The original recipe for Bénédictine was devised in 1510 by Dom Bernardo Vincelli, who combined 27 different plants and spices to create his special elixir. As with Chartreuse, this elixir was presumed to be a form of health tonic, and was produced by the Benedictine monks for that purpose. The French Revolution (1789-1799) however through things into turmoil, and production ceased.
The manuscript in which Dom Bernardo Vincelli recorded his recipe was sold, and simply stored in a private library, without any real understanding of what it was. Then in 1863, Alexandre Le Grand re-discovered the manuscript, and upon seeing the recipe felt compelled to re-create it.
After significant work, and some slight changes to the process which was recorded, he met with success and christened the resultant product Bénédictine. By 1876 the product had become so well known that Alexandre Le Grand formed the Bénédictine SA company. Which still produces the liqueur in the beautiful Bénédictine Palace at Fécamp, in Normandy France.
The recipe for Bénédictine is a closely guarded secret, and there have been numerous attempts at duplicating the recipes over the years, all of which failed. At the Bénédictine Palace, there is a museum which among other things contains a display of several of the failed copy-cats. Some of the ingredients for Bénédictine are known, and include Ambrette, Cinnamon, Cardamom, Saffron, Vanilla, Nutmeg, Hyssop, Myrrh, Coriander, Lemon Balm, Thyme, Clove, and Tea.
Originally designed to be taken straight, some people began mixing their Bénédictine with brandy in order to soften it out a bit and cut its sweetness. This half and half mixture became so popular, that the Bénédictine company began bottling it as “B&B”. One of my personal pet peeves when I visit a bar is to see that they have a bottle of B&B on the shelves, but not a bottle of Bénédictine. To me, this indicates a bar manager who is a tad clueless. If they had Bénédictine, they could make not only B&B when requested (and most likely cheaper than the pre-bottled version), but they could also make any other cocktail which calls for Bénédictine. With just B&B on their shelf, they can however only properly make a B&B. My preference is to see either both products on the shelves, or at least just Bénédictine. Granted, there aren’t a lot of cocktails which use Bénédictine, but there are a few, and with a little concentrated effort on the part of a talented mixologist, there could be many more.
