Lillet

  Posted on February 11, 2011  by Leslie Blythe  1 comment

My husband and I like to have a dressing drink before we go out.  One of my favorites is Lillet on the rocks with a twist of orange.

Lillet is an apéritif wine from the Bordeaux wine region of France, produced in the town of Podensac.  The eponymous company was founded in 1872 by brothers Paul and Raymond Lillet. The precursor of the modern Lillet Blanc was created in 1887, and launched in 1895 as both a delicious aperitif and a tonic wine. The original aperitif was known as Kina Lillet due to the quinine from the Peruvian “kina kina” or chincona bark, which is still found in Lillet in smaller amounts. Under the leadership of Pierre Lillet in 1962, Lillet launched a rouge version to compliment the blanc.