Bénédictine D.O.M
from
Behind the French Menu
by
Bryan G. Newman
behindthefrenchmenu@gmail.com
A bottle of Bénédictine D.O.M.
Photograph courtesy of Bacardi- Martini
Photograph courtesy of Bacardi- Martini
Bénédictine D.O.M. is a sweet, orange and honey flavored, 40% proof, liqueur. It is named after the Bénédictine monks who purportedly created it. This liqueur is only made in the pretty Atlantic coastal town of Fecamp, in Normandy, France. There, in Fecamp, is the Bénédictine D.O.M. factory, called Le Palais Bénédictine, the Benedictine Palace. That palace looks more like a freaked-out French version of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry than a palace. Nevertheless, here, Bénédictine D.O.M is made. (The initials D.OM, at the end of the word Bénédictine are the abbreviated Latin phrase: Deo Optima Maxima, meaning God, Infinitely good, Infinitely great).
Le Palais Benedictine
Photograph courtesy of isamiga76
Bénédictine D.O.M on French menus
Bénédictine D.O.M, on its own, when well chilled or with ice, is a singularly pleasant apéritif; when served at room temperature, it is a smooth and sweet digestif; despite its being a 40% proof liqueur. Bénédictine D.O.M. is creamy and mild, and, perhaps for that reason, it is the essential ingredient in quite a number of cocktails as well as sauces, pastries, and other dishes. It is the flavor of Bénédictine D.O.M that adds that certain je ne sais quoi to a recipe. Without any doubt, the most popular liquid combination using Bénédictine D.O.M is the drink called B and B., and that was certainly not created by the Bénédictine monks but became popular in the 1930s in New York, USA.
Bénédictine D.O.M, in the USA.
B and B is a combination of 50% Bénédictine D.O.M . and 50% brandy, a drier version of Bénédictine D.O.M. that is enjoyed both chilled and at room temperature. From its beginnings in New York City, B and B, Bénédictine D.O.M and Brandy, was on its way. The factory in France soon began bottling B and B but with Bénédictine D.O.M. and Cognac. Today in the USA B and B still bottled in France outsells the liqueur on its own.
Bottle of B and B
Photograph courtesy of Bacardi-Martini
Bénédictine D.O.M in the UK.
During World War I, part of the Bénédictine factory was turned into an army hospital, and the patients, including quite a number from the UK, were served a drink they called a Bene’n’hot. A Bene’n’hot ( Beni and Hot) is a shot of Bénédictine, a slice of lemon, and hot water. Among those who returned to England were ex-coal miners from the town of Burnley, a market town in Lancashire, The Burnley Miners' Social Club, whose members returned home with the Bene’n’hot. The club is now a private business, but it is still the largest single consumer of Bénédictine in the UK.
In France, when in a restaurant, and ordering B and B you will be offered the bottled version that uses cognac instead of brandy, and is made at Bénédictine D.O.M.'s French wizard’s school/factory/palace. If you are making your own version of B and B and want a decent result, you must use a decent cognac. A rougher brandy was OK during prohibition in the USA, but times have changed.
The secret formula of Bénédictine D.O.M.
Bénédictine D.O.M. keeps the formula of their liqueur secret, just like Coca-Cola. But they do not deny that their formula includes 27 fruits and herbs, including hyssop, lemon balm, angelica, coriander, cloves, nutmeg, black tea, myrrh, juniper berries, Ceylon cinnamon, thyme, vanilla from Madagascar, lemon zest, mace, orange zest, red berries, and more.
Barrels of Bénédictine D.O.M.
In the cellars of the Palais Bénédictine
www.flickr.com/photos/33852840@N06/8124819152/
During the production process, parts of the liqueur are stored separately in oak barrels for at least 8 months. Only then are they prepared for mixing. Following that, the completed liqueur is stored for another number of months, again in oak barrels. Then it is finally tested, filtered, and bottled. After two or more years from the beginning of the initial production, Benedictine D.O.M. is ready for sale.
The history of the Bénédictine monastery in Fecamp
The story behind the Bénédictine monks in Fecamp, Normandy, is the history of the production of the Bénédictine D.O.M liqueur. The monks’ history is a story of religious zeal, royal intrigue, the Norman-French conquest of England under William the Conqueror, and the monastery’s destruction under the French Revolution. The first Bénédictine monastery in Fecamp, Normandy, was probably established in the late 6th century with its influence and importance dating from the building or rebuilding in the 11th century. Despite some questions about the recipe, the monks almost certainly probably did make a liqueur in that monastery, from the 16th century onwards. The honor for the creation of that liqueur is given to an Italian monk named Dom Bernardo Vincelli.
Bénédictine monks today.
Photograph courtesy of prayitno
www.flickr.com/photos/prayitnophotography/4378752364/
With the French Revolution came an anti-religious fervor, and in 1789, the monastery was destroyed, and the monks dispersed. Despite the revolution, the Bénédictine Abbey church, the Abbaye de la Trinité de Fécamp, the Benedictine Abbey of the Trinity in Fécamp, unlike the monastery, was not destroyed and may be visited. How close the original liqueur made by the monks was to the present day Bénédictine D.O.M. is lost in the storm clouds of the French Revolution; the discovered documents that are said to relate to the original formula for Bénédictine D.O.M. are considered industrial secrets and have never been displayed.
