Giffard Menthe Pastille (Pastille mint) bar liqueur /24%/0.7l

In 1885, Émile Giffard, a pharmacist and pharmacy owner from Angers, developed the formula for Menthe-Pastille liqueur.

The huge success of the drink encouraged the creator to end his career as a chemist and start a much more exciting profession as a distiller. Giffard chose Mitcham peppermint, a spontaneous hybrid of spearmint and water mint, which began to be cultivated in the early 18th century in Surrey, England. Mitcham soon became the largest cultivation area for it. The key to extracting the full essence from the mint leaves is time; the shorter the interval between harvest and the beginning of the process, the richer the extract. Before the mint harvest begins, the company places a large container equipped with a system of copper pipes ending with a condenser on the edge of the field. Steam fed through the pipes causes the essence to be extracted from the mint leaves, which is condensed outside. The mint oil obtained in this way is then distilled, the middle fraction of which is the heart of Giffard's mint liqueurs. Just one year after its debut, Menthe-Pastille was awarded at the international fair in Nantes, the years 1887-88 brought it medals at similar events in Toulouse, Brussels and Barcelona, ​​and the construction of the Eiffel Tower (1889) coincided with the liqueur being given an honorary distinction at the World's Fair in Paris. The most recent awards (2014 and 2016) were won at the Liqueur Masters competition organized by "The Spirit Business Magazine". In the 21st century, the annual production of Menthe-Pastille is around 370,000 bottles.

Giffard recommends serving Menthe-Pastille with ice or sparkling water and in cocktails.