Era:  1950s
ABV:  35%
Volume:  35cl

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French pine liqueur in a pine branch bottle!

In 1895 a distiller named Armand Guy acquired a parcel of land to the east of Pontarlier.  The next year he partnered with Cousin Florentin who had just sold his portion of a distillery.  With know how on one hand and capital on the other the pair opened the Cousin Florentin Distillery in 1900.  They produced Absinthe, Eau de Vie (Gentian and Cherry) and Liqueurs.  Cousin Florentin died in 1907 and his widow ceased to be associated with the business in 1909, the same year that Guy patented "le Vrai Sapin" liqueur.  Following the French ban on Absinthe in 1914 and then WWI, Guy patented an anis-based apéritif in 1922 called Pontarlier Anis or Pont.  Production of this new product and the pine-flavoured one for which they are famous led to expansion of the plant and staff through the 30s, 40s and 50s.  To this day the distillery remains a family enterprise current owned and operated by Guy's great-grandson, François Guy.