Denoix Distillery
Since the 19th century, Denoix Distillery de Brive La Gaillardia, we distill plants, we macerate fruits, we press green nuts and always with the same gestures, the same recipes taken from an old grimoire. There Denoix Distillery, located in the heart of the city center, is a true institution recognized in Living Heritage Companies which has been passed down from generation to generation since 1839. Find the flagship products of Maison Denoix such as the Denoix liqueur or purple mustard.
Denoix Distillery: Gaillard and responsible!
- Maintaining an ancestral know-how passed down from generation to generation for nearly 2 centuries. (Last French liquor maker to work as in the last century).
- Guaranteed without colorings or added flavoring, the famous liqueur Supreme Denoix or the traditional walnut wine Quinquinoix will amaze your senses.
- The Distillery: player in the local economy with its employees, its supply of green walnuts (around ten tonnes per year)
- Museum open to the public allowing you to discover the history of this family business and the liqueur manufacturing processes.
Free tours and guided tours of the Denoix Distillery: an exciting visit!
Visit this distillery, labeled a living heritage company. From family portraits to Jean Lurçat's tapestry or even the history of Denoiselle stained glass windows, you will leave with a wealth of information and culinary advice! An immersion with the Denoix family guaranteed and some of the secrets of the distillery revealed!
Free visit all year round:
- The distillery is open all year round, Tuesday to Saturday from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and from 14:30 p.m. to 19 p.m. Visits are free and open.
- Guided tours in July and August : Come at 14:30 p.m. from Tuesday to Friday to enjoy a guided tour, always free, ending with a tasting of your choice and in complete moderation.
- Guided tours possible upon reservation the rest of the year for groups of at least 10 people. Duration: 45 mins. From Tuesday to Saturday.
Maison Denoix: a family story
Pierre Lacoste founded the distillery in 1839. He was then joined very quickly by Louis Denoix, who brought his ideas and especially highlighting of a key product from the region: walnuts. This is how “Surême de Noix” was born, this liqueur with multiple digestive virtues. Other recipes will be developed throughout the 5 generations that keep the tradition alive, just like a recipe brought up to date: purple mustard from Pays de Brive. Paul and Marie joined the family business in 2019 to mark the 180th anniversary of the house, labeled “Living heritage company”, a great recognition. They strive to respect, in the purest of traditions, all the recipes established by their ancestors and invite you to indulge in greediness and tasting in all moderation.
Here, we macerate and distill
As soon as you enter the doors, all your taste buds are in turmoil. Already the smells of fruit, plants, wood. In front of the large counter, Ali Baba's cave! There is something for every taste. Nearly 40 product references made in the Denoix Distillery!
Maceration
Maceration consists in infusing plants or fruits for a certain period of time in alcohol or wine, which will allow the aromatic and coloring molecules to be extracted from the selected plants or fruits. The quality of the spirit, the richness of its taste and the beauty of its color will depend on this subtle alchemy. Among the house's favorites are walnut liqueur (the house's master recipe), orange Armagnac and Obazine liqueur, a maceration of plants (verbena, peppermint and angelica), which is part of traditional monastic recipes, a nod to the Abbey of Aubazine, 15 minutes away from Brive.
Distillation
A process which consists in recovering the distillate, the substantial aroma of macerated plants or fruits, to then make liqueurs. The large brick tanks, the bain-marie still and its long swan-shaped neck are still present. The tank is heated as before, on a charcoal hearth. Next to it, we cook the sugar syrup over a wood fire. The gestures have not changed.
Manufacturing secret… walnut wine
If you pass by the distillery around Saint-Jean, don't be surprised by the particular aroma that emerges from behind the barrels... Jean-Marie is certainly crushing a few tonnes of green walnuts to make the elixir of our grandmothers: the Nut wine. To this juice, which will age in oak barrels for 5 years, we add red wine, sugar, spices... For the rest, you just have to come and discover it at the distillery.
Did you know? Walnut have medicinal digestive and depurative virtues
Purple mustard from Pays de Brive
A culinary specialty brought up to date by Elie Denoix, the famous grape must mustard is exported to many countries! It was a Corrèze pope, Clement VI, who restored its letters of nobility in the 14th century by commissioning a mustard maker from Avignon. Subtle and sweet, it perfectly complements traditional Corrèze dishes, such as black pudding, mickey or to deglaze meat juice, such as duck breast, veal or pork mignon.
5 good reasons to go to the Denoix Distillery
- Discover a timeless universe!
- A site to visit in the city center of Brive.
- Being slightly tipsy but in a refined way.
- Meet enthusiasts who share ancestral know-how.
- Find purple mustard!
Our tip Ode to Walnut
At the Denoix Distillery, you will learn the great history of the Gaillard aperitif! Here, between the copper cauldrons and the old still, it's heating up, smoking and distilling since 1839. This Living Heritage Company, whose owners' family name seemed predestined for the making of walnut alcohol, has made local liqueurs and aperitifs his specialty. Result: we let ourselves be intoxicated by the timeless atmosphere that reigns in its cellars. And once the visit is over, we taste the house's creations moderately.
Denoix Distillery,
9 boulevard du Général Lyautey,
19100 Brive
+05 (55)74 34 27 XNUMX XNUMX
www.denoix.com
All year round
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