Massenez

Distillerie Massenez began in 1870 when Jean-Baptiste Massenez set up as a distiller in Urbeis, a village in the Val de Villé in Alsace's Bas-Rhin. His son Eugène took over as Master Distiller and is credited with the first commercial wild-raspberry eau-de-vie — a product that, according to the house, drew the loyalty of the Queen of Sweden during her visits to Alsace and earned Massenez the title of official supplier to the Swedish royal court.

The third generation, Gabriel-Eugène Massenez, took the house into Parisian gastronomy from the 1950s, supplying brasseries Flo, Bofinger and Pied de Cochon. In 1979, Gabriel-Eugène opened a new distillery in the Val de Villé, inaugurated by Paul Bocuse. From 1982, fourth-generation Manou Massenez led the export drive, expanding into more than 110 countries. The house specialises in two production styles: distilled eaux-de-vie of single fruits (kirsch, framboise sauvage, poire William, mirabelle), and fruit-macerated crèmes and liqueurs (cassis, framboise, fraise des bois, mure, abricot, pêche).

In December 2014, Grandes Distilleries Peureux of Fougerolles acquired Massenez, fusing the two houses under the Peureux corporate umbrella; Lemercier and Émile Coulin distilleries followed in 2016. The Massenez line continues to ship from the Val de Villé site under its own brand. The current catalogue includes more than thirty crèmes and liqueurs at 17–25% ABV plus the eaux-de-vie at 40%, covering everything from the rare Crème de Camomille and Crème de Châtaigne to the cocktail-program staples (cassis, framboise, fraise des bois) and Calvados Vieux including the curiosity bottle with a captive apple inside.