We all agree (it has become commonplace) that wine is culture? And then even a liqueur like Pastis is culture, especially if sipped in its hometown, Marseille. And the right place to get acquainted with Pastis is Le Doc, that is the former port warehouses of the city, renovated and reborn to a new life; in terms of history, design concept and enormity of the construction, it is the Marseillaise equivalent of the Lingotto in Turin. Among the businesses located in Les Doc in a square called Paul Ricard there is a super-bar that offers (also) tastings of aniseed liqueur.
Place Paul Ricard inside Les Doc in Marseille (photo by Luigi Grassia)
The history of Pastis parallels that of other aniseed liqueurs distilled in various Mediterranean countries: in Italy we have Sambuca, in Greece there is Ouzo, in Turkey there is Raki, and there is more than one drink of generally also in France; they are distinguished by the different alcohol content and by the variety and proportion of aromas and spices that contribute to the particular aroma and flavor of each individual liqueur. The original Pastis is that of Paul Ricard (while its main French competitor is Pernod, which is distinguished by its low licorice content).
The spectacular tasting counter (photo by Luigi Grassia)
Pastis is consumed in the way that the ancients used with wine, that is, it is not drunk pure but diluted with water; the ideal proportion indicated by experts is one part of liqueur and seven of water; you can go up to five, but no more. When it is pure, Pastis has an amber hue while mixed with water it acquires a translucent white color.
Glasses of Pastis before and after adding water (photo by Luigi Grassia)
To be picky, according to tradition, to pour the water into the Pastis you should not use any container but a particular type, that is a small jug like those (yellow in our case, but the color is not mandatory) that adorn the fountain of the Place Paul Ricard, as seen in the photograph below.
It is with small jugs like these that the water should be poured into Pastis glasses (photo by Luigi Grassia)
And then there is Marseille, the second French city by population and first by extension (as they guarantee us locally), which we were lucky enough to photograph with an iridescent light, a bit of sun and a bit of clouds, with a suggestive effect.
Above, images taken in various places in Marseille (photo by Luigi Grassia)