Giffard's story
It all began in the very hot summer of 1885. At the time, Émile Giffard was a dispensing chemist living in Angers (Val de Loire). He had an inventive and inquisitive mind in addition to being a gourmet. He became very interested in the digestive and refreshing properties of mint and ended up creating a pure, clear and refined white mint liqueur, which he immediately put to the test by offering guests at the Grand Hotel a sip of his drink as relief from the heat wave. After finding immediate success, Émile converted his pharmacy into a distillery and named his liqueur Menthe-Pastille in reference to the small mint candies that were very popular in those days. Five generations later, the family business still carries the GIFFARD name and is proud to maintain the high quality standards established by the original creator.
Products
With its long history, Giffard has expanded its product range considerably, and today offers everything from syrup to tequila. But their knowledge and execution in liqueurs and syrups is still their main focus, and visible in virtually every bar worldwide.
In 2017, Giffard opened a new production area dedicated exclusively to making syrup. The place exudes Giffard's vision: taste, quality, respect for nature and in harmony with the entire selection. The building fits into the lush area, and it creates a stpr and delicious botanical garden. Giffard draws their inspiration from here.
Ingredients
Their basic ingredients are fruits and plants, all of which meet the distillery's strict quality requirements.
These fruits and plants are primarily bought in their French local area. However, specific ingredients that do not grow optimally in the local area are sourced further afield depending on the desired varieties.
Therefore, you are always sure that the very best raw materials have been used for Giffard's products, as the company really improves quality!
Maseration
The Maseratiation process at Giffard takes place in a traditional way, which protects the authentic taste of the selected fruits and plants.
To extract aromas from the fruits, they macerate in alcohol for 48 hours to 3 months depending on the time required to reach a perfect blend of fruit and alcohol. The obtained infusion is the basic ingredient in the production of liqueur.
Manufacturing
Mixing, filtering, control. These are the required steps to quality. At Giffard, each batch must be tasted before bottling to ensure that the quality meets the high standards of the French.
They have three goals:
- Always meet their customers' needs with high quality
- To develop, but at the same time be loyal to their values
- Taking care of the environment.
They optimize energy consumption as best as possible. Water consumption is reduced and reused. Extra insulation and alternative energy sources. Natural lighting and sound reduction to take care of the employees.
Research and development
Despite their love of producing in the traditional way, Giffard has invested in a state-of-the-art laboratory which aims to anticipate, innovate, improve, test and taste new ideas. It can lift their products to even greater heights.
As they themselves say “ Natural products live and develop with time; from nature's dedications follows a need for constant improvements to our manufacturing processes for liqueurs as well as syrups.”
Sustainability
Sustainability is deeply rooted in Giffard's work culture and business model. They use maceration to make liqueurs. Here, fruits and berries are soaked to extract flavor. It is an energy-saving method, as it only requires time and not energy. In their production of glass, they use 70% recycled glass. In 2021, this meant that they saved 405 tonnes of glass – equivalent to 164 tonnes of Co2.
Cambodia
Their new factory is also environmentally friendly and uses solar cells, reduces water consumption and waste and collaborates with local farmers. In 2 years, they have reduced water consumption by 29%, electricity consumption by 15% and natural gas consumption by 36%. 97% of the waste left over from production is recycled. Giffard also supports the NGO 101 Fontaines, which provides free drinking water to children from Cambodia. Since 2005, 59,500 schoolchildren in 98 schools have benefited from it.