The coat of arms of the Bénédictine
monastery of Fecamp
Photograph courtesy of Barcadi-Martini
How Alexandre Le Grand created Bénédictine D.O.M,
Nature abhors vacuums, and even more, the French abhor the loss of a fabled liqueur. The vacuum created by the destruction of the Bénédictine monastery in Fecamp and the consequent loss of the liqueur produced there was filled with a new tradition in 1863. Then, in 1863, a Fecamp wine merchant and businessman Alexandre Le Grand, Alexander the Great in English, claimed to have discovered in his family’s library a 16th-century Bénédictine manuscript. It held the recipe for the liqueur made in the original Bénédictine monastery. The liqueur recreated from those documents was called Bénédictine D.O.M by Le Grand, and the rest is history.
Statue of Alexandre Le Grand at the Palais Bénédictine
Alexandre Le Grand’s first large factory was built and opened in 1888; then in a case of arson, it was burned down in 1892. Le Grand had called his first factory the Le Palais Bénédictine, the Benedictine Palace. Despite the destruction of his factory, his product was already successful, and he rebuilt his palace in an even grander style. That is what is seen today. The architect was Camille Albert. I am told that the architecture is a unique and wondrous combination of Gothic and Renaissance design; however, it has to be seen to be believed.
The Bénédictine monks have no relationship to
today's Bénédictine D.O.M. liqueur.
The Bénédictine order and its monks have never had any relationship to Bénédictine D.O.M. Neither were they involved in the design of the factory that produces the liqueur. The owners of the Bénédictine D.O.M liqueur have been part of the Bacardi-Martini group since 1992, who make and market many of our favorite alcoholic drinks. The family of Alexandre Le Grand had sold their interest much earlier.
Preparing the brew
Photograph
courtesy of Le Havre Tourisme
There is no other factory like Le Palais Bénédictine in the world, and probably will never be unless they start bottling something in Hogwarts! Today’s factory opened in 1900, two years after Alexandre had died; his family continued production of Bénédictine D.O.M with enormous success for over sixty years. For visitors, the factory is open all year round except from January 1 through 15 February. You may visit for a small contribution to the factory’s maintenance and the cost of your testing their merchandise.
When visiting the factory, you may see some of the production processes and explore their rooms and their museum. Apart from offering a taste of Bénédictine D.O.M. the company also displays attempts that have been made at faking the product. Along with the story of the fakes, the museum has a unique mixed personal collection of paintings along with many ivory carvings and some sculptures. More importantly, from time to time, the museum puts on engaging and distinct exhibitions of modern art. Finally, on the way out, you may purchase some of the palace’s products,
Key collection in the Palais Bénédictine
Photograph courtesy of John Hedtke
www.flickr.com/photos/johnhedtke/15198895648/.
Whether the recipe was the original monk’s formula or a 19th-century creation is not terribly relevant, as the liqueur is excellent. Alexandre Le Grand stuck with Bénédictine D.O.M through thick and thin, and he, and later his family, made it a worldwide success. Check the Bénédictine D.O.M website, www.Benedictinedom.com, for opening hours. Like many places in France, they close for lunch!
Poster for Bénédictine D.O.M.
Alexandre did obtain the official consent of the Bénédictine order in Rome to use the name, as well as a permit to use the original coat of arms from the Bénédictine monastery in Fécamp. Alexander Le Grand also included the motto of the Bénédictine order D.O.M on his liqueur’s name. D.O.M. stands for Deo Optimo Maximo, in Latin, and means To God, the Good and the Great.
The Benedictine Abbey of the Trinity in Fécamp;
When in the area, you may also visit the Abbaye de la Trinité de Fécamp, the Benedictine Abbey of the Trinity in Fécamp. Unlike the monastery, it was not destroyed during the French Revolution. Its history and the monastery’s history are interrelated with Guillaume of Normandy, who later became William the Conqueror and King of England. William the Conqueror's great, great … grand- descendant is Charles III, the King of England, Northern Ireland, Scotland, and Wales.
The town of Fécamp and the area around it has many excellent restaurants dedicated to Norman cuisine. I can also confirm the existence of the town's many excellent seafood restaurants. The larger restaurants’ menus include desserts with Bénédictine D.O.M. in the recipe. The town itself is a beautiful small coastal town, nearly in the center of Normandy’s Atlantic coast. It has a casino, a place to park your yacht, and fetes of one form or another almost every month. Fécamp began as a fishing village and remains one with locally caught fish on many menus. You may also buy fresh fish right off the fishing boats in the old port.
If you visit in November, join in the celebrations at Fecamp’s Foire aux Harengs, their Herring Fair.
Behind the French Menu
--------------------------------
Behind the French Menu
by
Bryan G. Newman
Copyright 2010, 2013, 2019, 2024
behindthefrenchmenu@gmail.com
--------------------------------
Searching for the meaning of words, names, or phrases
on
French menus?
you are searching for the words
"Behind the French Menu" (best when including the inverted commas),
and search with Google, Bing, or another browser. Behind the French
Menu’s links, include hundreds of words, names, and phrases that are seen on
French menus. There are over 450 articles that include over 4,000 French dishes
with English translations and explanations.
