Ricard Pastis de Marseille
Ricard Pastis de Marseille
$60, 45% alcohol, www.ricard.com
No introduction needed. This commercial benchmark might not be the most finessed of the bunch, but it sure delivers the goods. The colour is dark caramel when undiluted, and the aromas evoke opening a medicine chest and walking into a lolly shop at the same time—aniseed, sage, mint, sassafras, black liquorice, sarsaparilla, and Werther’s Original. With the addition of water it transforms into golden milk, leaving a strong burnt crème caramel aftertaste. A classic.