Mazarine Cordial
A friend of ours found this bottle while cleaning out a house in Indiana. He had no idea what it was, but brought it home. We opened this bottle and sampled one of the most incredible flavors ever. A search of the internet has shown nothing. We have no idea if it is still made or imported. I assume not imported for sure. I had tasted nothing so wonderful in my life until we opened up a vintage bottle of Okolehao recently. That flavor was very close. We finished off this bottle and hated to see it empty.
Calling Virani! Do you know anything about this amazing cordial made in Paris? Does anyone out there?
6 Comments »
RSS feed for comments on this post. TrackBack URI
Cusenier is a french brand that sell (I think they belong to Pernod-ricard now) anise liqueur and other aperitif.
The Mazarine doesn’t exist anymore, that’s an excellent find, I never tasted it.
I know Cusenier used to make the finest Absinthe. Does it taste like it ?
Here is an ad for a bottle of absinthe of that brand :
http://www.heureverte.com/images/stories/affiches/affiche-cusenier.jpg
Comment left on December 3, 2006 @ 1:44 pm
“Mazarine, an anise liquer, was originally made from a 1637 recipe by monks of the Argentine Abbey of Montbenoit.”
Found quite a few references to it, including a Mazarine l’Orange and Mazarine Blue which are Anise & Cointreau and Anise & Curacao, respectively.
Comment left on December 3, 2006 @ 3:42 pm
Tasted nothing like Absinthe, or Anise. It has a very warm, spicy, woody taste. Not a liquorice taste at all.
Comment left on December 3, 2006 @ 7:26 pm
I have in front of me a 4/5 quart bottle Mazarine cordial with the same placard as above, except the 4/5 and Buenos Aires, not Paris.
Beneath the primary placard a string placard goes up to the top and covered below the lip with ..A. TAYLOR & C0. label as the U.S.A. agent. The string placard has a cross with two cross arms, the lower arm broader than the upper arm. Both ends of each cross arm and the top of the cross have what appears like the outer portion of the three rings of the Trinity symbol. Is this the cross of the Abbey of Montbenoit??
To the side of the vertical string label is a rouge Grande Distillrie round label with a crown above a shield or coat of arms in the middle `and E. CUSENIER Flls Aine & Cie
below.
The bottle is triangular base with “Mazarine” and the cross below on the two sides opposite the placard third side. The bottom three edges has the three words CUSENIER, BUENOS AIRES, ARGENTINE, with the number3026 below cusenier.
The bottle was still sealed U.S. revenue label over the shriveled cork. I had no idea how old or irreplaceable the cordial was when I tore open the label, lifted the shriveled cork smelling the fine fragrance and peered inside. I asked my wife and her sisters if I may keep it as we were sorting out the house hold goods of the last century of their aunts and grandparents home. They agreed to my request and I brought it home where I have enjoyed it to nearly the end.
Only a very few friends have agreed to the quality and uniqueness I attribute to the cordial. The younger generation when offered a taste react like I gave them poison. Oh what is this world coming to!!
Should we all come together and request the abbey to produce the cordial again??
Comment left on February 10, 2007 @ 12:26 am
The next best thing to this is the taste of Hawaiian okolehau. Oke is much easier to get, though not easy. I am crossing my fingers that oke will soon be available to purchase again and I can savor that taste any night I want. This Mazarine is a wonderful memory. I would love to have it again.
Comment left on February 12, 2007 @ 9:50 am
My recently deceased grandfather purchased, a long time ago, a case of the Mazarine Cordial with BUENOS AIRES on the bottom. I have 10 unopened bottles and I am looking to find any information on their value. Can anyone offer any assistance?
Comment left on June 17, 2007 @ 5:11 pm