The Forissier Estate: a family affair

The Forissier family hails from the Forez region. This area stretches from Clermont-Ferrand to Saint-Étienne, westwards to Lyon and southwards to Le Puy-en-Velay. Having settled in Bonson in the early 1900s, the family cultivated the land of the Forez, growing market vegetables and aromatic herbs. After the Second World War, the family expanded and enlarged the family farm with two new plots. Three generations later, part of the land was designated for public use. The family farm reorganised and developed the processing of medicinal plants grown on the farm. With the verbena recipe from the grandfather of Bonson.

A local liqueur made with herbs from further afield!

At the end of the 19th century, the Saint-Étienne basin was renowned for its coal. Ships sailing from Nantes would come to collect this precious fuel. To offset the cost of their voyages, the ships would bring back chocolates and spices from around the world in their holds. Since then, the region has been home to many master chocolatiers and is a great lover of verbena. This plant, with its unique fragrance, quickly spread and gained many admirers.

In those days, everyone grew their own verbena in a “washing-up bowl” or “tub”, which they took care to bring indoors for the winter. It was customary at the time to make a secret liqueur using 40 verbena leaves, which were left to steep for 40 days with 40 sugar cubes.

Maison Forissier’s Forez verbena is delicate and aromatic. The infusions are wonderfully fragrant. The secrets behind this liqueur arouse curiosity and fascination. If one secret can be revealed, it is the cultivation of the plant. To produce a fine liqueur or infusion, the plant must be grown to the highest standards from the outset.

Values and People

A good product starts with good raw materials. We are fortunate to be able to cultivate our verbena fields as we see fit, so that the plant can later release all its aromas in our recipes.

• Organic and Biodynamic: The Forissier estate has always taken nature and the lunar cycle into account in its cultivation practices. The estate now holds organic certification

• Short supply chains: Suppliers and distributors prefer short supply chains because they are friends

• Environmentally responsible: Nature provides so much in abundance that we protect it by reducing our non-recyclable waste.

Forissier’s expertise

• Botanical Conservatory: The Forissier estate (Les Verveines du Forez) is a grower-producer with its own botanical conservatory. It cultivates two varieties of verbena, one of which is among the few specimens still in existence. Every year, it produces cuttings that are true clones of DNA dating back over a century.

• Zero pesticides: The verbena fields are mulched with fabric to keep weeds away from the plants and protect the leaves from soil-borne dirt. Weeding is done by hand without the use of any pesticides.

• Wild verbena: Verbena grows naturally in open fields with just the right amount of water. This allows it to retain its wild character and intense fragrance.

• A passionate herbalist: Verbena is harvested by hand, without the use of machinery that might damage the leaves. The verbena sprigs are stripped of their leaves by hand to ensure only the best parts of the plant are retained. Once the leaves have been sorted and selected, they are dried in the sun and then in a 100% wood-fired dryer.

Artisan Liquoriste: a harmonious blend of man and nature

The challenge for a liqueur maker is to understand the plant in order to extract the very best from it.

There are two methods for making herbal liqueurs. The first involves distillation, followed by recondensation. The second is cold extraction. This involves macerating the leaves in alcohol and allowing the mixture to infuse without heating or destroying the aromas.

The liqueurs produced by Domaine Forissier are made using a traditional Forez recipe, involving the cold extraction of freshly picked plants in the dark. The verbena is processed within an hour of being harvested and is not distilled – and therefore not heated – which results in a highly fragrant liqueur.

Verbena adds its fragrance and colour to our liqueurs. Made without any added colourings or flavourings. A natural sediment may form over time. Shake the bottle before serving.

Green or yellow?

No colourings or sulphites are used to preserve the colour of the liqueurs. The verbena leaves used in their production impart both the aroma and colour to the spirits. Upon bottling, the spirits are a vibrant green. It will take several months for them to develop a patina and take on more yellowish tones.

Depending on the weather, the same bottle may turn from green to yellow. To track the vintages and the development of the liqueurs, each bottle is labelled with the vintage year.

Some photos of the Forissier Les Verveines du Forez estate