Got Anise- and other extract-based bevvies?

August 3, 2008 6:31 AM

At the home of a French (Normandy-area) couple, our hosts offered us a beverage made from an anise extract/tincture and water (not pastis, as it wasn't a liqueur and didn't turn milky/yellow). This was unexpectedly yummy and refreshing and sophisticated for a simple, (mostly) non-alcoholic bevvy. I'd love to try this at home and expand my non-boozer horizons! So: (1) Recommendations for the type/brand/sources for the extract? Seems like it needs to be higher-quality stuff; and (2) What other extracts make simple refreshing beverages when added to water?
posted by shelbaroo to Food & Drink (15 answers total)

Anisette?
posted by nkknkk at 6:48 AM on August 3, 2008

Crap, hit "POST" too quickly. I meant to also point you to Wikipedia's list of anise-flavored liqueurs and spirits, so see if any of these ring a bell:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Anise_liqueurs_and_spirits
posted by nkknkk at 6:49 AM on August 3, 2008

Creme de Cassis, absolutely. Just a splash(shot? over ice and then pour cold water over it. Damn, I'm thirsty right now for one and you can't buy alcohol on Sundays here.
posted by Jazz Hands at 6:59 AM on August 3, 2008

Best answer: I'm betting you had something like this. Other syrups here. When I was in France as a kid I was nuts about the grenadine-flavored syrup.
posted by YamwotIam at 7:23 AM on August 3, 2008 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: YamwotIam - those look interesting! I am definitely going to poke around that site a bit and might just try some of those products. But what I had looked different - it was in a small brown glass bottle (sort of like I would buy vanilla extract in?) that the host shook several drops out of and then filled the rest with ice/water.

Also, to be clear, I'm most definitely not looking for liqueurs or spirits, but for extracts to add to water to make non-alcoholic beverages (yeah, I know that a lot of extracts are going to have some alcohol in them, but for the few drops that I'm talking about I'm counting that as non-alcoholic).

More ideas?
posted by shelbaroo at 7:43 AM on August 3, 2008

Best answer: What YamwotIam said: Americans aren't generally familiar with concentrated syrups (or fruit squashes) outside of the back shelf of the coffee shop, but the range in France is pretty cool: mint, orgeat, grenadine, etc.

Elderflower pressé is another wonderful summer drink: add elderflower cordial -- too late to make it yourself, so buy it from IKEA or somewhere online, and add fizzy water.
posted by holgate at 7:46 AM on August 3, 2008

Best answer: A brown bottle like this?
posted by Ms. Next at 7:47 AM on August 3, 2008

it was in a small brown glass bottle (sort of like I would buy vanilla extract in?) that the host shook several drops out of and then filled the rest with ice/water.

Was it something like the Elixir Vegetal de Chartreuse? The French do have their local herbal concoctions, though.
posted by holgate at 8:15 AM on August 3, 2008

Cassis is blackberry, that couldn't have been it. The Teisseire Anise syrup might be a good bet.. going to see if I can find some myself! that sounds delicious!
posted by citron at 10:02 AM on August 3, 2008

While you're at it, try Orgeat -- it's almond flavored and super-yum.
posted by moof at 10:35 AM on August 3, 2008

Wow - I had exactly the same reaction to being served Teisseire as a kid in Brittany back in the '70s. I've been looking for it since (I never knew the name, but that's definitely it). Will now purchase a crate.
posted by Nick Verstayne at 10:37 AM on August 3, 2008

Another very refreshing drink that used to be much commoner -- sarsaparilla. It has this wonderful, hard to describe flavor, that is perfect for cooling you down on hot summer days. It was pretty common in South India where I come from (known as nanaari) but it can be hard to find in the US -- here's a link to buy it online.
posted by peacheater at 10:39 AM on August 3, 2008

Definitely concentrated syrup. It's huge in france and stangely not so popular elsewhere. The main brand is as previously said Tesseire. Anis flavoured syrup is not the most common, i'd guess the three main flavour are Mint, Grenadine (which is a mix of red berries) and maybe lemon.
I'll second orgeat, the almond syrup, it's great. If you mix it with pastis, you get a Mauresque, the national drink of corsica.
Strangely enough Amazon sells the Tesseire Anis syrup, it's very expensive compared to the price in France though.
posted by SageLeVoid at 7:52 PM on August 3, 2008

The translucent, ultra-concentrated syrups in those metal bottles are very French; the British like squashes that have a marginal amount of juice -- with the exception of Ribena and Vimto, which are too sticky for summer, to my tastes, and lime juice cordial (aka Rose's Concentrated Lime Juice) which is too puckery for most people. Alton Brown did have a lemon barley water recipe, and that's definitely worth a try too.

If you're feeling adventurous, it's possible to cook watermelon juice with sugar, and optionally a sprig of mint, down to a syrupy consistency, then use that, a splash at a time, with fizzy water.
posted by holgate at 10:58 PM on August 3, 2008

A late addition, now that FrenchyBee has its modern variant in stock: Antesite in a collector's bottle and metal box.
posted by holgate at 2:32 AM on October 2, 2008