Gratins are pure comfort food. In this dish fennel's aniseed notes are mellowed in the cream. It's a gratin that goes wonderfully with pan-fried fish or roasted beef, or just with a salad and some bread for a simpler meal.
It's hard to go wrong with the robust flavours of Bourbon, and spices such as paprika, ginger and cumin, especially when they're cooked down into a finger-licking sticky glaze.