Great Distilleries Peureux - A 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 brandy and Griottines. The distillery founded in 1864 by Auguste Peureux was noted for the quality of its products (brandies, absinthe, anise-based spirits) at the 1900 Universal Exhibition in Paris. At that time, no meal ended without a brandy or absinthe (between 1870 and 1915, absinthe represented more than 90% of aperitifs consumed in France). When absinthe was banned in France in 1915, cherries took over, notably with the guignolet, a sweet drink obtained by macerating cherries and morello cherries in a fine liqueur based on kirsch. Claude Peureux succeeded his grandfather in 1948, aged only 18. He gave the company a new look through exports, and in particular approached an Australian distillery, which still belonged to Grandes Distilleries Peureux. Claude Peureux and the engineer Pierre Baud , recruited in 1968, sought to better promote cherries as fruit. They developed Griottines (a trademark registered in 1980); cherries macerated in a 15% kirsch liqueur. They were produced with the Balkan Oblachinska variety grown in Serbia, a firm and juicy morello cherry that does not grow on French soil. The managers decided to acquire their own orchards in Serbia. When Claude Peureux died in 1992, Pierre Baud took over the reins of the company. His son Bernard Baud quickly modernized the distillery's 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 absinthe "Un Peureux". Today, the Grandes Distilleries Peureux is the world's leading producer of fruit spirits and the world leader in fruit maceration.