Friday's Favorite French Things

Suze

A bright yellow aperatif that is made from gentiane root. When I first saw someone drinking it in the cafe it was its acid colour that attracted my attention.
"C'est quoi comme boisson ca?"
"Goute"
So I did. At first taste it is sweet and aromatic, but as you swallow the taste changes to give the most bitter, face-puckering aftertaste. "Merde! C'n'est pas un apero, c'est un medicament!"
It really was awful. So awful, that I had to keep trying it every few weeks just to make sure I wasn't mistaken. I wasn't. It was still as ever the most nasty bitter thing I'd ever paid money for.
But the odd thing was, it started to grow on me. And then I bought a bottle for home, and much to my surprise it disappeared quite quickly. This photo shows the last glass of my second bottle.
The reverse label says:
Suze - 1889. For more than a century the production of Suze has preserved the know-how inherited from its founders. The traditional distillation of aromatic extracts of plants gives it its unique personality.
My wife is appalled that I didn't clear the crap off the table before taking the photo.
I drink it straight, with ice, but the label also recommends drinking it with tonic, orange juice or grapefruit juice at 1/3 Suze, 2/3 mixer or with a dash of cassis,