Great Distilleries Peureux - Un Peureux - Absinthe - 48%
The Grandes Distilleries Peureux are located in the commune of Fougerolles-Saint-Valbert in Haute-Saône . They mainly produce Fougerolles kirsch, a cherry eau-de-vie and Griottines. The distillery founded in 1864 by Auguste Peureux stood out for the quality of its products (eau-de-vie, absinthe, anise-based spirits) at the Universal Exhibition of 1900 in Paris. At that time, not a meal ended without an eau de vie or an absinthe (between 1870 and 1915, absinthe represented more than 90% of the aperitifs consumed in France). When absinthe was banned in France in 1915, the cherry took over, notably with the guignolet, a sweet drink obtained by macerating cherries and morello cherries in a fine liqueur made from kirsch. Claude Peureux succeeded his grandfather in 1948, aged only 18. He will give the company a new face through export, and will notably approach an Australian distillery, which still belongs to the Grandes Distilleries Peureux. Claude Peureux and the engineer Pierre Baud , recruited in 1968, seek to better promote the cherry as a fruit. They develop the Griottines (trademark registered in 1980); cherries macerated in a 15% kirsch liqueur. They are produced with the Balkan variety Oblachinska grown in Serbia, a firm and juicy sour cherry that does not grow on French soil. The leaders decide to acquire their own orchards in Serbia. When Claude Peureux died in 1992, Pierre Baud took over the reins of the company. Quickly, his son Bernard Baud modernized the distillery laboratory. The distillery diversified in the 2000s with Louis Blanzey whisky, relaunched the production of absinthe as well as a luxury vodka. It acquired the Alsatian distillery Massenez in 2011. For its 150th anniversary, the company relaunched the "Un Peureux" absinthe. Today, Les Grandes Distilleries Peureux is the world's leading producer of fruit brandies and the world leader in fruit maceration.