Like most drinks with a historical past that spans half a millennium, Bénédictine’s previous is muddled. The liqueur was, allegedly, first distilled in 1510 on the Bénédictine monastery in Normandy, France, as a medicinal tonic. It’s an origin story that sounds fairly much like that of one other iconic French natural liqueur, Chartreuse—till it doesn’t.
Because the story goes, through the French Revolution, the monastery was destroyed and the recipe presumably misplaced together with it—till, a century later, in 1863, when rich wine service provider Alexandre Le Grand is claimed to have found it in an outdated e book. He then claimed to recreate the recipe—a secret mix of 27 herbs and spices, together with angelica, saffron and juniper—and marketed his liqueur, Bénédictine, as a leisure beverage.
Within the years since, the liqueur’s reputation has ebbed and flowed, making appearances in basic drinks just like the Vieux Carré, the Creole Cocktail and the once-ubiquitous B&B, a easy combination of brandy and Bénédictine that first appeared within the Thirties at New York’s “21” Membership. Whereas removed from mainstream in the present day, Bénédictine is discovering a extra everlasting place within the fashionable bartender’s arsenal because of its versatility. The honey, spice and inexperienced tea notes make it pair for brown spirits, whereas the natural taste accents refreshing drinks like a Daiquiri or Tom Collins.
Wish to get began with the liqueur? Listed below are a few of our favourite recipes made with Bénédictine.