Garden Party, getting the best out of nature

Extracting the best from nature
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The essence of the vegetable garden

Distillerie Massenez opens the doors to their garden... With Garden Party ®, Distillerie Massenez moves from the orchard to its vegetable garden! Just a few short meters away, but a giant leap forwards. This new range of Eaux-de-Vie & Liqueurs. offers a whole new world of fresh, gourmet fun. In line with the “green” trend and vegetable cocktails, this range will also appeal to gourmet connoisseurs seduced by freshness, nature and the incredible aromatic power contained in just a few drops of the spirit, 69% in the spray version or 17% in the liqueurs.

Cucumber, Rosemary, Carrot, Basil, Thyme, Dried Tomato, Coriander, Cumin, Mushroom, Garlic... A full range that is certainly not short of color or character! Bringing out the taste of the countryside, Garden Party® is a real invitation to a world of freshness! Room for imagination and being bold, both at the bar and in the kitchen!

Garden Party, the quintessence of the vegetable garden
Collection d’eaux-de-vie et de liqueurs de légumes et de plantes, en spray ou en bouteille

The Garden Party revolution

Almost 100 years after the first wild raspberry eau-de-vie was created, Distillerie Massenez never ceases to innovate. “There is no paradox between our time-honored expertise and our thirst for curiosity”, explains Bernard Baud, Chairman of the Grandes Distilleries Peureux, owner of Massenez. This boldness, inherent to the company, is demonstrated in 2016 with Garden Party, a collection of vegetable and plant eaux-de-vie and liqueurs, in spray form or in a bottle. A world first, no. 1 must-have.

“We have been given the power to go from the orchard to the vegetable garden”, says Bernard Baud. Just a few short meters away, but a giant leap forwards. In line with the takeoff in mixology, the range with its evocative name matches the trend and takes it even further. It will also appeal to chefs, seduced by the freshness, “naturalness” and the incredible aromatic power contained in just a few drops of the spirit, 69% vol. in the spray version or 17% in the liqueurs.

The Little Book of Mixology

Over the last ten years or so, the bar world has undergone a revolution, acquiring an almost scholarly name: Mixology*. Behind it is the breaking down of borders between the art of cocktail mixing and cuisine. The barman has become a mixologist, conjuring up his own concoctions, going to the market and buying his own fresh produce depending on the season. The vegetable garden has found its place behind the counter. In this vast global movement, Garden Party represents the missing link between the past and the future. This brand new range of eaux-de-vie and liqueurs essentially captures the essence of plants and vegetables by way of distillation, transforming them into the ultimate ingredients for craziest of cocktails.

With Garden Party, imagination as power, both at the bar and in the kitchen. To create cocktails or develop recipes, professionals in the industry have a broad range at their disposal: basil, carrot, cucumber, rosemary, thyme and dried tomato. And that’s not all. The initial tests are already being completed with spices: Timut pepper or cumin. We haven’t finished having fun with Garden Party.

(*) Mixology: The art of mixing various juices and spirits for the purpose of creating cocktails; a mixology professional is known as a mixologist.

Garden Party, imagination is king, both at the bar and in the kitchen
Garden Party, a gesture, a taste

One flick of the wrist, one flavor

Capturing the essence of vegetables and plants in an eau-de-vie is a feat in itself. Packaging them in little spray bottles is a stroke of genius. Bernard Baud came up with the idea when watching mixologists preparing their juices, extracts, infusions and other mixtures. But behind the bar, everything happens at top speed, seemingly effortlessly, all the while creating a great spectacle. And so, with Garden Party, you are guaranteed a show with a simple flick of the wrist, a final push that allows the cocktail to be punctuated with a natural, herbal touch, a real explosion of flavor that adorns the taste.

Garden Party has also joined the trend of “skinny cocktails” – all the pleasure, without the calories. The flavors diffused by spraying the eaux-de-vie are as strong as they are weak in added sugars or fat, elevating the taste of the mixture.

A feat of flavor enhancement

Created in 1870, Distillerie Massenez has mastered the art of fruit distillation to the very highest level. By tackling vegetables and plants, it is stepping into unchartered territory. In fact, they do not contain enough sugar to undergo alcoholic fermentation on their own, so they must be macerated in advance in a neutral alcohol. But which one? Beetroot? Wheat? And for how long? With or without its skin? That is a secret held only by the Massenez experts... They have tried and tested their method time and time again, and succeeded. If the signature organoleptic quality depends on just 5 or 10 molecules, then the aromatic spectrum becomes... Millions of combinations of fruit.

Distillerie Massenez already had all of the tools and skills. Extracting the best from nature has been its obsession for 150 years. The result has exceeded all of our wildest dreams. “The first distillers aimed to preserve the flavor and soul of the fruit, and reproduce it in the taste, naturally and with style,” Bernard Baud tells us. “It is the sense of the word ‘eau-de-vie’. We have succeeded in creating it with both vegetables and plants. It's incredible.”

Garden Party, a feat in the service of taste
Garden Party is also available in liqueurs

Smoothness through liqueur

To vary its usage and enjoyment, Garden Party also comes in liqueurs with an alcoholic volume of just 17%, without losing any flavor in the process. This increases possibilities both for mixologists and chefs. To make them easy to spot, they are the same color as the vegetable or plants within them thanks to the colorants, which add some real zing to this range!

Production

Selection : A crucial step: rigorous selection of fresh vegetables, aromatic plants or spices...

Maceration : Following an innovative, closely-guarded, expert recipe, the raw materials are soaked in the finest alcohol.

Distillation : Next comes the distillation, following a time-honored family recipe...

Refining : Then, add sugar and coloring. For the sprays, to adjust the alcoholic volume to 69%, water is added.

Finishing touches: The liqueur is bottled and the bottles are labeled, then put into cardboard boxes.

Garden Party, a completely innovative know-how
Our Garden Party recipes: cocktails and culinary

Our Garden Party recipes

Cocktail recipes

You can find all of our recipes, created by our very own advisory barman Pierre Boueri, on our dedicated website! Full of tips and flavors to wow your guests!

» Garden Party cocktail recipes website

Culinary recipes

You can find all of our culinary recipes, created by our very own Best Craftsman in France François Lachaux, on our dedicated website! Full of innovative ideas to delight your guests!

» Garden Party culinary recipes website