The Anise Problem
Anise is one of those flavors I’m not crazy about. It’s not just me either. Most people I know are in the same boat, and I suspect that something about strong licorice notes doesn’t gel with the American palate. Still, it’s something I want to enjoy, partly because I like the idea of anise liqueurs… Pernod, Pastis, Sambuca, Ouzo, and others are a time-honored, central part of the sun-drenched leisure of Mediterranean life. And I do like Mediterranean food quite a bit, and could use a liqueur that matches it well. In fact, I end up using my bottle of ouzo more for cooking than drinking.
Time to change that, I’ve decided recently. I got some inspiration by stumbling on limon dulce in the Hi-Lo Market in Jamaica Plain. I don’t know what role the scrubby citrus plays in Latin cuisine, but the bitter-more-than-tart fragrant lemon flavor of the limon dulce juice was distinctive enough to try to fashion a cocktail out of it. I tried making a Tom Collins with it, but the bitterness was exacerbated by the gin, and the combination wasn’t complementary.
Then I tried ouzo and was pleased with the results. You can use another anise liqueur, but I like ouzo’s relative dryness. Since a little anise flavor goes a long way with me, I use a ratio of two parts limon dulce, one part ouzo, with a bit of lime thrown in to round out the acidity. The drink ends up like a fresh, unusual margarita. Since I concocted it, it doesn’t have an official name. Any nominations?
Anise Liqueur Sour
Juice of 1 limon dulce (2 jiggers)
1 jigger ouzo
Juice of 1/2-1 lime, depending on juiciness.
Fill an old-fashioned glass with ice. Add limon dulce juice and ouzo, and stir. Squeeze lime juice on top and serve.
if you forgive me for going a little low brow on you here, I’ve got some observations on anise-based liquers:
Jagermister. I’m not sure if its exactly anise, but it is licorice and very popular with a bunch of american palates I know.
I also know that over the course of a few months a couple friends and I found ourselves drinking in establishments more refined than we were used to and we came up with this pernod-based drink to replace one of our dive-bar favorites (red headed slut):
The More and Better
2 parts Peach Schnaps
1 part pernod
Splash of cranbery juice.
it tastes just like the candy “good and plenty” but since there already is a (dissapointing) shooter called that, we picked its curent name. The substitution of pernod for jager, makes it much lighter and more “delicate”. We found it to be a pleasing, sweet, aperatif (of course this is coming from someone who’ll drink an ice wine with dinner).
Anise flavor used to be on the top five hated list as of four months ago. I didn’t really discriminate between licorice and anise. Pretty much anything with those flavors, especially liquor, was completely foul. I did like fennel, tarragon, and fennel seeds, but anything candy-like or drinkable was just out of bounds.
After pretty much force-feeding myself Pernod for a couple of months, I absolutely love it. The Calcutta was the culmination of my pastis quest. I just made another one, and it is even better than I remember. Give it a try, and let me know what you think.
Dan - you’re right that I overlooked the vastly popular Jager and Sambuca shots. Then again, I’ve never seen anyone savor their Jagermeister. Is the More and Better a shooter as well?
Rick - will try the Calcutta. I may have to adopt your Pernod force-feeding plan.
At first it was a bit painful. I left the bottle of Pernod in the freezer to cut down on the intensity a bit, and I would just pour myself a shot and sit down at the computer (or a good book - most likely a cookbook). From there I would do my damndest to sip and enjoy (much like I would easily with Chartreuse) the Pernod. It took me less than a bottle of this to start enjoying it, and the Calcutta (actually called Firpo’s Balloon Cocktail) was the first drink containing more than a tsp of Pernod that I really liked.
I snagged a piece of licorice at the g-store the other day, and I was surprised that I actually enjoyed the flavor. Bring on those black jelly beans. Good and Plenty’s, though, may be another story.
[…] I’m going to have to punt a bit on this Mixology Monday. I didn’t get around to experimenting with anise or to shopping for some true French pastis, so I don’t have much more to add from my recent post on anise liqueur. In general, I’m still learning to acquire the taste. To that end, I find that citrus helps cut the sugary sweetness. A lot. If you can’t find the limon dulce I referenced before, here’s a simple drink to make with readily available ingredients: Anise Rickey […]
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