Highballs and long drinks · Other
Pour cold water onto pastis and watch the clear spirit turn milky; a splash of grenadine then tints it a soft coral red. Anise and licorice meet red-berry sweetness in a long, cooling café drink.
¾ oz
pastis such as Ricard or Pernod 51e.g. Ricard · Pernod · Pastis 51 · Henri Bardouin
¼ oz
grenadine
4¼ oz
water about five parts water to one part pastis
Garnish: None, served plain · Ice: Ice cubes
Tomate (Pastis with Grenadine)
Cool and lightly sweet, with strong anise and licorice softened by red-fruit grenadine. Light in alcohol thanks to the generous water.
In France, Tomate is the café name for pastis with a dash of grenadine, and it gets its name purely from its tomato-red color. It is one of a small group of classic pastis serves that add a syrup to the usual glass of pastis and water: the Perroquet with green mint syrup and the Mauresque with orgeat are its best-known relatives.
Pastis itself is an anise-flavored spirit that came to prominence in France after absinthe was banned in 1915; Paul Ricard launched his pastis in Marseille in 1932, the year aniseed spirits of higher strength became legal again. Since then pastis with water has been the classic aperitif of Provence and the south, and the Tomate is its sweeter, more colorful version, especially popular on hot summer days.
Only because of its color: the grenadine turns the cloudy pastis a tomato red. There is no tomato in it.
The anise oils dissolve in the strong spirit but not in water, so adding water makes them form tiny droplets that scatter light: the so-called louche effect.
It works, but absinthe is much stronger and more bitter, so use less of it and more water.
The perfect sound
A lazy afternoon at a café in Marseille with pastis and pétanque.
Reader rating
Thanks for rating
Updated:
