From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Anisette, or
Anis, is an
anise-flavored
liqueur that is consumed in most
Mediterranean
countries, mainly in Spain, Italy, Portugal, Turkey, Greece, Albania,
Lebanon, Cyprus, Israel, Palestine and France. It is colorless, and
because it contains sugar, is sweeter than dry anise flavoured spirits
(e.g.
absinthe). The most traditional style of anisette is that produced by means of distilling aniseed, and is differentiated from those produced by simple
maceration by the inclusion of the word
distilled on the label. And while
Pastis
is a similar-tasting liqueur that is prepared in similar fashion and
sometimes confused with anisette, it employs a combination of both
aniseed and
licorice root extracts.
Sambuca is essentially an anisette of Italian origin that requires a high minimum (350g/l) sugar content.
The liqueur is often mixed with water or poured over ice cubes because of its strong flavour.
Geographical spread
Mediterranean
Anise spirits of the Mediterranean region
In the
Mediterranean Basin, anise-based or liquorice-based spirits include:
- Spain: Anís del Mono ("the monkey's anisette") has been produced since 1870. The label, with a monkey holding a scroll and a bottle, was designed by Ramon Casas i Carbó. It is the anisette of choice in Malcolm Lowry's Under the Volcano. Characters in Ernest Hemingway's novel The Sun Also Rises and his short story "Hills Like White Elephants" drink and discuss Anís del Toro – "Bull's Anisette." Another type, Aguardiente de Ojén (es), gained fame abroad and is popular in New Orleans, Louisiana, especially during the Mardi Gras festivities.
- France: Anisette, made by Marie Brizard since 1755 and Pastis, made by Paul Ricard since 1932
- Greece: Ouzo
- Italy: Sambuca
- Portugal: Licor Aniz Escarchado (crystalized)
- Bulgaria and Northern Macedonia: Mastika
- Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Albania: Rakı
- Lebanon, Syria, Palestine, Israel, Jordan, and Egypt: Arak
- Algeria: Anisette Cristal
Latin America
Anise-flavoured alcohols from other parts of the world include
Aguardiente from Colombia and Mexico.
Asia
Anise liqueur was also introduced to the
Philippines by the Spanish, which developed into the local
anisado, an anise-flavored liqueur usually made from distilled
sugarcane wine. A notable variant of Filipino
anisado with sugar is known as
anisado Mallorca, or simply
Mallorca. They are commonly used as ingredients in
Filipino cuisine.
