Is it different stuff? Or is it really just Pernod in Italian clothes?

It's not just Pernod in Italian clothes, but if you can't stand anise, don't go near the Frenet.

To me, it was like an unholy lovechild of Pernod, really good absinthe, and Chartreuse. Since I like all of those things, I thought Frenet was fabulous.

It's not just Pernod in Italian clothes, but if you can't stand anise, don't go near the Frenet.

I'm-a stay far away. Anise makes me run screaming; even in France, where the air is soft and the vibe is right, Pernod sends me backing out of the room hissing.

Me for prosecco.

I was not of the Fernet love. It reminded me of NyQuil.

Nah, NyQuil is sweet. Fernet is herbal/spicy.

I didn't get by the part where it tasted like ass to me.

Says the man with the lovely flask of lovely alcohol.

I didn't get by the part where it tasted like ass to me.

That's me with Pernod. I get disappointed looks at cafes in the Languedoc.

There is no way you'd like it deb. It is bitter , it bites. Honestly, the first shot ( which I sipped - I never do shots of things I can't sip) was hard. but as I got used to it , I could pick out more flavors. It is complex, but I can see not going further with it. I have good tastebuds, but I am not a supertaster. I like really tasteing things - and to sort of pull apart the flavors with my tounge. not good for a supertaster. and I can see a lot of people not thinking it is worth it. Matt - only does it in shot form, for him I think it is more the almost instant lose limb but still clear head that he like . ( A Truely clear head. despite the fact that you can think , you know ( if you know your body at all) that you can not drive. I actually like the taste. and the more I drink it, the more I can get past the inital bitterness.

I think julianna truely converted me.

Wheras I *am* a supertaster, albeit probably not in ita's class - as I remember from years past, hers are very defined indeed. Mine get a bit blurred these days, but with it comes a sort of hi-def "don't go there" effect, and anise is one of those flavours. Weirdly, I adore cilantro, but I hate green peppers; I love basil and oregano but don't think paprika has any taste at all.

Tastes is weird.

Of course, not being a fan of being drunk to begin with, the anise would merely be another reason to move along.

I'd say avoid it like the plague, Deb, from what you've said of your preferences.

I had one glass of fernet at the SF2F. It's not my favourite drink ever - Fernet Branca, which y'all were drinking, tasted very like Fernet Stock, which is one of the most popular spirits in the Czech Republic. And when I lived in the Czech Republic I developed a more of a taste for Becherovka, which is not entirely dissimilar, but is less bitter, or perhaps just bitter in a different way...lighter, perhaps, and more spicy, more cinnamony. So drinking Fernet gave me this whole Pavlovian '...and now where's the OTHER one? The cinnamony one?' kind of reaction. Um.

(If you like Fernet, I'd definitely recommend trying Becher. Might not appeal to you as much as Fernet, or might appeal to you more, but it's got that whole medicinal-but-I-like-it thing going on in spades.)