Fennel (Foeniculum vulgare) is a hardy, perennial herb with a rich history, tracing its origins to the shores of the Mediterranean. It has been highly prized since antiquity, with the ancient Greeks and Romans using it for medicine, food, and its strong flavor. The aromatic character of fennel, which presents an anise-like aroma and taste, is due to volatile oils like anethole.
For distillers and artisan beverage manufacturers, whole fennel seeds like the our Fennel Whole Clean Steam Treated are an essential botanical. Its anise/licorice notes make it a primary ingredient, along with anise, in the production of absinthe. Fennel fruit is also a common and traditional spice used to flavor Scandinavian distilled spirits known as brännvin (which includes aquavit).
The seed's volatile oil content is key to its use, and this particular batch was observed to contain 1.59 ml/100g. The essential oils are extracted via distillation, where they are used to flavor liqueurs like sambuca, as well as other non-alcoholic beverages. For your distillers, the clean, anise-like profile of this product, which was steam treated, and showed an aroma and taste described as "Anise like", offers a classic and reliable flavor for their creations.
Key Flavour and Aroma Notes:
Aniseed/Licorice: The primary and most prominent flavour note of whole fennel is a sweet, aromatic aniseed or licorice taste. This is primarily due to the high concentration of the volatile oil compound trans-anethole in the seeds, which is also found in anise and star anise.
Fennel's anise note is often described as slightly milder, less penetrating, and sweeter than pure anise.
Herbal and Spicy: Beyond the licorice note, fennel offers a spicy, herbal, and aromatic character.
Vegetal/Camphor: The overall flavour is more complex than anise alone due to the presence of other volatile compounds.
Fenchone contributes notes of mint and camphor.
Estragole (methyl chavicol) also resembles licorice but adds a more vegetal tone to the profile.
Applications in Distilled Beverages
Fennel seeds are a classic botanical used to build complexity in spirits, especially those known for their sweet, herbal lift.
Absinthe: Sweet fennel is one of the three main herbs (along with grand wormwood and green anise) that defines the characteristic flavor profile of absinthe.
Gin: Fennel is increasingly popular in contemporary and herbal gins, providing an aniseed-like flavor that is often perceived as a warm, slightly peppery sweetness. It is noted for pairing well with juniper, coriander seed, and citrus botanicals.
Liqueurs and Cordials: Fennel is frequently infused to create herbal digestives and liqueurs, such as fennel liqueur and other anise-flavored spirits like rakı and ouzo. The oils extracted from the seeds are key to imparting the aromatic profile.
Preparation and Extraction Tips for Craft Distillers=
The key to extracting the optimal flavor from whole fennel seeds is to ensure the volatile oils are released and efficiently transferred into the spirit.
1. Seed Preparation (Milling/Crushing)
Lightly Crush or Coarsely Grind: The whole fennel seeds should be gently crushed or coarsely ground just before use. This breaks the seed's hull and increases the surface area exposed to the alcohol or vapor, maximizing the release of essential compounds like anethole and fenchone.
Caution: Avoid over-pulverizing the seeds into a fine powder, as this can lead to cloudiness (a turbid spirit) and make filtration difficult. A coffee grinder or blender on low can be used for coarse grinding.
Toasting (Optional): A light toast in a hot pan for a few seconds can be done before grinding to slightly alter and deepen the flavor profile.
2. Extraction Methods for Distillers
Distillers have two main methods for introducing the fennel flavor, which can also be combined:
A. Maceration (Steeping and Infusion)
Process: The crushed fennel seeds are steeped (macerated) directly in the base neutral spirit (often diluted to 40-50% ABV) for a period before distillation.
Time: Maceration time can vary, but for spirits like gin, it can be as short as 12 hours or up to a week. For tinctures or liqueurs, it may be longer (e.g., 2–4 weeks).
Ratio: A common gin recipe uses ratios as low as 0.1g to 0.27g of fennel seed per liter of finished spirit, or a fraction of a teaspoon per bottle, so its strong flavor must be managed.
Result: Maceration helps to extract more complex, subtle compounds and color (if botanicals other than the seeds are used). If macerating in the still pot, many distillers recommend filtering out the solids before distillation to prevent them from burning on a submerged heating element, which creates off-flavors.
B. Vapor Infusion
Process: The crushed fennel is placed in a botanical basket suspended above the liquid in the still. As the alcohol vapors rise, they pass through the fennel, extracting the volatile essential oils, and then condense into the spirit.
Result: This method typically yields a lighter, brighter, and cleaner flavor profile compared to maceration and distillation.
C. Essential Oil Distillation
Process: Direct steam distillation (SD) or hydrodistillation (HD) can be used to extract a pure fennel essential oil which is then blended into the spirit.
Result: This offers the highest level of control over the final flavor intensity and allows for a perfectly clear (non-louche, or non-cloudy) finished product.
Form:
- Fennel Seeds Whole
Pack Sizes:
- 100g
- 1 Kg (SAVE 41% OFF 100g Price)
- 5 Kg (SAVE 16% OFF 1Kg Price)
- 25 Kg (SAVE 29% OFF 1Kg Price)
Botanical Name: Foeniculum vulgare
Country of Origin: India