Combier

DISTILLING EXCELLENCE IN THE LOIRE VALLEY SINCE 1834

The Combier distillery is the oldest in activity in the Loire Valley. Founded in 1834, it has remained anchored ever since on the same plot in the heart of Saumur. From the start, the distillery took full advantage of its position deep in the “Garden of France” to source local produce: fruits, flowers and medicinal plants. More exotic ingredients: spices and citrus fruits would have arrived on traditional boats from the Atlantic port of Nantes. 

The historical alembic stills are where the magic lies at the distillery. The ten iconic stills are safely tucked away inside the stills room designed by Gustave Eiffel’s skilled engineers. Little has changed in over 185 years. Utmost attention to detail, a passion for handcrafting spirits and the highest standards prevailed.

THE FIRST TRIPLE SEC

This famous liqueur was first made in a single alembic still at the back of the shop set up in 1834 by confectioner Jean-Baptiste Combier and his wife Josephine Destre. Filled with the crystalline liqueur, the Combier-Destre’s bonbon confections became so popular that they decided to leave the sweet shop in 1848 to build a distillery in gardens close by the famous Saumur Cavalry School.

“By following the thread of manufacturing, you will enter a world of commitment, innovation, gluttony, epic journeys, fruits, spices, plants, flowers and ancestral gestures.”