Our recently released Pastis Blue is vibrant, refreshing and has “bouquets” of spice. Let us bring you into the world of Pastis, a botanically brilliant libation!

The meaning of Pastis…

The word Pastis means “mash up”. Almost two decades after Absinthe was banned in France, Pastis became available and quickly grew in popularity. The Anise flavor profile, without the hallucinogenic effects of Absinthe, made Pastis an welcome replacement. A fondness for anise liquors has long existed historically in the Mediterranean tradition such as Turkish Raki and Greek Ouzo.  

What is Pastis?

Pastis is a style of sweet herbal aperitif that is anise flavor forward. It can be produced simply by blending a neutral spirit with alcohol with flavorings, or it can be made by distilling directly with botanicals like making a gin.  

A family of Anise!

Spirits and liqueurs featuring anise flavors have been around for a very long time and most countries in the Mediterranean have their own version!

Sambuca (Italy)
Raki (Turkey)
Ouzo (Greece)
Arak (North Africa)
Aguadiente with Anise (Peru)

What is the Louche?

The classic way to enjoy Pastis is mixed with chilled water. Traditionally served 5:1 chilled water to Pastis. The cloudy effect that takes place in the mixture, called the “louche”, comes from the fragrant plant oils of the botanicals reacting with water making the liquid opaque. We recommend our Pastis Blue is served over crushed ice since our warm Caribbean temperatures can quickly melt ice to perfectly chilled water.  

Find your perfect louche!

Find the blend that works best for you! For our Pastis Blue, we recommend filling a Collins (tall thin) glass with ice and adding 2 ounces of Pastis, mixing gently as the melting ice opens up the spirit and brings about the louche. Sip and savour over time letting the botanicals dance on your palette.

A cocktail game changer.

Loaded with bold flavor, the addition of Pastis to any cocktail is guaranteed to be an infusion of botanical flavor. Note the addition of any acid such as citrus will magically modify our Pastis Blue from vibrant royal blue to violet, or even to pink!  

Some cocktail variations to enjoy:

Tomate

2 oz Pastis
1 oz Grenadine
Ice
Chilled Water
Fresh Rosemary to garnish

1. Pour Pastis and Grenadine in a tumbler glass.

2. Gently stir. Add ice.

3. Top with chilled water.

4. Garnish with fresh Rosemary.

Perroquet

1 ½ oz Pastis
¼ oz (dash) Mint Syrup
Ice
Chilled Water
Fresh Mint to garnish

1. Pour Pastis and Mint Syrup over ice, preferably into a highball glass.

2. Fill with chilled water, stir well and serve.

3. Garnish with fresh Mint.  

Pastisito

1 oz Pastis
1 oz White Rum
1 ½ oz Fresh Lime Juice
1 oz Sugar Syrup
Fresh Mint
Soda Water

1. Crush the fresh mint and add to chilled glass.

2. Add Pastis, White Rum, Lime Juice, and sugar syrup.

3. Fill glass with crushed ice and stir slowly to mix.

4. Top with Soda Water.

Created your own personal favorite cocktail with Pastis Blue? Tell us about it!

Three years ago, exploring the southern hills of Antigua, little did we know that our search for Antiguan botanicals would lead us to something extraordinary.

I remember the day clearly, slightly overcast with our usual 30% chance of rain, surrounded by tall fragrant grass which towered above our enthusiastic little harvester. When we saw our then five-year-old chewing on a stalk of Fevergrass, we knew right away we had to do something with this amazing local botanical.

Known throughout the culinary world for its rich, bold, and lemony flavours, Fevergrass or lemongrass is a fragrant grass like herb that has a slightly sweet, earthy, and lemon like taste. Commonly known as lemongrass, it has historically been used to help reduce symptoms of fever, hence earning its local name, fevergrass.

Our Fevergrass Spirit is a small batch and highly mixable spirit, made much the same way as our gin and with handpicked fevergrass.

Perfect for anyone who is bored with the same old cocktail and has the desire for something LOCAL. Substituted into a favorite drink, Fevergrass Spirit really does take the beverage to the next level. Sure, we are a bit biased, we absolutely love it, and are so proud to put a little piece of Antigua into each bottle.

What is a Botanical Spirit?

When it comes to food and beverages, botanical refers to ingredients derived from a plant, usually extracting flavor from dried leaf or other parts of the plant. Botanical Spirits are made similarly to Gin (the worlds best known botanical spirit), but without the juniper-led flavour. Botanical Spirits are becoming increasingly popular allowing distillers to branch out into more adventurous flavours.

