuca to differentiate it from other varieties that are deep blue in colour or bright red ....
: OuzoOuzoOuzo is an anise-flavored aperitif that is widely consumed in Greece and Cyprus, and a symbol of Greek culture.-History:Traditionally, tsipouro is said to have been the pet project of a group of 14th century monks living in a monastery on holy Mount Athos. One version of it is flavored with anise...
and : MastikaMastikaMastika , mastícha; is a liquor seasoned with mastic, a resin gathered from the mastic tree, a small evergreen tree native to the Mediterranean region...
and AlbaniaAlbaniaAlbania , officially known as the Republic of Albania , is a country in Southeastern Europe, in the Balkans region. It is bordered by Montenegro to the northwest, Kosovo to the northeast, the Republic of Macedonia to the east and Greece to the south and southeast. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea...
: RakıRaki-Alcoholic beverages:*Rakı, an anise-flavored spirit popular in Turkey*Any anise-flavored drink.-Fictional characters:*Raki, a character in the manga/anime series Claymore*Raki, a character in the game Ar tonelico II: Melody of Metafalica...
, , , , and : Arak: Alaki