🌿 Pastis de Marseille

Pastis de Marseille is a pastis with a pronounced anise taste and a separate category 27 of EU Regulation 2019/787. It contains 1.9 to 2.1 g/l of anethole and is at least 45 % vol., the highest minimum of all anise categories in EU law.

Because it is a pastis, the rules of category 26 apply too: natural liquorice root extract with 0.05–0.5 g/l of glycyrrhizic acid, less than 100 g/l of sugar, and only natural flavouring substances and flavouring preparations. The difference lies in the narrower, higher range of anethole and strength: ordinary pastis has 1.5–2 g/l of anethole and starts at 40 %.

The name points to Marseille, yet in the regulation it is a drink category, not a geographical indication: pastis is absent from the EU list of protected spirit names (Annex III to Regulation 110/2008), and the law sets no place of production for category 27. Ouzo, by contrast, is a protected geographical name of Greece and Cyprus.

Aromatic oils are dissolved in strong alcohol. When water is added they separate into tiny droplets and the drink turns cloudy – researchers described this as the “ouzo effect” (Langmuir, 2003).

Why it matters to you. “De Marseille” on a label means at least 45 % vol., 5 points more than ordinary pastis. It does not guarantee that the drink was made in Marseille. Because of liquorice, the bottle may carry a warning for people with hypertension. WHO: no safe level of alcohol exists.