Prunelle de Troyes

We made a little trip into Troyes. We had beautiful blue skies, so an ideal day to do a bit of city sight seeing.

We first headed along to the Cathedral, next to the museum of fine arts. But before heading into the cathedral I asked my brother and family if they fancied trying some ‘Prunelle de Troyes’. ‘Love to’ was the general response. So we headed into the small, old shop on the corner just opposite the cathedral.

I knew they would offer a tasting, but they also offered us a short tour of the distillery, which turned out to be quite fascinating.

The distillery had been there since 1840, and pretty much unchanged during that time, as has the way in which they make the liqueur, which is made from the tiny stones of small plums grown locally. It used to be made only from the fruit, but that meant they couldn’t make it in winter, so they tried making it with the stones, that can be stored for longer, and the taste was so good they now only use the stones. The stones are ground down, then left to soak in alcohol. The liquid is then boiled and condensed twice over and a sugary syrup is added for additional flavour. This process is still followed today, and every Friday the staff fire up the stills and delight in making more of their precious liqueur.

The recipe has been the same for nearly 200 years, the only thing that has changed is the name. This delicious, nutty liqueur was once called ‘La Prunelle de Champagne’ but in 1998, at the request of the Champagne winemaker’s committee, they were asked to stop using the name Champagne. So they changed the name to Prunelle de Troyes, which we think is better.

After the little tour and explanation we were offered a tasting back in the shop. No harm in a little tipple. It has a sweet, slightly almond taste, which the lady said makes a great digestif. I’m also thinking it would be good as a little treat over some honeycomb ice cream.