XX | 10 | THE HOUSE OF PERNOD AND SONS | XX | XX |
------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
Since the date to which we refer, that is, since 1855, |
production has increased enormously. |
xxxxTo what can we attribute this astonishing prosperity, |
this continuous development which only a small number |
of industries can boast? Quite simply, to the firm intent of |
the heads of the house of Pernod to always provide a |
superior product, never yielding to the temptation to realize |
greater profits by buying cheap raw materials of lower |
quality. This temptation was offered to them in a |
particularly seductive form when the French vineyards of |
the South, devastated by powdery mildew and later by |
phylloxera, could no longer provide, except at exorbitant |
prices, the spirits distilled from wine which form the basis |
of absinthe liqueur. It then seemed quite natural to replace |
the proof spirit of wine with alcohols from beets, grains, |
and potatoes; this is what was done by many distillers |
who, noticing the public favour given to the product of the |
House of Pernod, had installed absinthe factories almost |
everywhere. By a happy inspiration, Mssrs. Pernod |
decided to remain faithful to proof-spirit of wine; this |
resolution made the fortune of their house; the higher |
quality of their product, attested to by the preference |
accorded to it by consumers, is due primarily to the |
exclusive use of alcohol made by distillation of wine; it's |
not only that this alcohol gives to Pernod absinthe the fine |
flavor which distinguishes it, but that it makes for an |
inoffensive drink from a health standpoint, since it saves |
consumers from the morbid effects of bad
|
(Translated by "Artemis" for your pleasure.) |