From Saint-Didier-en-Velay, France, we bring forgotten plants back to life as liqueurs and infusions. A village project that eventually carried off the title of World's Best Digestif.
We've known each other
for over twenty years.
Two childhood friends. One terroir. Ten international distinctions, and liqueurs made four-handed.
It all started in the school playground, in Saint-Didier-en-Velay. Étienne and Guillaume grew up together in this Velay village, perched on the foothills of the Massif Central, on the border of Haute-Loire and Loire. Each took their road — Étienne studied plant biotechnology in Toulouse, Guillaume cut his teeth in restaurants and opened a bar-restaurant in Saint-Étienne.
But the Haute-Loire called them back. Its forests, its highland pastures, its plants. A knowledge waiting to be brought back to light — that of grandmothers who prepared lemon balm for the cold, macerated gentian for the stomach, perfumed their liqueurs with hyssop or southernwood. In 2021 they decided to combine their expertise: scientific rigour on one side, the sensitivity of service and taste on the other. La Brasserie des Plantes was born — craft, from Auvergne, uncompromising.
Étienne had just moved back to Haute-Loire; Guillaume had just sold his shares in the bar-restaurant to his business partner in Saint-Étienne. And we launched the whole thing ourselves, just the two of us, in our workshop — no team, no long contact list, just two childhood friends and the urge to bring the region's forgotten plants back to life.
To actually get the project off the ground, we ran a crowdfunding campaign on Ulule. Friends from Saint-Étienne and Saint-Didier, curious visitors met at Velay farmers' markets, strangers who simply liked the pitch — each pre-ordered their first bottles or chipped in a few euros so we could get going. It's thanks to those people, too, that we were able to build the company.
What we make is living heritage — it's meant to be shared. And we complement each other in what we do.
Our approach boils down to one idea: give back their place to plants our grandmothers knew well. Lemon verbena, wild thyme (serpolet), caraway, lemon balm, hyssop, southernwood, yellow gentian, génépi, elderflower, dandelion, nettle — every liqueur tells its own little bouquet.
Some recipes are simple, signatures of a terroir: L'Herbe des Druides uses only three plants (verbena, wild thyme, caraway). Others are complex blends: L'Alchimie Végétale combines 27 plants, roots, barks and spices on its own. Across the entire range, we work with about forty botanical ingredients — aromatic, medicinal, sometimes bitter, always steeped in history.
See every plant we work with and which liqueurs they go into →
Our plants come from foragers and market gardeners we pick one by one — met, questioned, visited. Sometimes close to the workshop, sometimes further away when the plant requires it (Alpine génépi, citrus, cinchona bark).
No added flavouring, no preservative: craft, patience and time do the rest. Each bottle is filled, corked and labelled by hand — four hands, to be precise.
Recognition that reaches far beyond our Velay valleys. Each of these medals rewards long, patient, often invisible work — three to four years of formulation for a finished recipe.
Three liqueurs have been distinguished so far: L'Herbe des Druides, our most-medalled liqueur with three Gold medals at the Concours International de Lyon, Silver at France's Concours Général Agricole and Silver at the World Drinks Awards in London; Le Cerf'Gent, our bitter aperitif, Gold in Paris in 2025; and L'Essence des Alpes, Silver at the Concours International de Lyon in 2026. Without mentioning L'Alchimie Végétale, crowned World's Best Digestif.
In April 2025, our flagship — L'Alchimie Végétale, 50 % vol., 27 plants — was crowned World's Best Digestif at the World Drinks Awards in London, across all digestif categories.
Behind this award stand three years of formulations, setbacks, restarts — and the conviction that craft has its place in a world that moves too fast.
Our most-medalled liqueur — 3× Gold in Lyon, Silver in Paris, Silver in London.
Our bitter aperitif, built on yellow gentian and cinchona — awarded Gold at France's Concours Général Agricole on its very first entry.
Our Alpine tribute to génépi, spruce tips and hyssop — awarded Silver at the Concours International de Lyon.
For our tap dispenser (in-house invention for pro bar service).
Two founders, two complementary views. Everything you taste in the bottle has passed through one and through the other.
Trained in plant biotechnology in Toulouse, Étienne is the nose of the house — the one who translates botany into flavour. He composes the recipes, picks the plants, tunes the maceration times.
His signature: slow, ancient-school blending, by stages. It took him four years to stabilise L'Alchimie Végétale, the 27-plant recipe that ended up winning the world title in 2025.
A former restaurateur in Saint-Étienne — bar, menu, evening service — Guillaume thinks about moments, pairings, uses. He designs the cocktail recipes, the food-and-liqueur accords and the brand voice.
He is also the one who travels across Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes to meet independent wine merchants, restaurants and corporate buyers. If a customer writes us on a Wednesday night, chances are Guillaume will answer.
Workshop, markets, trade shows, tastings — a few moments caught on our village-sized adventure.
Our workshop is open in Saint-Didier-en-Velay, Wednesday to Saturday. We also run mixology workshops — another way to discover our liqueurs.
