Benedictine

The story of Bénédictine D.O.M begins with Alexandre Le Grand, a member of an old Fécamp family was sorting through a load of very old family papers, when he came across a very old recipe book.

The document apparently fell into the hands of his family after the French Revolution of 1789. The last monk forced to flee the abbey because of the Revolution gave a member of Alexandre’s family a number of what he considered to be the most precious books. They had been kept in the family ever since without arousing the slightest curiosity.

The book, a manuscript dated 1510, included nearly 200 pages written in Gothic script by a monk by the name of Vincelli. Intrigued, Alexandre began to look through the book and a mysterious recipe for a curious elixir caught his eye. This elixir contained a combination of twenty seven herbs and plants, and even with his expansive knowledge of distillation and spirits, it took Alexandre a year to decipher the exact measurements and portions of each component.

After several attempts, Alexandre Le Grand succeeded in reconstituting Vincelli’s recipe that he carefully transcribed into a book. From the Superior of the Benedictine order in Rome, Alexandre Le Grand obtained the right to use the name and the coat of arms of the Benedictine Abbey in Fécamp. In tribute to Dom Bernardo Vincelli he called his liqueur Bénédictine, and so it was born.

Alexandre decided that such a special liqueur needed a bottle of the same level of finessé and ordered the bottle to be made to enhance the experience and inspire those who drank it. The iconic drink and bottle has gone on to feature in the work of many writers and artists.