In the spirit of France.Byline: Jessica MacMurray Blaine For The Register-Guard Tucked up in the south hills of Eugene, there is a ptanque court. Competitors gather on warm evenings and play out this leisurely game - a French version of bocce, where players lob shiny chrome balls back and forth along a rectangular court, each trying to nudge closer to the tiny orange target ball. It is a mix of horseshoes and billiards, with a distinctly European flavor. There is the occasional chapeau, talk of soccer and even some multi-lingual banter, but the competition is real. There's a chalkboard to record scores, and lights in the trees for twilight games, to help locate the errant boule boule Deliberative council in the city-states of ancient Greece. It existed in almost all constitutional city-states, especially from the late 6th century BC. In Athens the boule was created as an aristocratic body by Solon in 594 BC; later, under Cleisthenes, 500 members . The court is 20 feet or so of meticulously leveled and packed decomposed granite, bordered on one side by a garden. On the other side of the court is a patio, with a bistro table and some chairs, perfect for watching the game. It could almost be France, where warm summer afternoons are whiled away at boules boules French ball game, similar to bowls and boccie. Players take turns throwing or rolling a steel ball as close as possible to a small target ball; an opponent's ball may be knocked away if necessary. The playing field is called a pitch. . But, the towering cedar trees give it away - this is not the south of France South of France south n the South of France → le Sud de la France, le Midi . It's close, though, particularly in one detail. Whenever there are boules here, there is a pitcher of cool water and a bottle of pastis pas·tis n. A French licorice-flavored liqueur, usually drunk as an apéritif. [French, muddle, pastis, from Old Provençal pastitz, paste, pasty, from Vulgar Latin . Served in classic style, the anise-based French spirit is combined in a small glass with a little water, producing an entertaining alchemy. When mixed with water, the normally golden spirit turns a remarkable milky opal color - pale yellow and luminous. Some people drink it on ice, but at this ptanque court, the purists reign. Competitors sip pastis and water out of petite jar-shaped glasses, absorbing a cloud of aromatic licorice licorice (lĭk`ərĭs, –rĭsh), name for a European plant (Glycyrrhiza glabra) of the family Leguminosae (pulse family) and for the sweet substance obtained from the root. flavor. "Pastis" is actually a generic term for a group of anise-flavored spirits most often used as an aperitif aperitif (  ·perˈ· , found under the
brand names of Ricard, 51, Duval, Berger and others. Pernod is another
version that uses anise anise (ăn`ĭs), annual plant (Pimpinella anisum) of the family Umbelliferae (parsley family), native to the Mediterranean region but long cultivated elsewhere for its aromatic and medicinal qualities.
and other herbs to achieve the distinctive flavor. These anise-flavored drinks have a long history. The company that makes Pernod points to an anise-based elixir in the book of Genesis Noun 1. Book of Genesis - the first book of the Old Testament: tells of Creation; Adam and Eve; the Fall of Man; Cain and Abel; Noah and the flood; God's covenant with Abraham; Abraham and Isaac; Jacob and Esau; Joseph and his brothers Genesis , used there as a treatment for plague and cholera, and anise has been used over the millennia as a remedy for gastrointestinal ailments. But true notoriety for these intensely flavored alcoholic anise drinks really began in the 1800s, when anise-based spirits took the form of absinthe absinthe (ăb`sĭnth), an emerald-green liqueur distilled from wormwood and other aromatics, including angelica root, sweet-flag root, star anise, and dittany, which have been macerated and steeped in alcohol. . Absinthe's creator, French physician Pierre Ordinaire, fled to Switzerland during the French Revolution and found wormwood wormwood, Mediterranean perennial herb or shrubby plant (Artemisia absinthium) of the family Asteraceae (aster family), often cultivated in gardens and found as an escape in North America. It has silvery gray, deeply incised leaves and tiny yellow flower heads. , (Artemisia absinthium) growing wild. His new Swiss neighbors were making elixirs and tonics with the aromatic herb, but Ordinaire was the first to bottle and sell absinthe. Ordinaire's version was still medicinal, but in 1797 Major Dubied and his son- in-law, Henri Louis Pernod, bought the formula. Eventually, the Pernod family took up the commercial effort, founding a distillery a few miles over the French border in 1805. Absinthe is a storied, legendary, ritualistic drink. It was so popular in France in the 1890s that the traditional pre-dinner aperitif was termed "l'heure verte," a reference to the drink's brilliant green color. Much of absinthe's allure and eventual demise was attributed to the presence of the purported hallucinogenic hal·lu·ci·no·gen n. A substance that induces hallucination. [hallucin(ation) + -gen.] hal·lu wormwood - but its extremely high alcohol content might be the real culprit. Most absinthes offer 70 to 80 percent alcohol, and its name swirls through the excesses of the bohemian art world during the late 1800s - associating with names like van Gogh, Wilde, Baudelaire, Rimbaud and Poe. Absinthe's allure was so powerful, and the results so intense, that it was banned in the United States in 1912. Proponents of the ban said that absinthe induced convulsions Convulsions Also termed seizures; a sudden violent contraction of a group of muscles. Mentioned in: Heat Disorders , blindness, hallucinations Hallucinations Definition Hallucinations are false or distorted sensory experiences that appear to be real perceptions. These sensory impressions are generated by the mind rather than by any external stimuli, and may be seen, heard, felt, and even , hearing loss, mania and even death. The French government followed suit in 1915, saying that the alcohol was needed for wartime gunpowder production and also stemming the rising tide of anti-absinthe morality. In recent years, absinthe has seen a resurgence, and the laws are slowly changing around the world to allow absinthe to reappear - but the original ban actually made it possible for pastis to develop and flourish. The Pernod company closed in 1915 after the ban, but reopened in 1920 with a new wormwood-free recipe, which is the Pernod we know today. It's not absinthe - it's golden yellow, not green, and offers no documented hallucinogenic effects. But even so, on a summer night as the light fades over the ptanque court, it can make a garden in Eugene feel an awful lot like France. Classic Pastis Aperitif 1 ounce pastis 5 ounces cool water Pour pastis, then water into a clear glass and watch the alchemy unfold. If it's a really hot day, an ice cube or two can be a good thing, but purists forego ice. Death in the Afternoon This wonderful cocktail shares its name with Ernest Hemingway's book about Spanish bullfighting bullfighting, national sport and spectacle of Spain. Called the corrida de toros in Spanish, the bullfight takes place in a large outdoor arena known as the plaza de toros. - and I'm sure that Papa Hemingway was no stranger to the aperitif. This drink was originally made with absinthe - and can be delicious with Absente, an absinthe substitute that's been marketed lately to some success. Absente is stronger than pastis, so be careful. 1 ounce pastis or Absente 4 ounces Champagne Combine pastis and Champagne in a tall flute, and serve with some salty Spanish cured meats, such as serrano. La Tomate From "Aperitif" by Georgeanne Brennan (Chronicle Books, 1997). La tomate, not surprisingly, acquires its name from the fact that the pastis and water turn red when the grenadine grenadine: see pomegranate. is added. 1 ounce pastis 1 tablespoon grenadine 5 ounces cold water Pour pastis, then grenadine, then water into a glass. Le Perroquet Also from Brennan's "Aperitif." Green like a parrot seen through a mist, Le Perroquet has the refreshing taste of mint. 1 ounce pastis 1 tablespoon mint syrup 5 ounces cold water Pour pastis, then mint syrup, then water into a glass. Jessica MacMurray Blaine is a free-lance writer from Eugene. |
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