If you aren’t in America, expect anise on everything.  It’s one of the world’s most popular flavors but arrives on our shores in what some children call “punishment candy” and adults only know as fake Czech absinthe or Ouzo shots ’til blackout ‘o clock.  However, these bottle show that anise can do so much more.

This month our judges will include Jen Boelts of Imbibe Magazine, 5th generation distiller, Matteo Meletti and the prolific Paul Clarke of Cocktail Chronicles.

Here are the rules, And we need to taste all of the cocktails by Friday FEB 22nd.

One of the world’s finest Absinthes, made in Woodinville?!?!?

Pacifique Absinthe Verte Supérieure is a super-premium absinthe, hand-crafted in the historic Franco-Swiss style. Pacifique is made in exact accordance to a classic 1855 French recipe, and faithfully represents a recreation of the kind of absinthe one would drink in 19th century France. Pacifique is artisan distilled using historic distilling techniques in a hand-hammered copper alembic pot still. By using only the finest grain spirits and selected botanicals chosen from around the globe, we insure a truly world class product that reflects the undeniable qualities of the art of traditional distilling.

Pacifique Absinthe Verte Supérieur is perfectly served performing the classic French Drip Ritual but also blends beautifully with other spirits and mixers. From the classic Sazerac to a refreshing Clipper Ship – use in the many historic cocktail recipes of the past or a creation of your own, Pacifique epitomizes the true taste of the Belle Époque.

Combier Elixir does not make you live forever, however it does slow time.

Jean-Baptiste Combier’s acclaimed 19th century Elixir is comprised of an exotic blend of herbs, plants, and other spices from France’s Loire Valley, Africa, India, and southeast Asia. Key ingredients such as aloe, nutmeg, myrrh, cardamom, cinnamon and saffron are combined to recreate this unique liqueur that has been unearthed from Combier’s 177-year-old archives, after having been discontinued for decades. This re-released original recipe comes to America in individually numbered bottles. Elixir Combier is best expressed on a quiet night in the company of good friends or as a modifier to your favorite cocktail.

if you are from Seattle, Aquavit shots & Rainier should make up roughly 2% of your blood.

Sound Spirits Aquavit is a traditional Scandinavian spirit – caraway, dill, coriander, fennel and anise. Made on a vase of 51% Washington malted barley, it has a rich, heavy mouthfeel that with carry flavors like a Viking long ship charting though the thickest fog.

Sabucca can be good, and here is proof.

Sambuca is a licorice-flavored liqueur that derives its flavor from the gentle cold infusion of the elder bush, known in Latin as “sambucus”. The fruit from the elder bush is steeped in alcohol at very cold temperatures. This flavorful mixture is then aged for four months and is cut to proof before bottling. The extended aging is what makes Meletti Sambuca stand head and shoulders above the competition. Sambuca is richer in body than anisette and has an underlying floral character.

This puts the “b” in “subtle,” it’s sexy, complex and worthy of great consideration.

The very special flavor of Meletti Anisette is a result of slow evaporative distillation and the quality of the anise (Pimpinella Anisum) that is grown in the clay soil near Ascoli Piceno. During distillation Meletti discards the first and last portions of the distillate because they contain elements of bitterness. They keep only the “heart”, or middle portion, to ensure that the flavors are concentrated and consistent. Once distilled at high alcoholic strength, a second distillation of other spices is added. The liqueur is then transferred to 10,000 liter tanks for four months of aging, adjusted for proof, and bottled. The resulting anisette is rich, smooth, and exceptionally flavorful.

Kaiser Penguin is the best bottle ever.

Kümmel, also called kummel or kimmel, is a sweet, colorless liqueur flavored with caraway seed, cumin, and fennel.

Originally, the words kümmel, kummel, and kimmel are somewhat generic terms in the German, Dutch, and Yiddish languages, respectively, meaning both caraway and cumin. For instance, in German caraway is called Echter Kümmel and cumin is called Kreuzkümmel, but the term Kümmel is also used for the liqueur flavored with these spices.

According to the Dutch, kümmel liqueur was first distilled in Holland during the late 16th century by Lucas Bols.It was then taken to Germany and Russia; the latter is now the principal producer and consumer of kümmel.

The Berlin-made Gilka Kümmel goes through a longer distillation process and has a smoother taste than the Russian kummels.

Combier Kümmel made its debut at the Combier Distillery in the mid-19th century satisfying the demands of British, Dutch, German and Russian elite enamored with the liqueur’s medicinal and aromatic properties. It is re-released today with the same powerful, lifted aromas and refined taste it became known for more than 150 years ago.

In the UK, it is a popular drink at many of the more traditional golf clubs, like that scene from Goldfinger, remember?

think: 19th green

January 7th will be out first competition and we’ll start with this advanced intense cocktail.  Here are the rules for the competition but to keep it brief, it needs to contain something from the bitter list below, be only made of alcoholic ingredients (wine counts) and be gently stirred.

