Bénédictine
Bénédictine advertisements illustrated by Enrique Gil Guerra under the pen name "Nike"; the archive holds 1 piece.
Sold since 1863; present in Spain throughout the 20th century
Bénédictine is a French herbal liqueur whose current recipe was developed in 1863 by the merchant Alexandre Le Grand in Fécamp, Normandy, who attributed it to the Benedictine monk Dom Bernardo Vincelli (1510) to give the brand a monastic, medieval aura. Le Grand registered the brand in 1864, adding to the label the initials D.O.M. (Deo Optimo Maximo, motto of the Benedictine order), and in 1882 built an imposing neo-Gothic distillery on the very site of the former abbey. A pioneer of modern advertising, Le Grand commissioned art posters from renowned illustrators —among them Leonetto Cappiello and Alphonse Mucha— and placed them at strategic points along travellers' routes throughout Europe, including the Spanish market, where the liqueur circulated through specialist importers. In 1986 the brand was acquired by Martini & Rossi and in 1992 passed to Bacardi; in the early 21st century it exported around 75 % of its production to markets worldwide.
Sources: Bénédictine — Wikipedia (English)Heritage — Benedictine DOM (sitio oficial)Distillerie Bénédictine — History (Difford's Guide)
