At the origin of the Combier Distillery, besides the famous orange liqueur, the “Triple Sec” which we introduced in a previous post, there is a second product: the “Elixir Combier”, a medicinal liqueur created twenty years later, in 1853, by the same talented creator and Master Distiller Jean-Baptiste Combier.
The story behind
Quelle en est l’origine ? Ici encore, l’histoire de France vient frapper à notre porte. La France d’alors, celle du milieu du 19e siècle, est en plein bouillonnement révolutionnaire.
What is its origin? Here again, French history comes knocking at our door. The France of then, that of the mid-19th century, is in full revolutionary effervescence.
It all begins with two extraordinary men who meet in prison. Jean-Baptiste Combier, a revolutionary, for a time in prison for his ideas, meets another outstanding man, François-Vincent Raspail, chemist, botanist, naturalist, physician, physiologist, attorney and French politician. Involved in politics, he was President of the Human Rights Society and was imprisoned for that role.
Raspail was the author of numerous works, including the Manuel Annuaire de la santé (1834), an educational almanac published annually from 1845 to 1935. It was in the first volume that he published the recipe for a medicinal elixir called “Liqueur hygiénique”, with remarkable digestive benefits.
Jean-Baptiste Combier will be inspired by it but will bring his own touch by removing the camphor, a plant that he considers too fragrant, while preserving other aromatic plants such as aloe, nutmeg, myrrh, cardamom, cinnamon and saffron. And by adding some others to it.
Jean-Baptiste Combier drew inspiration from it, but added his own touch by removing camphor, a plant he considered too fragrant, while keeping other aromatic plants such as aloe, nutmeg, myrrh, cardamom, cinnamon and saffron. And by adding a few others.
Once his new recipe was ready, he sent a bottle to Dr Raspail.
Dr Raspail wrote back to congratulate him: “Sir, I have received and tasted the bottles of “Liqueur Hygiénique” that you have just sent me. I found it as good for the palate as it is for the stomach. I urge you to deliver only similar bottles to the public.”
He only asked Jean-Baptiste Combier to change the name of his digestive liqueur. Thus was born the «Elixir Combier».
This was the beginning of the production of the Elixir for the COMBIER Distillery.
The recipe, a mixture of spices and aromatic plants carefully infused before distillation with great aromatic complexity, has remained unchanged since 1853. It remains secret.
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The success was immediate.
Restaurants, department stores rushed to distribute it. It was sold as a hygienic product, which helps the digestive functions. Like the Chartreuse.
“Dessert: Demander un COMBIER. Délicieuse liqueur. Puissant digestif.”
“Dessert: Ask for a Combier. Delicious liqueur. Powerful digestive.”
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Another touching fact, we indirectly find the Elixir in a painting by Vincent van Gogh, “Still Life with Drawing Board and Onions”, painted in 1889, while sick, he was staying at the hospital of Arles, in the south of France. It shows a copy of the “Annuaire de la santé” that he had in his room.
Still life with drawing board and onions, Vincent van Gogh, 1889
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It was distributed from 1852 to 1980, then relaunched in 2011 with its original packaging. We have the immense pleasure of participating in this unique adventure by importing it to Thailand with three precise objectives.
Share with you a part of the rich traditions of agricultural culture and the know-how of a French Master distiller.
Offer innovative products to Thai sommeliers, upscale restaurants and bars, as well as consumers curious about new products.
And lastly, by partnering with a distillery and its talented Master Distiller still little known in Asia, and by making available his exceptional creations on the Thai market, we find a unique opportunity to build a cultural bridge between France and Thailand, two nations that maintain already very strong ties.
A bientôt ! See you soon!