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   Benedictine 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       Vitrail des Moines

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.