Dancing with aromas

A pure concentration of tastes and flavors, a recipe created in a secret laboratory in Annecy, locally grown plants, and a decent helping of sugar are just some of the ingredients in the artisanal and organic drinks made by Liqueurs Granier.

In the beginning, “Verveine de Vincent” (Vincent’s Verbena): a concoction brewed by Vincent Granier himself, one that locals at the wine bar La Cave in Annecy enjoyed by the ladle during the occasional tasting. From this ingenious creation came another idea, this time from his brother Stéphane, a professional basketball player who, contrary to his other siblings, was not an expert sommelier, had a passion and a knack for tastes. After many tries, trials and tribulations, research, and draft recipes, they found just the right mix. The recipe is referred to as a liqueur without necessarily bearing the typical characteristics. With a little bit of magic, less sugar, and less alcohol, it fills the gap between wines and spirits, a no man’s land now inhabited by Granier, one that focuses on taste, on plants in their purest form.

Ornate, organic, and good

Beautifully designed bottles, a euphoric taste, and a combination of flowers and plants offer the most subtly delightful flavors. Liqueurs with meadowsweet, mallow flower, rattan pepper, and lemon zest, genepi flower liqueur with an authentic and forthright taste, another a bitter yet earthy gentian liqueur, one combining peppermint and fresh mint, and then verbenas in two different versions – one herbaceous and the other vanilla-tasting for two unique interpretations of the same aroma. Enjoy this flavorful range of liqueurs in most high-end restaurants in Annecy and elsewhere, as well as throughout a wide network of wine cellars in France and abroad.

With almost 80% of the plants originating from growers and foragers in Auvergne, plants precisely cut to perfectly ensure the desired taste, organic beet sugar from France, and alcohol produced in France as well, just a small handful of ingredients come from outside the region: Menton lemons (because they are the best!), lemongrass from Portugal, and rattan pepper, which simply makes sense. Overall, seven products perfected with the utmost care in just four years, as well as new products when the opportunity to make a limited series liqueur arises. Otherwise, Liqueurs Granier avoids spreading itself too thin, focusing on quality above all else.

A pleasure to taste

The time for a tasting has arrived. Only recently has Stéphane offered the chance to tour the production facility, where he explains in detail every step involved in making the now legendary liqueurs: from developing the recipe, to macerating the plants and ingredients, from bottling, to making the wax that seals the corks, to printing labels and shipping.

This all-artisanal operation involves a lot of heart and soul every step of the way. Learning about every facet of the process makes you truly appreciate the amount of work required. The tour ends with a tasting of the seven current products available: Verveine de Vincent (Vincent’s Verbena), Verveine de Stéphane (Stéphane’s Verbena), Reine des Prés (Meadowsweet), Génépi (Genepi flower), Menthe (Mint), Gentiane (Gentian flower), and VV62, the centerpiece of the collection that, contrary to the other liqueurs with just 26% alcohol by volume, contains 62% alcohol by volume*.

To leave an even greater impression, Stéphane provides several astonishing food-liqueur combinations, breaking from tradition and any preconceived ideas.

Depending on the season, the drinks fit perfectly with summer fruits or a plate of local cheeses, with pork cuts as a starter or with more autumn-oriented arrangements. And these liqueurs serve more than just as shots to down at the end of a great party. Enjoy straight or mixed into cocktails, such as the sparkling “Verbena Spritz”*, the aromatic “Or des prés”* (Prairie Gold), or the unusual “Ile Savoyarde”* which mixes the most local liqueur, gentian flower, with the exotic flavor of coconut. Each of these recipes goes well with every course of a meal. The two types of tastings, “éveil des papilles” (awaken your taste buds) and “éveil des sens” (awaken your senses), help to unravel the mystery.

Book a tasting

Liqueurs Granier

4 rue des frères de Montgolfier – ANNECY

Tel. +33 (0)6 79 59 27 29

Liqueurs Granier

Specialty coffee

It all started with an unconditional love for specialty coffee. The two founders, Lilian Iribarnes and Quentin Milhet, created the Drip Social Coffee Club concept, imagining it as a genuine social hub where people gather to together to converse over a cup of java. This unique café also serves as a coworking space, including a fully-equipped conference room in the back for both amateurs and professionals alike. Professionals can choose from a wide variety of workshops, including training to become a barista or to add this unique specialty to one’s resume.

For amateurs, the workshops come in many forms, starting with coffee flavor fundamentals. Spend three hours being regaled with the many fragrances and tastes of coffee. The “Nez du Café” concept, based on a similar model for fine wine, includes small vials with concentrated aromas. Whether fruity, floral, wooded, or roasted, learn to identify their distinct characteristics and flaws as your olfactory memory awakens (including fond childhood memories such as Nestle Tollhouse cookies in the oven).

This great foundation provides the chance to truly understand the many possible variations: from traditional coffees to those with chocolaty notes, from toasty flavors to more unexpected bitter aromas, as well as so many captivating fruity, spicy, and flowery notes.

Coffee colored

Beyond taste, we learned all about the entire process, from sourcing to preparation. First, we learned how growing: the soil, the weather, and the way the grower treats the beans after picking – washing, drying, and fermenting them – provide coffee beans with their unique specificities. Next, we discovered to just what extended the roaster’s expertise influences the aroma by deciding how long to roast the beans. The longer the beans roast, the more it brings out their dark chocolate, hazelnut, caramel, and toasted-grain-like flavors. Conversely, the less time a bean spends roasting, the more the plant-based aromas emerge. And then the barista completes the final piece in the puzzle. Grinding the beans, extracting them, adjusting the recipe through the mixture of coffee, water, and the temperature of the latter, each step requires the utmost attention to provide the desired aromas and taste.

The espresso workshop teaches the importance of grinding and choosing the right water-to-coffee ratio. As a bonus for die-hard coffee lovers, Latte Art workshops focus on how to make your milk-based coffee favorites.

For the love of coffee

Stepping into Lilian and Quentin’s lair, we discovered a whole new world — one deeply rooted in specialty coffee and guided by a profound respect for social, environmental, and ethical values at every stage, from growing and roasting to serving a great cup of coffee. “We work with a fixed set of established coffee roasters; we know all about their farms and the natural plant protection solutions used for the coffee beans we select,” Lilian explains. They ensure that the beans they use are traceable and seasonal; the Drip Social Coffee Club menu changes based on the season’s harvest.

Traveling all over the world to learn about coffee, especially in English-speaking and Scandinavian countries that cultivate this form of art much better than you might think, both cofounders are committed to creating an entire ecosystem centered around a love for coffee by showing that it can be treated (and tasted) like a fine wine. The ultimate challenge will be convincing those who say that they do not like coffee by showing them just how many flavors and aromas are possible when making a cup of java. They hope to replace coffee’s reputation for bitterness by opening skeptics’ eyes to a wide range of astonishing aromas that include notes of berry, jasmine, rose, or even banana. With specialty coffees offering so many flavors to explore, take a sip and decide for yourself!

Book a workshop

Drip Social Coffee Club

6 chemin des fins sud – ANNECY

Tel. +33 (0)4 50 57 02 30

Drip Social Coffee Club