The various types of Apéritifs

Before the era of modern medicine, the defense against malaria was the quinine, extracted from the bark of Cinchona in South America. In the 1830s, the French government offered incentives to anyone who could mask the bitter taste of the quinine to encourage its soldiers from the French Foreign Legion in North Africa to drink and thus protect themselves from malaria.

The gentian has bright yellow flowers, a wrinkled root system that seems to come directly from the film "Pan's Labyrinth" by director Guillermo del Toro, and grows in the mountainous regions of France and Switzerland.

Pastis is the name given to alcoholic beverages flavored with anise. The word pastis comes from the Occitan Provençal pastís, meaning "paste" or "mixture", but also annoyance, unpleasant or confusing situation.