Photo (left): Fevergrass Spirit Friday Antidote Cocktail
Photo (right) Foraging fevergrass with daddy

The perfect drink for the holiday season in the Caribbean! This recipe is highly scalable and flexible. One 750mL bottle makes 3 liters of mulled gin. Cinnamon and Clove are essential spices for mulled gin, but Star Anise, Cardamom, West Indian Bay, Allspice and Juniper Berries are all nice additions. Whole spices and fresh juices are preferable for this recipe.

Makes 3 litres (about 15 cups)

Ingredients:
1 bottle (750ml) Antilles Stillhouse Pink Gin
2.25 L Apple Juice
1 cup fresh Passionfruit Juice (strained)
1 cup fresh Bitter Orange or Lemon Juice (strained)
2 large Cinnamon Sticks (1 tablespoon if powder)
10 Cloves
10 Star Anise
10 Cardamon
10 All Spice
10 Juniper Berries
4 West Indian Bay Leaves
1/3 Large Orange sliced thinly
1/3 Large Apple sliced thinly
50 – 100 grams White Cane Sugar (will vary to taste)

Method:

Keep to a low heat for the whole process.

1. In a large pot, start with warming your spices to bring out the flavour, whole spices are best to avoid cloudiness. (If using any powdered spices, add in step two with liquid)

2. When the spices are nicely toasted add the Apple Juice, Passionfruit Juice, and sliced Apple and Orange.

3. Bring liquid to a simmer for 10 minutes at least to infuse the flavors then add the Pink Gin.

4. Stir in the 50 grams sugar and Bitter Orange or Lemon Juice. The sweet and sour balance each other, so if needed add more sugar to taste.

5. Keep your mulled gin steamy warm for serving but avoid boiling to retain the alcohol content and aromas

If you have leftovers, strain into a glass bottle or jar and keep for another occasion. Chilled leftover mulled gin served over lots of ice with a splash of soda water makes a delicious alternative to sangria.

We’ve been experimenting, foraging, and connecting with local farmers and now its finally here: Our very own PINK GIN. It is a unique addition to the category of Pink Gins in the world, and perfectly at home here in Antigua, an island that loves Rose and refreshing summer cocktails.

What is Pink Gin? Historically a Pink Gin is actually a cocktail, just simply a gin and tonic with a few dashes of Angostura Bitters. Almost anything tastes better with Angostura Bitters, but we’re not sure if this cocktail would really qualify as “pink”. Modern versions of Pink Gin actually use pink ingredients such as grapefruit or raspberries to infuse color and flavor into a distilled gin.

Our version of Pink Gin is infused with fresh local Sorrel blossoms. Sorrel is a relative of hibiscus that blooms every winter in the Caribbean, usually just in time for Christmas. I fondly remember picking Sorrel with my grandmother and cooking the blossoms in a pot with water, sugar, and spices for her famous Christmas punch. Our search for unique and fragrant ingredients has brought us in contact with many local farmers who are passionate about agriculture and working to produce the best. For our Pink Gin, we sourced the Sorrel from our own little patch of garden and from EP Farms where Erica Phillips ensures each item grown is ripened naturally and perfectly. The combination of our favorite local botanicals, Italian Juniper, and local Sorrel results in a Pink Gin that is balanced in sweet, citrus and tartness. We’ve fallen in love with the intense deep purple red color that the blossoms also add to the gin. Almost like it promises passion and spice even before its blended into a cocktail. It is a dark red color like that of a Sloe Gin or Red Wine in the bottle and has been calculated to make a perfectly Pink Gin and Tonic.

So ours is different, because we aren’t afraid to be passionately red in bottle, pink in cocktail and uniquely Antiguan in flavor.

Cheers!

Another season has gone by we can’t believe how quickly the summer is rolling in to our little island paradise. This July brings a much awaited event, Optimist World Championships, an event with teams from sixty-seven countries and over 250 youth competitors. It is an event that brings together families from all over the globe. Showcasing ‘Made In Antigua’ products, Artisans Antigua Traveling Market, will host a special Food and Craft event on July 11, 2019 at the Yacht Club Marina. We locals are proud of our creativity and passionate about food, sharing our specialties with families visiting for the Optimist 2019 is going to be amazing. For our part, our little family with be on the boardwalk with our tasting booth, Big Wood Gin, our cottage crafts and introducing some new additions to our spirit family. Stay tuned for more on that in another blog post.

July 11, 2019 EVENT AYC 530PM to 830PM

OPTIMIST World Championship 2019