Bénédictine Liquor

Bénédictine is a herbal liqueur produced in France. 

Dom Bernardo Vincelli, a member of the Benedictine order during the 16th century was an enthusiastic botanist who collected the plants and herbs, which abundantly grew around his local area at Fécamp on the Normandy coast.  Some of the specimens he used for medications, which he prepared for the hospital attached to his monastery. One of these concoctions contained a mixture of various herbs, fruit peels, twenty-eight different aromatic plants, and a fine brandy. When Dom Bernardo first tasted it with his fellow brothers, he immediately remarked on its "refreshing and recuperative" qualities. The exact formula however was highly classified. Closely guarded, its secret was confined to a maximum of three of his brethren.

Three hundred and fifty years later a French merchant, Alexandre Le Grand, discovered in some family archives Dom Bernardo Vincelli’s old secret recipe for a liqueur. He perfected the formula and began selling the liqueur, which he named Bénédictine as a homage. 

The bottles of the liqueur contain the inscription Deo, optimo, maximio (or DOM), which translated means “To God, most good, most great”.

By Хрюша - Own work,

The recipe is shrouded in secrecy and there are only three people in the world who currently know the complete recipe for making the liqueur.

Its three main ingredients are Angelica, Hyssop and Lemon Balm.

The United Kingdom remains a significant market in Europe where much of the Bénédictine is consumed in north west England. This is as a result of soldiers of the East Lancashire Regiment developing a taste for the drink while stationed in France during the First World War.

The Martini & Rossi group took control of Bénédictine in 1986. They in turn were bought out by Bacardi six years later for a reported $1.4 billion.

The United States is the biggest market, followed by Malaysia, Singapore and the United Kingdom.

Source Daily Mail