Anisette

What is Anisette? Anisette is a colorless, sweetened anise-flavored liqueur traditionally produced and consumed across the Mediterranean, with the strongest traditions in France, Spain, and Italy. Its defining trait is sugar content high enough to set it apart from drier anise spirits like pastis or ouzo, giving it a rounder, dessert-friendly character. Because the anise flavor is intense, anisette is rarely sipped neat. It is usually diluted with cold water, which clouds the liquid through the louche effect, or simply poured over ice.

Production and Regional Styles

Traditional anisette is made by distilling aniseed, and bottles labeled as distilled are considered a step above cheaper versions produced by simple maceration. The French house Marie Brizard has been making anisette since 1755, which puts it among the oldest continuously produced brands in the category, while Spain's Anis del Mono, in production since 1870, remains one of the most iconic Spanish examples.

Anisette sits within a broad family of Mediterranean anise spirits, but each style has its own rules. It differs from pastis, which combines aniseed with licorice root extracts, by relying on anise alone. Sambuca is essentially an Italian-style anisette, distinguished by a regulated minimum sugar content of 350 grams per liter. Greek ouzo, Turkish and Balkan raki, and Levantine arak are close relatives in the same flavor family but follow their own local traditions.

Smaller regional expressions round out the picture. Malta produces a version called Anisetta, also known as Zambur, and the Philippines makes Anisado, which is distilled from sugarcane wine. Aguardiente de Ojen, a Spanish anisette, found a second home in New Orleans, where it became closely associated with Mardi Gras.

How It's Served

The classic way to drink anisette is long and cold. A measure poured into a glass and topped with chilled water turns milky white as the essential oils come out of solution, the same louche effect seen with pastis and ouzo. Served over ice, it becomes a refreshing aperitif well suited to warm weather and the Mediterranean table.

Its sweetness also makes anisette useful beyond the aperitif hour. It works as a digestif after a heavy meal, as a flavoring in coffee, and as an ingredient in classic cocktails and desserts. The drink has even left a literary trail, appearing in Malcolm Lowry's Under the Volcano and in the writings of Ernest Hemingway.