LA MAISON DU PASTIS - 95 PASTIS AND ABSINTHES - SALE AND TASTING

Sale and tasting

The Maison du Pastis is much more than just a shop, it is the creators scattered throughout the country, a great way to make yourself known. Thus, more than 95 Pastis and Absinthes will be presented to you.

Here we try day after day to also bring together as many food products as possible for the aperitif, around anise and the Provençal and Marseille image, new objects such as glasses, decanters, jugs, vintage bottles, various accessories around PASTIS and ABSINTHE (spoons, fountains...), gift boxes... So many possibilities to do or to have fun.

CALL THE MAISON DU PASTIS!

Pastis, a bit of history

The First World War sounded the death knell for ABSINTHE, the number one drink of the late nineteenth century, popular aniseed, scapegoat in the fight against alcohol, number one target of the wine lobby resurrected from phylloxera (a parasite of the vine). In 1914, any alcohol with an alcohol content of more than 16° was strictly forbidden. It was not until the end of the war that these were reauthorized, with the exception of ABSINTHE, (banned by decree in 1915). But the habit of aniseed, fresh, mixed with water will persist. In 1920, the French state authorized aniseed up to 30° alcohol (for fear that ABSINTHE would resurface).

Around MARSEILLE, the tradition of the aperitif is alive and well : fresh water, anise and liquorice combine and are enriched with other macerations of aromatic plants. There were already ABSINTHES from Marseille made from star anise and liquorice (star anise rather than green anise). The rhythm and the "good Provençal life" will therefore very naturally favour the production of these aniseed aperitifs, constantly reinvented according to the inspirations of bar owners and wine merchants, and this in a total illegality.

At the end of the 20s, a young 23-year-old salesman, the son of a wine merchant, took up the idea and, in a stroke of genius, marketed an aniseed aperitif in his name. Defying the authorities, a certain Paul Ricard widely distributed this forbidden alcohol. He is constantly fined by the police and customs authorities. After intense lobbying work, he obtained adecree in 1932 to grant him permission to operate. The fines are therefore transformed into taxes. Paul Ricard had to find a name for his drink and was asked to define it. His recipe is therefore in the public domain and will be called "PASTIS", from the Provençal "pastisson" and the Italian "pasticchio", synonymous with mixture, amalgamation. PASTIS was officially born. Paul RICARD was three years ahead of the competition commercially. The success was dazzling.

PERNOD, the initiator of ABSINTHE in France, is taking advantage of the authorization by releasing its "PERNOD", but will not indicate the PASTIS designation on its bottles. However, it is indeed an aniseed from the same family.

In 1936, the first paid holidays definitively popularized PASTIS and instituted it as the first aperitif in France. And finally, in 1938, RICARD obtained authorization for all aniseed products to market at 45° instead of 40°.
During the Second World War, alcohols above 16° were again banned. It was not until 1951 that PASTIS and all other strong alcohols were reauthorized. PERNOD finally launches the fight back and releases its 51 with the name "PASTIS DE MARSEILLE".

The war was waged between the two producers until 1974 when a merger and a merger took place under the impetus of the managers of the two companies.
The PERNOD RICARD group will have the success and expansion that we know it for. It will lock in the market in terms of sales volume, even if a multitude of small PASTIS are emerging. All the surviving ABSINTHE distilleries released their aniseed drinks with the famous "PONTAR" of PONTAR in the lead

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