Lillet Aperitif

Lillet is a French aperitif made with wine and citrus liqueurs. It is produced in the town of Podensac in southwestern France.

The history of Lillet begins in 1872, when two brothers, Paul and Raymond Lillet, inherited their father's wine business in Bordeaux. They began to produce a bitter orange-flavored aperitif made with local wines and citrus liqueurs. The drink was an instant success, and soon became known as "the aperitif of Bordeaux."

In 1886, the Lillet brothers decided to move their operations to the nearby town of Podensac, where they built a new distillery. The move was motivated by the brothers' desire to be closer to the source of their citrus liqueurs. The new distillery allowed the Lillet brothers to produce their aperitifs on a larger scale, and soon Lillet was being shipped all over France.

By the early 1900s, Lillet was becoming popular in other European countries, particularly Belgium and Switzerland. It wasn't long before Lillet was being exported to the United States, where it became a favorite of both drinkers and bartenders.

Today, Lillet is still produced in Podensac using the same recipe that Paul and Raymond Lillet created more than a century ago. The town of Podensac has become synonymous with Lillet, and visitors can tour the Lillet distillery and learn about the history of this iconic aperitif.