Liqueurs

Bénédictine

Bénédictine is a herbal liqueur made in Fécamp, Normandy, and bottled at 40% ABV, with honey for sweetness and 27 herbs, roots and spices for flavour, saffron and angelica among them. Its monastic origin is a sales story: a merchant, Alexandre Le Grand, created it in 1863. Most of our recipes use 5 to 7.5ml to bind a stirred drink; three use 30ml.

Quick Facts

ABV40% ABV

Legal categoryLiqueur

OriginFrance (Fécamp, Normandy)

Flavour Strengthmedium bold

SeasonYear-round

Our keeping timeYears unopened. Once opened, a year or more kept sealed and out of the light; the fruit and aromatics fade first.

Storage

Store in a cool, dark place, tightly sealed. Refrigeration not required. Stable once opened due to high sugar and alcohol content.

Allergens

None of the 14 listed allergens. Recipes change: check the bottle.

The ingredient

About Bénédictine

Flavour Profile

Primary Flavours

HoneyWarm herbsCitrus peelBaking spice

Tasting Notes

Rich and viscous with honeyed sweetness, layered herbal notes, subtle spice, and a long, warming finish. Sweet but structured rather than cloying.

A merchant's liqueur, sold with a monk's story

Alexandre Le Grand was a wine merchant in Fécamp. In 1863, helped by a local chemist and working from old medicinal recipes, he created a herbal liqueur sweetened with honey. To sell it, he said it came from the town's Benedictine abbey: a monk, Dom Bernardo Vincelli, was supposed to have made it in 1510. He put D.O.M., Deo Optimo Maximo, on the label to match.

The liqueur has outlived the need for the story. It is still made in Fécamp, at 40% ABV, from 27 herbs, roots and spices, of which saffron, angelica, cinnamon and orange peel are among the ones made public.

Most drinks use it as a binder; three use it as a base

In the Vieux Carré it is 5ml, a bar spoon, holding rye, cognac and sweet vermouth together. The Singapore Sling and the Bobby Burns take 7.5ml, and the Ford Cocktail three dashes. At these measures it rounds the drink and is not tasted on its own.

Three drinks turn that around. The Chrysanthemum is 30ml of Bénédictine beside 60ml of dry vermouth, a third of the drink; La Louisiane and the Gypsy Queen also take 30ml. Here it is the flavour, and the sweetness of the whole drink.

It belongs with the honeyed herbal liqueurs, not with Chartreuse

It is shelved beside green Chartreuse, but its nearest relations are the honey-sweetened liqueurs.

Bénédictine against the other honeyed herbal liqueurs

Strength

Bénédictine: 40%
Yellow Chartreuse: 43%
Drambuie: 40%

Sweetened with

Bénédictine: Honey
Yellow Chartreuse: Honey
Drambuie: Heather honey

Flavoured with

Bénédictine: 27 herbs, roots and spices
Yellow Chartreuse: 130 plants
Drambuie: Scotch whisky, herbs and spices

Made in

Bénédictine: Fécamp, Normandy
Yellow Chartreuse: The Chartreuse mountains, French Alps
Drambuie: Scotland

As a swap for Bénédictine

Bénédictine: As written
Yellow Chartreuse: Use a little less; more herbal
Drambuie: Closest in sweetness; adds whisky

	Bénédictine	Yellow Chartreuse	Drambuie
Strength	40%	43%	40%
Sweetened with	Honey	Honey	Heather honey
Flavoured with	27 herbs, roots and spices	130 plants	Scotch whisky, herbs and spices
Made in	Fécamp, Normandy	The Chartreuse mountains, French Alps	Scotland
As a swap for Bénédictine	As written	Use a little less; more herbal	Closest in sweetness; adds whisky

B&B is a different bottle

B&B, Bénédictine mixed with brandy, has been sold as its own bottling since the 1930s for drinking neat. It is drier and carries brandy, so it cannot stand in when a drink calls for Bénédictine. Both last for years once opened.

