Pastis

Pastis (French pronunciation: ​[pa.stis] ; UK /ˈpæstɪs/ or US /pæˈstiːs/) is an anise-flavored spirit and apéritif from France, typically containing up to 100 g/l sugar and 40–45% ABV (alcohol by volume), although alcohol-free varieties exist.

Origins

Pastis was first commercialized by Paul Ricard in 1932 and enjoys substantial popularity in France, especially in the southeastern regions of the country, mostly Marseille, (Bouches-du-Rhône) and the Var department. Pastis emerged some 17 years after the ban on absinthe, during a time when the French nation was still apprehensive of high-proof anise drinks in the wake of the absinthe debacle. The popularity of pastis may be attributable to a penchant for anise drinks that was cultivated by absinthe decades earlier, but is also part of an old tradition of Mediterranean anise liquors that includes sambuca, ouzo, arak, rakı, and mastika. The name "pastis" comes from Occitan pastís which means mash-up.

Composition

By legal definition, pastis is described as an anise-flavored spirit that contains additional flavor of licorice root, may contain a maximum of 100 grams/l sugar, and is bottled at a minimum of 40% ABV (pastis) or 45% ABV (pastis de marseille). While pastis was originally artisanally produced from whole herbs like most spirits at the time of its creation, modern versions are typically prepared by mixing base alcohol with commercially prepared flavorings (essences and/or extracts) and caramel coloring.

Francky Vincent

Francky Vincent (born April 18, 1956 in Pointe-à-Pitre) is a singer, song-writer, producer, painter, manager and musician of at least 170 songs from Guadeloupe. He is known for his provocative and sexually explicit lyrics, brutal outspokenness, and his charming smile. He is known for his single Fruit De La Passion, which is the most notable and successful of his career, selling over 700.000 copies in Metropolitan France, more than any other French Antilles solo singer.

He has sold a total of over 2 millions albums worldwide especially in francophone countries. He is considered by many to be the most popular and successful Guadeloupean solo singer, one of the Greatest Caribbean Artists of All Time and a well-known compas singer in France, as well as one of the most criticized.

Biography

Childhood

Francky Vincent was born in Pointe-à-Pitre April 18, 1956, in Guadeloupe, in a modest family, an engineer father and a mother embroiderer. After a difficult childhood in red light districts of his native city, he abandoned his studies at two months of the bachelor to occupy the post of Clerical Officer in the service of social security registration of Pointe-à-Pitre, where there is dismissed after six months. In 1976 he left to do his military service in Guyana and came home the following year and became head of a store selling spare parts for light aircraft in Raizet.