The worldwide market for pastis is generally in the doldrums and is a mere blip on the US charts. So how does Roux propose to go about getting American consumers to show interest in the traditional Mediterranean drink?

"We will try to teach Americans how to drink pastis," Roux says. "But I do see pastis as a growing market. There is a new restaurant opening soon in New York called Pastis and they will help."

Another non-related restaurant, also called Pastis, opened in San Francisco some years ago. Several different pastis are offered in the bar and the appetite for them is growing. More recently, Absinthe opened in San Francisco's trendy Hayes Valley district, and also features a selection of pastis.

Roux has developed a liqueur called Absente, a lookalike cousin to absinthe, the legendary French drink. "What we did was substitute wormwood with another botanical. Other than that, it is very similar to absinthe and is made in that high-alcohol tradition."

Both the pastis and Absente fall into Roux's 'value added' category. "What we're adding now is nostalgia," Roux says. "These are drinks with a past rooted in the turn of the century. There is also the tradition of the spoon and sugar which makes it interesting."

Roux is looking at several other products, including some non-alcohol beverages, although he can't talk about most of them because negotiations are still in progress. "Within 6 weeks I expect to have a champagne and a cognac on the market both classic, super-premium brands," he says.

Because of a two year non-competitive agreement he signed when he left Carillon, Roux cannot market vodka or gin for the time being, even though Vin & Sprit does produce Absolut. But interestingly, he hints at a return to the categories that made him famous: "The agreement is over soon and I never agreed not to think about gin or vodka. Something will be coming in that line."

But surprisingly, he doesn't feel limited not having a vodka or gin in his portfolio for Crillon's launch: "I think, in many ways, aquavit is a much more intriguing product than vodka. Aquavit is an older product, you know, and was first developed as a medicine."

Tequila is another one of the hottest spirits, with the category running well ahead of the overall market, but Roux believes that the market is too crowded for a start-up brand. Instead, he has looked to another new but fast-growing category: mezcal. "We found a high quality mezcal from Oaxaca called Talapa. We should have it on the market within 30 days."

Asked if Talapa will have the traditional worm in the bottle, originally used as a promotional gimmick, Roux laughs: "No. The worm costs more now than the mezcal in the bottle."

The marketing philosophy being adopted by the new company will, no doubt, vary with each product. "Mostly, our approach will be very low key - an educational campaign. But we will be spending some money on magazine advertising for the aquavit."

This will be concentrated in food magazines, such as US title Gourmet and other trendier publications, aimed at a 30-to-50-year-old audience. Roux says he will also return to an emphasis on sharing profits with various charities to help develop his brands.

"Previously, with a large corporation, we were limited in what we could do for charity. Now, I intend to increase what I give as we get back into the mainstream, perhaps as much as half the profits in some cases," he says.

Crillon clearly isn't aiming for high volume brands. "The rum will be the highest volume in the beginning," Roux says. "I would expect in three years for the rum to be in the 50,000 to 75,000 case category, the same for the aquavits, with maybe 200,000 cases for everything. We will be growing slowly but we will make sure that it's right."

As for the overall spirits market, Roux believes that the particular category is less important than the energy placed behind the product.

"I think what we are going to see in spirits overall, is that the people who believe in their brand and believe in working will be successful. There's nothing new about that. I always said that I'm putting my soul into the product and people who do that will be successful."

"The people who will be in trouble, who won't make it, are the people who are just selling boxes or selling glass. Categories are not so important. You can have a winning product in any of the wine or spirits categories," Roux says.

The new company, he is selling products that Roux feels close to. "Also, at the end of the day, you want to sell something that will make people happy."

This is a real snapshot of Michel Roux at the age of 59. Coming back from heart surgery with a new stable of products, a new challenge, and he's talking about making people happy.

For a man with such a glittering past the burden of expectation appears to be having little effect.

"For me, it's a great life. I think I can do well by doing good, especially with the great people I have around me."