As you might already know, we are featuring one of our distilleries each month. We’ll give you some information on their background, their history, their products, as well as an interview with the owners and master distillers. We will also offer you a chance to explore their products.
Today, we will continue this series with a quite small, yet sympathetic distillery in Fougerolles, France: Lemercier.
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                     The front entrance of the Lemercier distillery.
The history of the Lemercier distillery
1811: The Lemercier family used to run a farm and distill Kirsch and  Plum Brandy for mostly their own use, but for other people from around Fougerolles as well. After noticing the rising demand for their spirits, the family decided to found their own distillery in 1811. However, particulary Kirsch was difficult to sell in the Fougerolles area, since many families used to distill their own Kirsch, just like the Lemercier family. But master distiller Nicolas Desle managed to start a growing trade business, by selling their Kirsch products to customers in Burgundy, and exchanging it for wine, which they then sold in Fougerolles. This is why up until about 1950, the Lemerciers were classed as wine merchants as well as distillers. Nicolas started distilling absinthe around the same time, however, he had to stop during 1915 due to the worldwide ban of absinthe.
This is a photo of an old recipe book for a blanche absinthe from decades ago. The master distillers still seek the advice of this tiny notebook from time to time.
With their business growing, the Lemercier family and Nicolas invested in a few new buildings in the centre of Fougerolles, they had rooms for their office, distillation of absinthe, distillation of eau-de-vies, storage and ageing, and a wholesale wine merchant sales room. Both the family and staff moved into these buildings, too. The new premises were located at a very beneficial spot: right next to the newly built railway station, which was merely the only way of transporting goods in and out of Fougerolles at that time.
They used to import beetroot from outside of Fougerolles, enabling them to produce an approximately 90% alcoholic distillate, and was the basic “raw material” of absinthe. It turned out to be a very expensive enterprise, since there was no beetroot or coal available in Fougerolles, it had to be shipped in from elsewhere.
When absinthe was banned in 1915, the Lemercier family continued their production of Kirsch and their sales of wine, which continued to increase further. After the ban of absinthe was lifted, the Lemercier distillery reinstated their production of absinthe immediately.
Absinthe distillation at Lemercier
The production of absinthe is still very traditional at Lemercier. There is a separate room for distilling absinthe, including a small still to test the recipes before distilling a large batch of absinthe.
Absinthe distillation is still done on a very traditional way. You can see the small still for testing in the background on the left.
               The absinthe distilling room at Lemercier.
               The attic, where Lemercier’s spirits are stored.Â
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           The little copper still where absinthe recipes are tested in.
Lemercier’s absinthes and liquors
Their probably most popular absinthe is the Absinthe Abisinthe – available in a 72°, 72° Amer and a 45° version. These are classed as the ideal absinthe for people discovering this drink. In 2010, Absinthe Abisinthe 45 won the Silver Medal at the SIP Awards (Spirit International Prestige Awards) in San Diego, USA. The same year, Abisinthe 72 won the Bronze Medal. Some more absinthes in the Lemercier product range are the Absinthe Coeur d’Absinthe double and triple distillation – two significant blanches! Furthermore, Lemercier distills several eau-de-vies and the Green Demon Absinthe.
Interview with Alain Aureggio
Absinthes.com:Â According to you, what is the right definition of a “good absinthe” and what are the 3 fundamental elements critical to producing a fine absinthe in a distillery like yours?
Alain:Â In my opinion, a good absinthe is one that is enjoyable for the consumer. Unfortunately, there are numerous absinthes of very poor quality available today (I’m especially thinking of Spanish, and some Czech absinthes here), and several good absinthes that can’t be sold due to market or ingredient policies. But I think it is important to produce both authentic and customer tailored spirits. I believe that in a way, you have to meet customer’s demands, without dismissing the tradition of course.
Absinthes.com:Â Do you think the French – or even European – market should be locked to naturally distilled absinthes only, or on the contrary, macerated and essences-based absinthes have also the right to exist and to be called “absinthe”?
Alain:Â Like I said before, it is important to respect tradition, but at the same time, you should be able to produce spirits for differing markets. For example, not everyone outside Europe has the same affinity for anise, so it is only reasonable to tailor the products for these markets, in order to still provide the absinthe experience for people.
Absinthes.com:Â How do you see the future and popularization of absinthe in France in the next years or decades? Will it become the favourite French aperitif again like it was a century ago?
Alain: Absinthe today is in no way as popular as during the Belle Epoque. We live in a very fast moving society, hardly any one has time to relax – the absinthe ritual requires time that a lot of people are not willing to sacrifice… This is not the only reason of course, poor education on absinthe, prejudices and myths, as well as a lack of the right Marketing is an even bigger factor. But the absinthe business simply doesn’t have the same resources than manufacturers of other spirits.
Absinthes.com:Â Don’t you fear a new ban of absinthe if the European consumers, and especially the youngsters, get into the habit of drinking absinthe like vodka or whisky? The internet is full of videos showing young people drinking shots of absinthe or setting it on fire even though it’s 60-70% alcohol.
Alain: Not at all. There are idiots everywhere (please excuse my language). I think, again, it is all about communication and reliable sources of education for absinthe – they should be able to prevent a lot of bad things happening to absinthe. Additionally, compared to other high proof spirits, absinthe is quite expensive, I don’t believe young people want to spend that much money just to get drunk. To conclude: No, I don’t fear another ban for absinthe.
Absinthes.com:Â Last question. Green Fairy: myth or reality? Have you ever noticed effects other than those from alcohol – secondary effects – after absinthe consumption? Some talk about an enhanced view, dreams, mental clarity, or even intellectual improvement which it could be imagined might have somewhat helped artists and writers from the 19th century.
Alain:Â Personally, I haven’t met the Green Fairy just yet, I think there is a lot of superstition around it, and I believe people that claim to have seen her, experienced some kind of placebo effect. There is a lot of faith in absinthe and its effects, which I notice a lot. For example, I did a blind tasting session with one of my visitors once. I gave him three absinthes to taste and told him only two were real absinthes. He agreed and tried to spot the differences, and went ahead explaining each taste in a lot of detail. All three were the same absinthe.
When we visited the distillery for this newsletter, Alain was warm and welcoming towards us, he showed us around his distillery with both pleasure and pride. He even gave us a little, historic gift: A series of postcards advertising the distillery, dating back to about 1910. We have a selection of different scenes available, and plan to pass them on to you at some point.
              A scene out of our postcard series about Lemercier.
I hope you enjoyed learning a bit more about this distillery, and that you will give Alain’s products a chance – go ahead and try them, if you haven’t already. Click here to view our range of Lemercier products available on our shop.
Bonjour ,Andrew,Miriam and Antoine;
As always love your various articles
on the Absinthe Distilleries.Keep up
the good work
Regards, Ronald