The story began 90 years ago, in the Sainte-Marthe district of Marseille. That year, Paul Ricard launched the very first bottle named after the famous beverage. Almost a century later, 41 million liters of Ricard were sold worldwide in 2020, and the drink has become the number one anise drink in France with a 49% market share by volume. A success that is confirmed in Marseille, where the famous yellow drink continues to be served in large numbers and appreciated, according to the bartenders of La Plaine, a festive district in the city center of the Phocaean city.
“We still serve as many, notes Fabien, owner of the Bar de la Plaine. I spend three boxes of 18 bottles each week. Knowing that a bottle makes 45 glasses, that means that in my bar alone, I serve 800 every week! There are still amateurs. “Ricard is like Marseille,” smiles Philippe, one of them. Either we love it or we hate it. But the Ricard never leaves indifferent. My first Ricard, I was 16 or 17, and I drank it with orgeat syrup, the famous Moorish. I don’t take it every day, especially in summer, never in winter, and as an aperitif with friends. Never otherwise. Ricard is best shared in the sun, chilled with ice cubes. I take it sometimes at the restaurant, but it’s very very rare! »
“I can no longer do without it”
“I discovered this delicious yellow nectar three years ago now and I can’t do without it anymore,” says Paul. Ricard with colleagues has become a rule of life whatever the temperature or time of day. At 6 p.m., the little Ricard, well packed, very yellow. At 9 p.m., the double Ricard to rinse your mouth. And even, in the morning, the Ricard café to start a day with nothing to do. »
“Ricard, it runs in our veins, laughs Yannick. My first Ricard, I drank it before an OM match. Since then, the Ricard for the pre-match is mandatory. It’s even an institution! There is a good mark on pastis de Marseille, that’s a local thing! “Too bad you didn’t come this morning,” smiles Carine, owner of a bar in La Plaine. You would have seen Sauveur: it starts every morning at 9 am with a Ricard! People still ask us a lot! »
Ice cubes last
And please don’t serve it just any old way. “Ricard is different from pastis, because in Ricard, there is caramel, recalls Philippe. And you have to put the Ricard first, then three to four volumes of water and lastly the ice cubes. Otherwise, you can’t manage your water volume! »
The Marseille institution also appeals beyond the Marseille city. “I moved to Marseille in 2016, explains Rémois Jalal, seated at a nearby bar. When I lived in champagne, I didn’t drink that much. Rather beer. The first time I drank Ricard was a bad memory. It was at a student party. There was no punch, nothing. So we took the Ricard, and I had three glasses. It turned my head. I still smelled the Ricard on Monday! »
Because Ricard can be good… but it can also be treacherous, and everyone agrees in this regard. Seated at the counter of the Bar de la Plaine, an old gentleman sips his half pint on this Tuesday afternoon. “It’s been a long time since I stopped Ricard, he confides. I drank way too much, about ten a day. And afterwards, I felt nothing in my body! “And to add, after a few seconds of reflection: “Afterwards, I don’t know if beer is better…”