Bénédictine
French herbal liqueur with 27 botanicals — honeyed and complex.
Bénédictine is a honey-sweetened herbal liqueur produced in Fécamp, Normandy, since 1863, derived from a 19th-century reconstruction of a monastic recipe. Twenty-seven botanicals — including angelica, hyssop, juniper, myrrh, and saffron — are distilled and blended into an amber, sweet, deeply layered spirit. A Vieux Carré without Bénédictine is not a Vieux Carré. The iconic 'D.O.M.' on the label stands for Deo Optimo Maximo ('to God, most good, most great').
History
Alexandre Le Grand launched the commercial product in 1863, claiming (probably fictitiously) to have recovered a lost Benedictine monastic recipe. The brand's museum in Fécamp is built around that origin story.
Common uses
Vieux Carré, Bobby Burns, B&B.
Cocktails that use Bénédictine
- Vieux Carré — Rye, Cognac, vermouth, Bénédictine, and bitters — New Orleans' most complex stirred drink