Ricard

Huge French wine and spirits multinational, second only to US multinational Diageo. The picture shows the head office in Paris. The origin of the company lies in the well-known aniseed spirit. The basis for this is the fruit of the Badian tree, known as star anise, which is native to the border region between China and Vietnam. The essential oil (anethole) distilled from the fruit is used to make Pernod. One kilogram of anethole is extracted from about 100 kg of the fruit. Anethole is then mixed with a variety of herbs, such as fennel, coriander and mint, and distilled again to achieve absolute purity. The finished essence is then mixed with sugar, water and triple-distilled alcohol. In France, spirits distilled from different raw materials and then flavoured with aniseed are called "anisée". Spirits produced from the basic ingredient aniseed are called pastis. These are Pastis 51 (produced since 1951) and Ricard.

Origin

Pernod was invented by Dr. Ordinaire, a Frenchman who emigrated to Switzerland during the French Revolution. With the help of Vermouth, fennel and aniseed, he developed a recipe for an invigorating aniseed drink. In 1797, he sold it to a certain Major Dubied, who then founded an industrial absinthe distillery in Switzerland with his son-in-law Henri-Louis Pernod (1776-1851). The drink became immensely popular and became world famous under the new brand name Pernod. Henri-Louis Pernod founded a second distillery in Pontalier and the company Pernod Fils in 1805. Pernod experienced its absolute heyday in...