[Sca-cooks] Re: Absinthe and herbed liqueurs and cordials

[Christiane]

On Thu, 18 Nov 2004 06:40:31 -0500, Phil Troy / G. Tacitus Adamantius
<adamantius.magister at verizon.net> wrote:
> 
> Maybe it's a case of distant evolution, but I have to agree. While
> Pernod may once have contained wormwood, and have been created by an
> absinthe manufacturer, it's not really bitter, it's not green, and
> it's fairly sweet without added sugar (at least the Pernod I've had
> has been). I can't imagine anyone really wanting to add sugar to it.
> 
> Besides, Real Provencale Men (tm) drink Pastis Ricard -- the
> fennel-flavored version of Pernod...
> 
> Adamantius (who uses Pastis Ricard for Bouillabaise)

Pastis! Thank you! I knew I had written the wrong thing. And the men in Provence drink it watered with sugar; Peter Mayle lovingly describes the ritual. It louches — turns whitish — when cold water is added to it.


>http://www.absinth.com/

>They have a reproduction Absinthe..........

>Apparantly with the right wormwood in it for sale.

>Cadoc

For interesting information about the history of absinthe, here is one about absinthe in New Orleans that mentions Henri Pernod as the premier 19th century distiller:

http://www.gumbopages.com/food/beverages/absinthe.html

For a really good outline of what is absinthe, what isn't absinthe, resources for buying absinthe online, and a translation of an 1897 catalog from the House of Pernod, which says how the Pernod family got into the absinthe business and when (1797):

http://www.feeverte.net

Pastis is essentially absinthe without the wormwood, developed in Marseille as an absinthe substitute.  Pastis Ricard, which is yellow rather than green, was developed by Paul Ricard, according to this article:

http://frenchfood.about.com/cs/horsdoeuvres/a/pastis.htm

So, that brings to mind a question I have; Absinthe is 19th century, but when were Benedictine, Chartreuse, and Frangelico invented? All three were invented by monks, but when? If these are period, are there other "period" liqueurs today?

Gianotta