In the presentation of this atypical distillery, nestled in the heart of the “Jardin de la France”, in Saumur, on the banks of the Loire, let’s start with the beginning, the creation, in 1834, of the emblematic product at the origin of the distillery, “L’Original Combier”, an orange liqueur invented in 1834 by Jean-Baptiste Combier and his wife Joséphine.
The story behind
The story is extraordinary. Jean-Baptiste and Joséphine Combier needed fruit liqueur for their confectionery located in Saumur, a charming town on the banks of the Loire River. Thanks to Joséphine’s links with Holland – which then owned the island of Curacao, in the Caribbean off the coast of Venezuela, famous for its oranges – they were able to source the two varieties of orange needed to make their so called “Triple Sec”, bitter ones and sweet ones: bitter ones for freshness, sweet ones for roundness.
This is how, on a happy day in 1834, the world’s first “Triple Sec” was created.
The unique know-how behind this liqueur, whose recipe, jealously guarded secret, has remained unchanged since 1834, involves the hand-zesting of the peels of the two varieties, sweet and bitter, still imported from the Caribbean today. No coloring, no added aroma, just the distillation of their peels, pure water and carefully selected cane sugar. And that ‘something else’ which makes it an incomparable liqueur.
Forty years later, in Angers, in 1875, another city of the Loire valley, located 60km further west, Édouard Cointreau creates his own version, and popularizes it under his own name, using an emblematic bottle and a strong communication.
Around the world, many other companies will follow suit, creating their own version: Giffard, Marie Brizard, Grand Marnier, Bols, de Kuyper, Briottet, Potter’s, etc.
191 years later, the Distillery Combier continues to make its “Triple Sec” in the same still as in the 19th century, which is still located in the confectionery’s back store.
And its recipe remains unchanged.
As a high-quality French orange liqueur, recognized for its history and traditional manufacturing process, combined with its authenticity and centuries-old expertise, the Triple Sec Combier is appreciated in the bars and restaurants of top hotels that are concerned about the quality of their drinks.
On the palate, it combines the freshness of bitter orange zest with the roundness of sweet orange. Its unique aromatic profile allows a wide range of mixology applications. It is often used as a key ingredient in classic and contemporary cocktails, contributing to the flavourful richness of drinks.
Triple sec is a key ingredient in many cocktails.
Like in the classic Margarita, where it is combined with tequila and lime juice. This cocktail is often served with salt on the edge of the glass and can be enjoyed with ice cubes or mixed with ice.
The Cosmopolitan is another popular triple sec-based cocktail. A sophisticated one that blends vodka, cranberry juice, lime juice and triple sec. It’s usually served garnished with a lime wheel.
There is also the Long Island Iced Tea, which, contrary to what its name suggests, does not contain tea. Here, we are in the presence of a powerful mix of vodka, rum, tequila, gin, lemon juice, simple syrup and a hint of triple sec. A cocktail often enhanced with a shot of cola for color and a little more sweetness.
The triple sec also features in the composition of the Sidecar, a classic cocktail born in the 1920s. This drink combines cognac, lemon juice and triple sec, and is usually served in a glass lined with sugar.
Kamikaze is another triple sec-based cocktail. It is a simple mixture of vodka, lime juice and triple sec, usually served in a shot glass, but that can also be enjoyed as a cocktail.
Last but not least, the Lemon Drop Martini that is a sweet-and-sour cocktail based on triple sec. It is composed of vodka, lemon juice and triple sec, and is usually served in a sugar-rimmed martini glass with a lemon zest.
The list has no other limits than that of the creativity of bar tenders, mixologists and other singers of liquid works of art.
Notice to amateurs!!