Best Pastis

With its typically Provencal flavour, Pastis brings to mind long afternoons spent playing Petanque in the South of France. Pastis is one of the most popular alcohols to be served as an aperitif and is greatly appreciated by the general public. Naturally, starred gastronomic restaurants offer high quality references of industrial and hand-crafted Pastis on their wine menus. Bestwine • Online shares all the brands and references of Pastis appearing on the wine list of the most fabulous addresses in high quality gastronomy. With Bestwine • Online, taste the best Pastis advised by chefs and sommeliers of starred gastronomic restaurants.

Best Pastis

With Bestwine • Online, the best reference list of Pastis:

• Find one of the best Pastis.
• Offer an exceptional bottle of Pastis.
• Enrich your bar or wine cellar with a prestigious Pastis.
• Discover the starred gastronomic restaurants where drink the best Pastis.
• Benefit from gastronomic professionnal’s advices to select your Pastis brand or bottle.

Best Pastis brands

Refer to Chief’s, Sommelier’s, Bartender’s from gastronomic restaurants of all around the world‘s opinion to discover the best Pastis brands and best references. A ranking and comparative of the best Pastis brands by the Chief’s, Sommelier’s and Bartender’s from the top gastronomic experts.

Pastis Brand	Pastis Distillery	Origin	Alcohol Degree	Restaurant
Ricard	Pernod-Ricard	France	45°	⭐⭐⭐ – Beaumanière – France
Pernod	Pernod-Ricard	France	40°	⭐⭐⭐ – Beaumanière – France
Pastis 51	Pernod-Ricard	France	45°	⭐⭐⭐ – Yannick Alléno – France
Bernard Marty	–	France	45°	⭐⭐⭐ – Odette – Singapore

Pastis

Sometimes called “jaune”, “pastaga”, “flai”, “fenouil”, “pomade”, “flan” and other colloquial French words, Pastis is an alcoholic drink flavoured with aniseed and liquorice. Pastis is often called “Ricard”; however, Ricard is a brand of Pastis whose name characterizes one type of Pastis, as this brand has become very popular through the years.

Pastis means “boiled” in the Provencal dialect, which must be translated as “mixture”. This well-known mixture is made of neutral alcohol from agricultural origin to which plant extracts like green aniseed, star anise, fennel, or liquorice have been added. According to the brand of Pastis, other plants may be incorporated to the recipe. Pastis is an aniseed flavoured alcohol, to which it is possible to add different plants. Consequently, the recipes for Pastis vary in function with the producer and the methods used to flavour the alcohol. There are three stages in the production of Pastis: the maceration or distillation, the redistillation, or the addition of naturally distilled aniseed.

There is a European regulation which legally defines Pastis. There is also a designation of origin for the Pastis from Marseille. To be able to use this designation, the Pastis must have an alcohol content of 45° and an anethanol concentration of 2 grammes per litre. Anethanol is an organic compound present in aniseed plants. An ordinary Pastis has an alcohol content of around 40°, so Pastis is a strong alcohol.

Pastis in starred gastronomic restaurants

Pastis is a French alcohol, but its notoriety is international. It is a traditional aperitif, used in Provencal and French cooking. Pastis is consumed and appreciated all over the world, this is also true for starred gastronomic restaurants, where it is on the wine menu of bars and restaurants not only in France, but all over the world. Pastis is a delicious served mixed with water and ice cubes, it ideally fills the role of an aperitif, which is to give you an appetite. As an aperitif it goes well with appetizers.

Pastis is valued in starred gastronomic restaurants, where there is a large choice of brands and references of industrial and hand-crafted Pastis. Chefs and barmen in starred gastronomic restaurants always aim to offer their customers the best in Pastis. They are constantly in search of the best pastis capable of satisfying their customers, who expect the highest quality in food and drink when choosing a starred gastronomic restaurant. So, chefs and sommeliers are therefore continuously renewing their wine list with newly selected upmarket Pastis.

Pastis has an attractive flavour. The mixture of aniseed and liquorice and the flavour of Provencal herbs from the South, make it a unique drink. A refreshing alcohol, Pastis is also attractive because of its unusual appearance. Its yellow or blurred white colour when it is diluted is rare. Pastis has a characteristic hazy and milky appearance with a yellow or amber tint. Pastis becomes yellow and blurred because of the Ouzo effect. This word comes from another aniseed flavoured alcohol, which becomes hazy when diluted, Ouzo. Also called spontaneous emulsification, the Ouzo effect is a micro emulsion of milky aspect which happens when water is added to anethanol, the organic compound present in aniseed.

Pastis when it is mixed with water, can be nicknamed “flambi” or “yahourt” according to the quantity of water used to dilute it. Barmen usually propose 2cl of Pastis, which is diluted with 10cl of water, which equals 5 volumes. A double Pastis is called a “Gainsbourg” (as it was the French singer’s favourite drink) or a “102”. There is even a triple Pastis called a 153. The colour of Pastis varies according to its content. The yellow colour comes from food colouring, often caramel. Pastis which become white when water is added do not have any food colouring added to them. Surprisingly, there are even blue Pastis. The first blue Pastis was created by the brand Germain. Janot is another brand of blue Pastis.

Barmen in starred gastronomic restaurants also create cocktails with Pastis, like the Mauresque, The Tomato, the Parrot, the Rourou, the Stoptou, the Sazerac, the Prince des villes, the Limonette, the Mazout and the Pelican.

