Picon
General information about Picon
In the border region, the "Schreve," between French and West Flanders, the aperitif drink "Picon" is served in many an estaminet. This is a bitter orange liqueur. It was invented in 1837 by Gaétan Picon after a trip that he made in Algeria. In 1872, the first Picon factory was erected in Marseilles. Some 4 million bottles of Picon are made annually.
Because Picon is somewhat bitter, it is usually made sweeter and/or diluted. Sweetening is done either with a lemon syrup or a sweet brown beer. Picon is also often topped with white wine. Everyone has their own recipe like this. And of course everyone pretends that this is an extremely secret recipe that no doubt still comes from the grandmother and is passed down from generation to generation. Yes, folklore.
What is also part of that folklore, what say I, what is a living legend is Madame Gisèle of café Sint-Elooi in Houtkerke, France. She is -so to speak- the unofficial "queen of picon" and has been serving them in her café for more than 60 years. She makes no secret of her recipe: the bottles of ingredients are right there on her counter: lemon syrup, picon and white wine. And if she doesn't get everything done because of all the work, you get to make your own picon!
When we still ran Hostellerie Mont Kemmel **** at the top of the Kemmelberg (Heuvelland, West Flanders - period 2012-2023) we always made luxury Picons: the picon was supplemented with orange liqueur such as Cointreau, for example. That makes for a somewhat more punishing Picon. Moreover, we always took the Amer version of Picon. In fact, there are two types of Picon: the regular and the somewhat more expensive Amer version. Of course, there was also a bottom with lemon syrup. A local white wine, along with an orange slice and some ice cubes (not too much because then your Picon will become too watery at the end), finished it off.
Visitor tips Picon
General tips:
1) if you are looking for other nearby attractions, consult our .
2) You can consult our overview lists: by category ( e.g. timeline, size, ...) or by region
3) You can also always consult tourist services: see our overview of tourist services
Tip 1: Through a colleague on the Opal Coast, we also learned about the "Picon Petillant" / "Picon Royale": by replacing the ordinary white wine with sparkling wine, cava or champagne, you obtain a lighter and sparkling picon. Try it out, chances are you'll find it super tasty.
Tip 2: It can be difficult to get original Picon glasses. Sometimes you can still find them at flea markets or occasionally in a so-called "stock americain." If you need larger quantities, none of that is an option. We got our picon glasses from our colleague from the "Terminus" at the Callicanes border post: he has his picon glasses made himself. Ask about the two different models that he has.
Internet information from and about Picon
Information about the Picon on Wikipedia: Dutch language - French language - English language
Our top.vlaanderen page about Madame Gisèle, Queen of the Picon.
Piconroutes organized by Redmonds Irish Pub (Loker, Heuvelland, Belgium).
RouteYou: Picon Route French-Flanders - cycling tour around Poperinge / Boeschepe with the theme of Picon
Piconroute- Rondje Picon - Picontour of Rondje Westhoek.
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