On Pernod

Licorice is what one calls an acquired taste. I don't know too many kids who like it, but I can start to understand its popularity when alcohol's involved. (It says something about a flavor when you have to be drunk to enjoy it.)

I've tasted a few licorice-flavored liquors: Sambucco. Anisette. The one I'm working on now is Pernod from France; I remember it from seeing it used in cooking. Apparently it's also used as an after-dinner apéritif, though I'm not clear why.

It's yellow, compared with other licorice liquors. It's also the only one in my experience that tends to set the insides on fire. Not a good burn like chili; more like the type of burn you get when something's not digesting properly. (That's why I think it's not good after dinner.)

Ah well. Perhaps I'll try to cook something with it.