Small drops of pure anise?

April 22, 2009 3:31 PM

A few years ago I had these tiny little hard candy drops of pure anise that I'm pretty sure I got at Cost Plus, but Cost Plus no longer sells them. I remember they were round, about the size of a small lentil, came in small tin sort of like Altoid smalls, and very, very intensely anise flavored. What were they and where can I buy them now?
posted by aspo to food & drink (12 comments total)

These are an entire single anise seed, covered in sugar.
posted by nomisxid at 3:34 PM on April 22 [1 favorite]

These?
posted by wowbobwow at 3:35 PM on April 22

I know it wasn't those anise mints you get from a bowl at Indian places, and I'm pretty sure it wasn't the candies nomisxid mentioned.
posted by aspo at 3:43 PM on April 22

Altoids come in licorice. Any chance it was that?

Or, do you think it was Dutch licorice? They have an amazing variety -- hard, soft, salty, sweet.
posted by Houstonian at 3:48 PM on April 22

I know what you're talking about, but I can't find them on the internets. Does "la Vie de la Vosgienne" sound like it could be the name of the brand? I'm fairly positive that they made an anise flavor, but the googling yields only fruit-flavored. They also make the candies nomisxid mentioned, but those are more like the Indian candies.
posted by esmerelda_jenkins at 3:52 PM on April 22

I know what you're referring to and it's definitely not liquorice.

There's always a bowl of these by the door at greek restaurants. Do you have any greek friends you can ask?
posted by randomstriker at 4:02 PM on April 22

possibly Sen Sen (comes in a box, though) or the unfortunately-named (and crazy-strong) Nigroids?
posted by peachfuzz at 4:10 PM on April 22

Peachfuzz, both of those look square. These were round. (And I'm pretty sure they weren't black either.) But those do look pretty close, maybe I'll try to hunt down some of those.
posted by aspo at 4:31 PM on April 22

Could they be anise pastilles? Here and here.
posted by MonkeyToes at 5:22 PM on April 22

How about these Potter's Originals? I can't find a picture of what the candy looks like but maybe the tin will look familiar.
posted by cabingirl at 6:19 PM on April 22

I case anyone is curious I found some Amarelli Licorice at an overpriced fancy food store. I'm still pretty I'd had a different brand but they are the exact same flavor (and head rush) that I remember.
posted by aspo at 2:37 PM on May 2

The violet-flavored Abbaye de Flavigny pastilles are some of my all-time favorites...also aniseseed in the middle, I think.
posted by bitter-girl.com at 1:59 PM on May 5