Here’s the lowdown on a French gastronomic tradition you’ll probably want to get involved with…
What is a digestif?
A digestif is generally a drink taken at the end of a meal. It's usually alcoholic and is supposed to help digestion.
When do you drink one?
Usually at the end of a meal. Not every meal, obviously, but usually at the end of a large family feast, such as the big Christmas one. As well as its self-proclaimed health benefits - we’ll get to those - it’s also a nice way to round off a meal before the washing up begins.
Anyone living in Normandy may wish, at this point, to talk about the trou normand. It’s the custom of drinking a small glass of Calvados between courses to aid digestion.
Okay, then, does a post-prandial digestif really help digestion?
We cannot tell a lie: science says an alcoholic drink at the end of a meal is more likely to slow down digestion, rather than help the food go down.
But if you're prepared to defy the scientists, then here are some of our favourites;
The best alcoholic digestifs
French digestifs generally divide into three categories - variations on brandy, drinks with herbs (many of which were originally marketed as medicines before advertising standards authorities were a thing) and sweet fruit liqueurs.
Most of these are local products, so you're more likely to see them if you're in the area where they are made.
Cognac: produced in the south-west France town of the same name (where you can go and tour several of the town distilleries) this is brandy, made by distilling locally-made wine - Cognac is within the Bordeaux area. It's a geographically protected name, so Cognac can only be made in the town and surrounding area.
Armagnac: similar to Cognac, this brandy produced in the Armagnac region in Gascony.
Marc: this word means both the grape pulp left after making wine and the spirit that is distilled from it. Most wine-making countries have a variation of this - in France it's marc, in Italy grappa and orujo in Spain. It's not aged in barrels like Cognac or Amagnac so it doesn't get the dark colour and it's a little rougher as a spirit. Almost all the wine-producing areas of France make this, so you'll find marc d'Champagne, marc de Bourgogne, marc de Beaujolas etc.
Calvados: a cider-brandy from Normandy, usually made from apples, but sometimes pears. Normandy is one of France's biggest cider-producing areas, but Calvados is the answer if you want something a little stronger.
Lambig: a Breton liquor produced by distilling cider - Brittany's answer to Normandy's Calvados, basically (although the two areas are fierce rivals so we would suggest not pointing out that these drinks are pretty much identical).
Poire William: or Eau de vie de poire William, to give it its Sunday name is a liqueur distilled from a natural fermentation of Williams pears.
Eau de vie de veille prune: literally 'old plum brandy' this is a popular drink at any time of day with certain older Frenchmen, but is usually served after dinner. It comes from the Périgord area of south west France.
Benedictine: a herbal liqueur that is reputedly flavoured with 27 flowers, berries, herbs, roots, and spices. It was created in the 19th century by a Normandy wine merchant - don't believe the story that it was developed by monks at the Benedictine Abbey of Fécamp in Normandy. That was shameless marketing...
Chartreuse: unlike Benedictine, this herbal liqueur - which comes in green and yellow versions - has been made by Carthusian monks since 1737. It's popular in the mountainous eastern bits of France.
Absinthe: the notorious anise-flavoured with its additional plants and herbs comes from eastern France and Switzerland. It was outlawed in several countries in the 20th century, but don't believe the line about it giving you hallucinations - that's just propaganda from early anti-alcohol campaigners.
Génépi: also made in the Alps with a blend of herbs including wormwood. It's slightly less strong though, so it never developed absinthe's fearsome reputation.
Cointreau: the sweet orange-flavoured liqueur is a staple of the Cosmopolitan cocktail but is more traditionally served as a digéstif. It's made in Saint-Barthélemy-d'Anjou in western France.
Mirabelle: this is a plum liqueur, made with plums from the Mirabelle tree. At only 15 percent it's less strong than many other digéstifs, but very sweet. It comes for the Lorraine area of eastern France.
Amandine: another sweet one, Amendine is made with almond essence and peach, cherry, vanilla and caramel extracts. It comes from Provence in the south of France.
Whisky: yes, there are French whiskies - in fact, there are around 40 whisky distilleries in France right now.
What about a non-alcoholic digestif?
Not everyone drinks, and not everyone who drinks wants to at the end of a big meal. For some non-alcoholic options you could try one of these;
Seedlip offers a range of non-alcoholic spirits distilled from plants, citrus fruits, and spices.
Gimber’s organic drink, made with ginger, lemon and spices, may be your thing.
Tisane: what we would call a herbal tea or fruit tea is known as a tisane in France. They're popular at any time of day, but they're often offered as an after-dinner option because certain herbs such as peppermint or ginger are known to aid digestion.
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