Apart from an aperitif, Pastis can also be used by chefs in gastronomic restaurants in the preparation of some dishes, for example starters; king prawns flamed in Pastis, melon with Pastis, or Soup with Pastis. Main courses; like chicken in Pastis, Mussels in Pastis, Niçoise salad with Pastis, Ratatouille with Pastis, Tuna kebabs with Pastis, Pastis omelette, Bouillabaisse with Pastis, sea bream, red mullet, and sea bass with Pastis, and deserts; strawberries in Pastis, Fruit salad in Pastis, pancakes flamed with Pastis, cakes made with Pastis and Ice cream and crème brûlée with Pastis. It is even possible to make mustard with Pastis!

There are no vintage bottles of Pastis.

Pastis is a popular drink accessible to everyone.

Brands of Pastis

There are a large number of brands and producers of Pastis. Industrial Pastis should be differentiated from hand-crafted Pastis which is produced in small quantities. The brand Pernod was the first to produce Pastis in 1918 after the interdiction of Absinthe in France. Jean-Felix Pernod, son of a former Absinthe producer, registered the trademark Anis Pernod. However, the first brand to use the word Pastis to describe its product was Ricard. With its slogan “Ricard the real Marseille Pastis” Ricard became the first brand of Pastis, beating Pernod. It was not until 1951 that Pernod changed the name of Anis Pernod to Pastis 51. Paul Ricard, managing director of Ricard also innovated his Pastis by adding star anise and liquorice to the green aniseed. The brands Ricard and Pernod were in fierce competition until 1975, when both brands merged, becoming Pernod-Ricard. The brand Pastis 51 was discontinued in 1999. Ricard is the most emblematic brand of Pastis all over the world, and the most commonly found in bars and brasseries, as well as gastronomic restaurants. Other brands of industrial Pastis include Duval, Casani or Berger, which can also be found on the wine list of starred gastronomic restaurants. As far as hand-crafted Pastis is concerned, Liminana produces Marseille Pastis, the brand Manguin produces Avignon Pastis, Janot Distillery, the Domaines de Provence distillery who make the Pastis Henri Bardouin, the brands Jean Boyer, and Pastis des Homs. Some hand-crafted Pastis have more than 70 ingredients! They are in the high-quality range of the market. Pastis is not only French, there is also a Swiss Pastis produced by the Larusée Distillery and an American Pastis produced in California, called Charbay.

Pastis must not be confused with Pernod, Absinthe or Anisette (an Algerian alcoholic drink), Arak (a Lebanese, Syrian, Israelian, Jordanian, or Palestinian alcohol), Mastika (a Bulgarian drink), Pontarlier, Raki (Turkish or Armenian alcohol) or Ouzo (a Greek alcoholic drink) which are other varieties of aniseed flavoured drinks.

For a good inexpensive Pastis

What is more pleasant than a chilled glass of good Pastis sipped in the sun? When you drink a glass of Pastis, you are also drinking a part of Provence. You can almost hear the sound of cicadas when savouring a glass of Pastis, so close is the link with the South of France. With Bestwine • Online, I wanted to list all the Pastis proposed in the greatest restaurants in the world.

The Pastis Ricard is the reference in terms of industrial Pastis, but there are a lot of other brands and references of Pastis all over the world, both Industrial and hand-crafted Pastis. I, therefore, sought advice in the form of the list of Pastis offered to clients of well-known and reputed names in gastronomy.

To be more precise, I wanted to know which Pastis were considered to be the greatest, by professionals like chefs, sommeliers, and barmen in starred gastronomic restaurants, who must offer the best in good food and fine wine. So logically they will only serve excellent Pastis. Chefs, sommeliers, and barmen in starred gastronomic restaurants constantly test new products and share their opinions to create the most fabulous wine list for their establishment. Obviously, selecting the best Pastis is part of their job. I am not an expert in Pastis, nor do I claim to advise you in your choice of Pastis. However, my aim is to promote a large variety of Pastis, as there is a big selection, and therefore share with you the best in Pastis.

With Bestwine • Online, I would like everyone to take advantage of the experience and talent of the greatest specialists in high quality gastronomy. Through this comprehensive reference list of excellent Pastis, you are able to find and buy the best in Pastis.

Bestwine • Online is not a classification nor a comparison of the best Pastis, just a suggestion of Pastis chosen by chefs and barmen in starred gastronomic restaurants, which represents the most exquisitely flavoured bottles of this iconic alcohol. These professionals also select Pastis for its background. The history of producers and breweries who create new and original Pastis. Distinguishing a Pastis as being the best is not possible, as there are too many brands and references of Pastis to be impartial and give an ultimate opinion. Each person has his own tastes and inclinations.

Bestwine • Online is the result of a selection of Pastis by oenologists, guides, wine merchants and other professionals who work with chefs, sommeliers, and barmen in gastronomic restaurants.

With Bestwine • Online, I would like each person to discover the best Pastis and buy them at the best price.

Bestwine • Online is regularly updated so that you can hear about new brands of Pastis

Make the most of Bestwine • Online to find and buy the best Pastis. Taste one or several references to make your choice and find your favourite bottle. Bestwine • Online also has a large selection of wines and spirits from starred gastronomic restaurants.

Gwendal, creator of Bestwine • Online….. and amateur of good Pastis.

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