Grand Marnier owes part of its success to this Parisian palace
Known as the spirit of choice for crêpes Suzette, Grand Marnier was not invented for that purpose. Here's the story.
Its brown bottle and red cord are iconic. Grand Marnier was created in 1880 by Louis-Alexandre Marnier-Lapostolle, son-in-law of the Marnier family. Offered in bars around the world between the end of the 19th century and the outbreak of the First World War in 1914, this creation seduced customers, but remained marginal. Until the name on the bottle was changed.
Mixology before gastronomy
The name of the brand is closely linked to the friendship between Louis-Alexandre Marnier-Lapostolle and César Ritz, founder of the Parisian palace Ritz Paris. Géraud de La Noue, President of Campari France - the Italian group that owns the Grand Marnier, Aperol and Skyy brands, among others - recounts: " The two of them were best friends. At the time, the liqueur was called 'Marnier'. But César Ritz said to Louis-Alexandre: "Your liqueur, you should call it 'Le Grand Marnier', because it's very big and very good!"The start of the success story goes back to that moment, in addition to a colossal advertising saga. "It's a brand that has made a lot of poster artists and designers work."
at its inception, Grand Marnier was known as a mixology brand, Louis-Alexandre Marnier-Lapostolle, invented it for making cocktails. "Grand Marnier is a liqueur that, unlike its direct competitors, is not a triple sec. The genius idea of its founder was to realize that triple sec is too dry and doesn't provide enough length on the palate. So he wanted to improve the organoleptic qualities of triple sec by adding cognac," explains Géraud de La Noue.
The recipe for Grand Marnier cordon rouge, for example, is a blend of cognac and orange liqueur. "This allows us to pour less than a triple sec in cocktails. And cognac is a flavor enhancer that makes the orange taste last, offering a much more pronounced aftertaste than that of a classic triple sec."
A key ingredient for pastry chefs
Between the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th, fruit liqueur enjoyed its heyday. The only real strong alcohol available at the time was absinthe, later banned for public health reasons. Liqueur, a mixture of alcohol and sugar, was the social and feminine alcohol of the day.
But in the kitchens of France's top establishments, chefs made one observation: "Since Grand Marnier has such an incredible aftertaste when used in cocktails, why not use it in pastries?we need it all the more, because when we bake our preparations, the alcohol tends to evaporate", says the President of Campari France. The famous liqueur then becomes a pastry ingredient, used in soufflés or crêpes Suzette. Grand Marnier is slowly disappearing from French bars.
On the other side of the Atlantic, in the United States, the consumption of cocktails was very high. After the Second World War, the Marnier family decided to expand their business, particularly among Americans. Consumers there took a liking to the addition of orange liqueur to one of their most popular cocktails: the margarita. Géraud de la Noue smiles: "They're fans of margaritas made with Grand Marnier because the presence of cognac is a taste enhancer". Americans are the brand's number-one customers.
A historic brand
Since its creation in 1880, the shape of the Grand Marnier bottle has remained unchanged. "It's that of the Charentais still. The liqueur is made from orange peels, mostly from Haiti, "which are dried for over four years," explains the manager. They are then rehydrated in alcohol or cognac, resulting in a distillate, which is then distilled."
Today, this liqueur is distilled in Bourg-Charente, in the South-West of France, and the final blending and bottling takes place in Aubevoye, Normandy. In the past, these stages took place at Neauphle-le-Château in the Yvelines. But in the 1980s-1990s, the company was forced to relocate for safety reasons. "With the regulations on the transport and storage of alcohol, it was not advisable to have this type of site in urban, inhabited areas. Moreover, in the event of fire", explains the President of Campari France.
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