I was lucky enough to meet the very per­son­able Curt Gold­man who is a part­ner of Cadre Noir, an importer of arti­sanal French liqueurs, crèmes and spir­its. I emailed Curt and he prompt­ly came out to the Mary­land Club to pro­mote his prod­ucts. I’m glad he did. I was very pleased with the La Dis­til­lerie Com­bier prod­uct line, which is the old­est work­ing dis­tillery in France’s Loire Val­ley. The Com­bier web­site tells the sto­ry that began near­ly 175 years ago at 48 Rue Beau­re­paire in the pic­turesque vil­lage of Saumur, 200 miles south­west of Paris in the heart of France’s his­toric Loire Val­ley. Jean-Bap­tiste Com­bier and his wife shared the dream of invent­ing some­thing new, a fla­vor that was tru­ly an original.

I was happy to taste 3 of Combier’s main products:

• Com­bier Liqueur d’Orange: A Triple Sec
• Com­bier Rouge: A Cher­ry Liqueur
• Com­bier Roy­al: An Herbal Orange Cognac Liqueur

I also got an exclusive tasting of brand new Combier products:

• Crème de Pam­ple­mousse: A Grape­fruit Liqueur
• Crème de Peche de Vigne: A Peach Liqueur
• Crème de Mure: A Black­ber­ry Liqueur
• Crème de Cas­sis: A Black Cur­rant Liqueur
• Crème de Fruits Rouges: A Mixed Berry Liqueur

These five prod­ucts haven’t hit the shelves yet, but we’ll be able to pick up bot­tles soon enough. Curt’s also going to be import­ing 3 oth­er liqueurs that were excep­tion­al. I’m not at lib­er­ty to speak of these though. But mark my words, these liqueurs will excite cock­tail enthu­si­ast and bring a big impact to the mar­ket. I was very impressed. Com­bier is a brand to watch. Keep an eye out for each prod­uct because these liqueurs are excep­tion­al and have a great price point. Although for this arti­cle, I’ll be focus­ing on Combier’s 3 flag­ship liqueurs.

Combier Liqueur d’Orange

In 2009 La Dis­til­lerie Com­bier, the orig­i­nal cre­ator of the world’s first triple sec (1834), announced that its flag­ship orange liqueur, Com­bier Liqueur d’Orange, would be avail­able for the first time in the U.S. This is the prod­uct that put La Dis­til­lerie Com­bier on the map. This award-win­ning triple orange liqueur is made exclu­sive­ly from 100% fresh, hand-select­ed orange peels from the West Indies, sug­ar beets from the fields of Nor­mandy and the family’s secret ingre­di­ents from the Loire Val­ley. With a his­to­ry dat­ing 41 years pri­or to Coin­treau and an unmis­tak­able fresh orange fla­vor that won’t break the bank, I say we have a win­ner. In order to obtain per­fect har­mo­ny and clar­i­ty in every sip, Com­bier uses a triple-dis­til­la­tion process, hence the word “triple- sec”. The ingre­di­ents are three times dis­tilled in the same cen­tu­ry-old cop­per stills that were first used by the Com­bier fam­i­ly. The warmth and age of the stills add depth, while the triple-dis­til­la­tion process ensures that only the purest and most aro­mat­ic fla­vors make it into each bot­tle; hence, its crys­tal clear col­or. Locat­ed 200 miles south­west of Paris in the heart of France’s his­toric Loire Val­ley, Combier’s arti­sanal-craft­ed triple orange liqueur is pro­duced, pack­aged, and shipped from the same loca­tion since the 19th cen­tu­ry, keep­ing the brand true to tra­di­tion, authen­tic­i­ty and qual­i­ty. Around $35 a bot­tle (750 ml). Com­pa­ra­ble to Cointreau.

Combier Rouge

Light and fruity with hints of pep­per and licorice, Com­bier Rouge is com­prised of a blend of guignes and Morel­lo cher­ries for their aro­ma and spici­ness and black cher­ries for their deep col­or. The result is a gen­tle and sweet cher­ry-fla­vored liqueur with a rich ruby appear­ance. Made entire­ly with 100% nat­ur­al ingre­di­ents, Rouge con­tains no arti­fi­cial sug­ar and is sweet­ened from the fruits them­selves. The orig­i­nal com­po­si­tion for Rouge was first con­ceived in 1632 by the Rev­erend Moth­er Gautron of the Bene­dic­tine Abbey of Samur, and became so pop­u­lar that it delight­ed the court of King Louis XIV.  True to tra­di­tion, it is still pro­duced much like it was near­ly 400 years ago. Around $25 a bot­tle (750 ml). Com­pa­ra­ble to Cher­ry Heering.

Royal Combier

Roy­al Com­bier is a unique blend of triple sec, cognac and the famous French hygien­ic Elixir de Com­bier (which includes ingre­di­ents such as aloe, nut­meg, myrrh, car­damom, cin­na­mon and saf­fron). The final result is an exot­ic and com­plex blend that received a gold medal at the high­ly acclaimed Met­z’s Inter­na­tion­al Eaux-de-Vie com­pe­ti­tion. Think Grand Marnier mar­ried with Yel­low Char­treuse. Com­bier Royal’s rich com­po­si­tion is pre­pared in Combier’s his­toric inner cham­bers sur­round­ed by the age and warmth of cen­tu­ry old cop­per stills used by the orig­i­nal Com­bier fam­i­ly and cre­at­ed by Gus­tave Eif­fel. The recipe is derived by the triple-dis­til­la­tion process that orig­i­nat­ed in 1834, where­by the ingre­di­ents are three times dis­tilled in the 19th cen­tu­ry cop­per vats. The cop­per and age of the stills add depth, while the triple-dis­til­la­tion process ensures that Com­bier pro­duces only the most pure and aro­mat­ic liqueur. Around $35 a bot­tle (750 ml).