Jean-Baptiste Lapostolle founded a small distillery in Neauphle-Le-Château near Paris in 1827, where fruit liqueurs were produced. Under his son Eugène, the company became very successful and began to produce cognac. In 1876, his granddaughter married the son of a wine-growing family from the Sancerre region named Louis-Alexandre Marnier, giving rise to the double family name Marnier-Lapostolle. Louis Alexandre Marnier-Lapostolle created a new liqueur in 1880 from cognac and an essence of Caribbean bitter oranges (bigaradia), which was first called "Curaçao Marnier". His friend César Ritz (owner of the Ritz Hotels) suggested the new name "Grand Marnier". After a short time, the drink became a popular fashionable drink and was served at many European royal houses. Today, Grand Marnier is the best-known and most widespread French liqueur in the world. It is best served neat as a digestif after a good meal, but is also used in many cocktails and desserts.
The amber-coloured liqueur with a copper-red core and 40% alcohol by volume is produced in different variants and different flavours. The best-selling brand is "Red Label" or also "Cordon Rouge" or simply "Grand Marnier". For the "Yellow Label" or also known as "Cordon Jaune" liqueur, no cognac is used but neutral alcohol. This brand is similar in taste to Cointreau. The "Louis Alexandre", named after the company founder, is produced with cognacs from Petite Champagne and Borderies. It is less sweet than the Cordon Rouge. The "Cuvée du Centenaire" was created in 1927 to celebrate the centenary of the company. Cognacs up to 25 years old from the Petite Champagne and Grande Champagne regions are used.
For the 150th anniversary of the company, the top brand "Cuvée du Cent Cinquantenaire" was created in 1977. For this, only cognacs from the Grande Champagne range with an age of up to 50 are used. The production date and even the time is noted on all labels. For example, the code "L0136515" means that the bottle was produced in 2001, on the 365th day (31 December), between 15:00 and 15:59. Furthermore, the company also produces a cognac under the brand name "Marnier" in the three different qualities VS (Very Superior), VSOP (Very Superior Old Pale, Fine Champagne) and "Grande Fine Champagne XO". An Armagnac called "Lapostolle" and the Vin de liqueur Pineau des Charentes are also produced. The property also includes the Chilean winery Lapostolle.
Picture: left: By Simon A. Eugster - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, link