Using it

Using Bénédictine

Usage

From three dashes to 30ml in our recipes. As a binder it is 5ml in the Vieux Carré and 7.5ml in the Singapore Sling and the Bobby Burns; as a principal it is 30ml in the Chrysanthemum, La Louisiane and the Gypsy Queen. Count it as sugar whenever it goes in.

Pro Tip

Check what your bar spoon holds before using it for a Vieux Carré. Spoons vary in size, and at a 5ml measure of Bénédictine the difference between two spoons shows in the glass.

Top Tips

Measure it. At 5ml it holds a stirred drink together; at 15ml it starts to lead.
Take sugar out when it goes in. It sweetens as well as flavours, so a drink with Bénédictine rarely needs syrup.
B&B is a separate bottle, Bénédictine mixed with brandy. A recipe that says Bénédictine means the liqueur on its own.
Stir the drinks it goes into for 20 to 30 seconds. It is dense and needs the time to mix and dilute.

Possible Substitutions

Drambuie: Similar sweetness, different herbs
Yellow Chartreuse: Drier and more herbal; changes the balance

Production Method

Made in Fécamp from 27 herbs, berries, roots and spices, among them saffron, angelica, cinnamon and orange peel, with honey as the sweetener. Its recipe stays a trade secret.

History & Context

Alexandre Le Grand, a wine merchant in Fécamp, created Bénédictine in 1863 with the help of a local chemist, working from old medicinal recipes. To sell it he told of a monk at the abbey of Fécamp, Dom Bernardo Vincelli, making it in 1510, and put D.O.M., Deo Optimo Maximo, on the label. The producer still says the recipe is "said to be" from 1510.

Go further

More to explore

Common Questions

What is Bénédictine liqueur?

A herbal liqueur from Fécamp, on the Normandy coast, bottled at 40% ABV. Honey sweetens it, and it is flavoured with 27 herbs, berries, roots and spices, among them saffron, angelica, cinnamon and orange peel. The recipe is a trade secret. In drinks it is mostly used in small measures to bind stirred cocktails.

Was Bénédictine made by monks?

No. Alexandre Le Grand, a Fécamp merchant, created it in 1863 with a chemist's help, from old medicinal recipes. The monk who supposedly made it in 1510, Dom Bernardo Vincelli, was part of Le Grand's marketing, as was the D.O.M. on the label. The producer still tells the story as one "said to be" true.

What does Bénédictine taste like?

Sweet and honeyed, with saffron, angelica, citrus peel and warm spice behind it, and a thick, rich texture. It is less sharp and less herbal than Chartreuse. Mixed with whisky or brandy, it mostly rounds their edges rather than tasting of anything you can pick out.

What is the difference between Bénédictine and Chartreuse?

Both are French herbal liqueurs with secret recipes, and there the likeness ends. Bénédictine is 40%, sweetened with honey and made from 27 ingredients in Normandy. Green Chartreuse is 55% and made from 130 plants in the Alps, and is fiercer and more herbal. Bénédictine supports a drink; green Chartreuse leads one.

What is B&B?

Bénédictine mixed with brandy, sold as its own bottle since the 1930s. It is less sweet than Bénédictine on its own and is mostly drunk neat. A recipe naming Bénédictine means the liqueur, not B&B; using B&B adds brandy and takes away some of the sweetness the drink is counting on.

What can I use instead of Bénédictine?

Nothing matches it closely. Drambuie, a whisky liqueur sweetened with heather honey, is the nearest in sweetness and weight. Yellow Chartreuse is closer in herbs but stronger, at 43%, and less sweet. In a 5ml binder either works; in a 30ml drink such as the Chrysanthemum, the swap makes a different drink.

How long does Bénédictine last once opened?

Years. Nothing spoils a 40% liqueur this sweet. Screw the cap down and store it away from light; its aroma softens slowly over time, so a bottle you open once a month will still be good long after the drinks you bought it for.

Make something

Made with Bénédictine

Featured In These Cocktails

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Often Used With

Updated 10 October 2026

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