Liquoristerie de Provence

The history of liquorice

Founded by Pascal Rolland, who wanted to breathe new life into Provençal aniseed liqueurs and the absinthes of yesteryear, in 2007 the liquoristerie de Provence was awarded the "Entreprise du Patrimoine Vivant" label, which recognizes the excellence of French know-how.

The company was taken over in 2017 by Adeline and Renaud de Barry and, under their leadership, it gains new momentum. These two enthusiasts put their experience of the wine world at the service of the liquoristerie. Born into a winegrowing family, Adeline de Barry notably took over the family château de Saint Martin, a classified growth in Côte de Provence, and Renaud de Barry's grandfather himself ran a distillery and made his French spirits known internationally.

They share a passion for reviving old Provençal nectars. Renaud meanwhile inherited a priceless collection of recipes from his grandfather's renowned family distillery, "la Grande Distillerie de Bordeaux, Archambeaud Frères, maison créée en 1920". These inspirations enriched their vision of spirits and helped them give the Provence liquoristerie the impetus it needed to succeed.

Preserving traditional skills of excellence

The liquoristerie de Provence is one of the few still using the traditional know-how of the liquor makers of yesteryear. It revisits ancient recipes to offer great spirits adapted to today's tastes.

Provençal liqueurs, absinthe and exceptional aperitifs are produced from infusions and macerations of flowers, herbs, plants and roots, where others now use synthetic flavors.

All the distillery's work is carried out with respect for nature and the land, and each ingredient is prepared with the utmost care using traditional methods. The plants and herbs are dried and then infused separately for as long as necessary in super-fine alcohol. They are then pressed with the utmost delicacy to extract their essence and purest aromas.

The fragrances and flavors are then blended according to secret recipes that are constantly being improved. It's a fragile, precious alchemy that's sought at every stage of production to find the perfect balance that makes the greatest nectars. Tasting is the next step before filtration and any necessary corrections and adjustments.

Each stage of production requires precision, rigor and know-how, while leaving room for intuition to obtain these unique elixirs. The process also requires the ability to let the blends rest, to allow the flavors to find their balance and the aromas to meld.

The ranges offered by liquoristerie de Provence

The distillery offers exceptional Provencal specialties:
- aniseed flavors, such as the liquoriste's pastis, with its complex, spicy flavors combining the smoothness of licorice with the sweetness of vanilla and enhanced by menthol and pepper notes.
- absinthes, notably Versinthe 20 ans, a nectar composed of 20 botanicals combining bitter notes, the sweetness of aniseed flavors, balsamic botanicals and the character of verbena and mint.
- a wide choice of exceptional liqueurs with lavender, thyme, verbena and angelica flowers.

The liquoristerie de Provence also offers strong spirits such as gins, vodka, whiskys or Italian spirits like Limoncello or Prosecco.