For this competition however, please, don’t softball it.  Rather, show your understanding of amaro’s subtlety, create something that brings new drinkers in instead of something that is a barrier to all those that aren’t, “initiated.”

Here is what Vinum Importing has to offer when it comes to bitterness:

if we make this cool in America, France might use it again

Saler’s

Salers Aperitif is a classic French beverage created from the roots of Gentiane Lutea, a wild plant that grows at high altitudes in the Auvergne region of France. The roots are steeped in a neutral alcohol base for several months, which is then distilled with an assortment of herbs and matured in Limousin oak casks. The result is a distinctive bittersweet liqueur with earthy vegetal notes complemented by hints of citrus peel, mint and anise.

vaguely tastes dirt in a good way

Avéze

Created in 1929 by Emile Refouvelet, Aveze is a gentian liqueur produced from the roots of the large, yellow gentian roots, which are native to the mountains of central and southern Europe. The Aveze distillery is located in France’s picturesque Auvergne region.  Aveze is created by harvesting fresh roots from the gentian plants, which are then sliced and left to macerate in alcohol for nine months, along with other carefully selected plants to balance the delicate flavor profile.

strength of amaro tempered with flowers

Cardamaro

Developed over 100 years ago by the Bosca family, the recipe for this wine-based Amaro is a true expression of Piemonte tradition. It is created by infusing Cardoon, Blessed Thistle and other botanicals into the family’s estate wine, which is then rested in new oak for at least six months. The result is a rich, smooth liqueur with wintry notes of fresh pine, roasted nuts and dried fruit, tied together by a subtle smokiness.

the baby seal of amaro

Meletti Amaro

Meletti Amaro is made from a unique, proprietary blend of herbs and botanicals from a 5^th generation family distiller. The flavors of these carefully selected ingredients are obtained through the cold-extraction process known as percolation. The process is similar to brewing coffee. Much like a coffee pot, an assortment of ingredients is placed in the upper section of the still, and alcohol flavored with additional ingredients is pumped over and through it.

beats Bud Light at BBQs

Zucca

Zucca is a bittersweet Italian amaro. Although ‘Zucca’ is the Italian word for squash / pumpkin, its base ingredient is rhubarb – hence the name Zucca Rabarbaro. The recipe includes zest, cardamom seeds and other curative herbs. After 10 days of rest, the drink is filtered and bottled.  Rhubarb is beneficial to the liver and has been used in traditional Chinese medicine since its earliest days  Zucca enjoys a certain amount of prominence as a featured drink at the Caffe Miani in Galleria Vittorio Emanuele at the Piazza del Duomo in Milan. The bar is locally known as the Zucca bar thanks to a large Zucca sign outside the building, and was also the site where Gaspare Campari first introduced his alcoholic infusion of herbs in the 1860s.

jager with a master’s degree

Rossbacher

The origin of Rossbacher lies in the heart of Austria, in the year 1897. This was when 19-year old Adolf Wunderlich founded his superb little liqueur factory and marked the beginning of Rossbacher’s triumph.  The exact composition of the “Rossbacher-herbs” remains a strictly kept secret to this day. As well as the knowledge of how to extract the precious ingredients of different herbs.  Many a bark or root makes it a considerable challenge to have it release its elixir.

cute enough to drink any time

Underberg

OnJune 17th1846 Hubert Underberg both married Katharina Albrecht established the company Underberg-Albrecht at the Town Hall of Rheinberg on the same day.He started to develop a drink which would combine the healing power of herbs with modern production methods – according to the motto “SEMPER IDEM” (= always the same quality and effect).  He selected each individual herb with great care and invented a method that enabled him to extract the ingredients from the exquisite aromatic herbs as gently as possible. That was the birth of the Underberg Herbal Digéstif.

Read the label in a Scottish accent

Dr. Adam Elmegirab’s Bitters

Adam Elmegirab decided to revive Boker’s bitters from a 1853 recipe.  Adam’s painstaking efforts in bringing this back to market have now also given us the chance to try a true Martinez, Japanese or Brandy Crusta.  Dr Adam now also makes Aphrodite, Dandylion & Burdock, Teapot, Spanish and Christmas Bitters.

Perhaps 1 dash of each?

Scrappy’s Bitters

Bold and robust. These are two words that thoroughly define Scrappy’s bitters. But it wasn’t always like that. Scappy’s was on the receiving end of something that plagues many first-timers trying to master the art of bitters: weakness. . The bitters tasted great on their own, but they just weren’t strong enough to prove the worth of a great cocktail. After digging deeper into herbs and methods of extraction, Scrappy’s found out how to pair flavors in order to intensify the taste and learned that there were not only many ways to extract flavor from the same source.  Scrappy’s Bitter are available in Lavender, Lime, Aromatic, Orange, Grapefruit, Cardamom, Chocolate and Celery.