However, in the turmoil of the   French Revolution, the recipe   was almost lost forever. In   1791, a Fécamp notable bought   the 16th century manuscript   containing the formula for the   elixir. In his ignorance of the   secret held within, he put it   away into his library and forgot   about it… The fabulous history of Bene- dictine began during the Renaissance when a Venetian monk at the Abbey of Fécamp , Dom Bernardo Vincelli, crea-ted an elixir from 27 plants & spices from the 4 corners of the globe. This elixir was highly regarded in the court of King François I, and the drink, which by now has become famous, was produced by the Benedictine monks up until the end of the 18th century.   Dom Bernardo Vincelli      The Monks Window In 1863, Alexandre Le Grand, a distant relation of the Fécamp notable, came across the book of spells by chance and discovered the secret recipe. Straight away, he decided to decipher it in order to re-create this mysterious liqueur. His tenacity enabled him eventually to do so. He modernised the recipe and called it "Benedictine".  The liqueur soon  became extremely  popular: by 1873,  production had reached  almost 150,000 bottles  a year. In light of this  success, Alexandre Le  Grand decided to set up  the Benedictine SA  company in June 1876,  with capital of  2,200,000 francs.    In 1882, Alexandre Le Grand decided to have a unique building built in Fécamp to house the distillery: a Palace-Museum. It is here, in this extraordinary place, that the famous liqueur is still made today.