Pernod Ricard - Lillet Rouge
Lillet is a wine-based aperitif produced in Podensac, in the Bordeaux region. The Lillet Frères company (liquorists and wine and spirits merchants) was founded in 1872. The idea of associating Bordeaux wines with exotic plants or fruits came from Father Kermann, a doctor who left for Brazil under Louis XVI and returned to settle in Bordeaux, where he produces liqueurs and fortifiers, mainly based on cinchona. In 1985, the Lillet family sold the business to Bruno Borie. Then, in 2008, it was sold to a subsidiary of the Pernod Ricard group.
Lillet is made from wines (85%) and fruit liqueurs and cinchona (15%). Fruit liqueurs are obtained by macerating fruit peels such as sweet orange (from Morocco or Spain) and bitter orange (from Haiti or Peru) for several weeks in alcohol. It is aged in the traditional way in oak barrels .
Lillet Rouge was created in 1962. It is a blend of white wines and citrus infusions (sweet and bitter oranges), quinine and other fruits whose recipe is kept secret. It can be enjoyed in cocktails or lengthened with tonic.