Byrrh is an

aromatised wine An aromatised wine (also spelled aromatized) is a fortified wine or mistelle that has been flavoured with herbs, spices, fruit or other natural flavourings. Description An aromatised wine must have a minimum alcohol content of 14.5% by volume and ...

apéritif made of red wine,

mistelle Fortified wine is a wine to which a distilled spirit, usually brandy, has been added. In the course of some centuries, winemakers have developed many different styles of fortified wine, including port, sherry, madeira, Marsala, Commandar ...

, and

quinine Quinine is a medication used to treat malaria and babesiosis. This includes the treatment of malaria due to ''Plasmodium falciparum'' that is resistant to chloroquine when artesunate is not available. While sometimes used for nocturnal leg cr ...

. Created in 1866 and a trademark since 1873, it was popular as a French apéritif. With its marketing and reputation as a "hygienic drink", Byrrh sold well in the early 20th century. It was even exported, despite the similarity of its name to "beer", complicating sales in English- and German-language speaking regions. Byrrh was sold in the United States until

Prohibition Prohibition is the act or practice of forbidding something by law; more particularly the term refers to the banning of the manufacture, storage (whether in barrels or in bottles), transportation, sale, possession, and consumption of alcoholic ...

. As of 2012, Byrrh has been reintroduced to the United States.

History

Brothers Pallade and Simon Violet, itinerant

draper Draper was originally a term for a retailer or wholesaler of cloth that was mainly for clothing. A draper may additionally operate as a cloth merchant or a haberdasher. History Drapers were an important trade guild during the medieval period ...

s from

Thuir Thuir (; Catalan: Tuïr, ) is a commune in the Pyrénées-Orientales department, southern France. Geography Thuir is located southwest of Perpignan, in the canton of Les Aspres and in the arrondissement of Perpignan. It is situated in a plain ...

(

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

), decided to take advantage of the wine fever in the region to develop an apéritif wine flavoured with

cinchona ''Cinchona'' (pronounced or ) is a genus of flowering plants in the family Rubiaceae containing at least 23 species of trees and shrubs. All are native to the Tropical Andes, tropical Andean forests of western South America. A few species are ...

. They mixed dry wines and mistelles and initially marketed the resulting product as a health drink or tonic. This was because the local apéritif producers were displeased about competition with their established brands. Rebranding the brothers' aperitif as a health drink got around this problem, and Byrrh was sold in pharmacies. The

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

initiated the decline of Byrrh. Aided by tax benefits, natural sweet wines such as

Banyuls Banyuls-sur-Mer (; ) is a commune in the Pyrénées-Orientales department in southern France. It was first settled by Greeks starting in 400 BCE. Geography Location Banyuls-sur-Mer is located in the canton of La Côte Vermeille and in the a ...

Muscat de Frontignan Muscat ( ar, مَسْقَط, ) is the capital and most populated city in Oman. It is the seat of the Governorate of Muscat. According to the National Centre for Statistics and Information (NCSI), the total population of Muscat Governorate was ...

, and

Rivesaltes Rivesaltes (; ca, Ribesaltes, which means the ''high shores'') is a commune in the Pyrénées-Orientales department in southern France. Geography Rivesaltes is in the canton of La Vallée de l'Agly and in the arrondissement of Perpignan. ...

superseded Byrrh, which went out of fashion. In 1977, the family business, divided by strife, was acquired by Pernod-Ricard. Pernod-Ricard still makes the drink at its facility in

near

Perpignan Perpignan (, , ; ca, Perpinyà ; es, Perpiñán ; it, Perpignano ) is the prefecture of the Pyrénées-Orientales department in southern France, in the heart of the plain of Roussillon, at the foot of the Pyrenees a few kilometres from the ...

, part of which was designed by

Gustave Eiffel Alexandre Gustave Eiffel (born Bonickhausen dit Eiffel; ; ; 15 December 1832 – 27 December 1923) was a French civil engineer. A graduate of École Centrale des Arts et Manufactures, he made his name with various bridges for the French railway ...

In popular culture

Advertisements for Byrrh are often visible in older French films or in films set in the France of the past. Some examples are ''

An American in Paris ''An American in Paris'' is a jazz-influenced orchestral piece by American composer George Gershwin first performed in 1928. It was inspired by the time that Gershwin had spent in Paris and evokes the sights and energy of the French capital ...

'' (1951), the Oscar winning short film

The Red Balloon ''The Red Balloon'' (french: Le ballon rouge) is a 1956 French fantasy comedy-drama featurette written, produced, and directed by Albert Lamorisse. The thirty-four-minute short, which follows the adventures of a young boy who one day finds a se ...

(1956),

Claude Chabrol Claude Henri Jean Chabrol (; 24 June 1930 – 12 September 2010) was a French film director and a member of the French New Wave (''nouvelle vague'') group of filmmakers who first came to prominence at the end of the 1950s. Like his colleagues an ...

's ''

Le Beau Serge ''Le Beau Serge'' (, literal English translation: "Handsome Serge") is a 1958 French film directed by Claude Chabrol. It has been cited as the first product of the Nouvelle Vague, or French New Wave, film movement. The film is often compared wit ...

'' (1958), ''Dunkirk'' (1958),

François Truffaut François Roland Truffaut ( , ; ; 6 February 1932 – 21 October 1984) was a French film director, screenwriter, producer, actor, and film critic. He is widely regarded as one of the founders of the French New Wave. After a career of more tha ...

's ''

Shoot the Piano Player ''Shoot the Piano Player'' (french: Tirez sur le pianiste; UK title: ''Shoot the Pianist'') is a 1960 French New Wave crime drama film directed by François Truffaut that stars Charles Aznavour as the titular pianist with Marie Dubois, Nicole Ber ...

'' (1960), ''The Great Escape'' (1963), ''Jack of Diamonds'' (1967, MGM) filmed in Germany, the 1970 World War II comedy ''

Kelly's Heroes ''Kelly's Heroes'' is a 1970 World War II comedy-drama heist film, directed by Brian G. Hutton, about a motley crew of American GIs who go AWOL in order to rob a French bank, located behind German lines, of its stored Nazi gold bars. The film st ...

'', ''

The Wing or the Thigh ''The Wing or the Thigh'', from the French () is a 1976 French comedy film directed by Claude Zidi, starring Louis de Funès and Coluche. Plot Charles Duchemin (Louis de Funès) is the editor of an internationally known restaurant guide, for wh ...

'' (1976) in which it appears in Auberge de la Truite, and the 1998

Steven Spielberg Steven Allan Spielberg (; born December 18, 1946) is an American director, writer, and producer. A major figure of the New Hollywood era and pioneer of the modern blockbuster, he is the most commercially successful director of all time. Spie ...

film ''

Saving Private Ryan ''Saving Private Ryan'' is a 1998 American epic war film directed by Steven Spielberg and written by Robert Rodat. Set during the Battle of Normandy in World War II, the film is known for its graphic portrayal of war, especially its depictio ...

'' (1:59, in the background, as

Tom Hanks Thomas Jeffrey Hanks (born July 9, 1956) is an American actor and filmmaker. Known for both his comedic and dramatic roles, he is one of the most popular and recognizable film stars worldwide, and is regarded as an American cultural icon. Ha ...

' character, Captain John Miller, attempts to find coffee in an old coffee machine). ''Mad Men'' Season 4, episode 6 ("

Waldorf Stories "Waldorf Stories" is the sixth episode of the fourth season of the American television drama series ''Mad Men'', and the 45th overall episode of the series. It was written by Brett Johnson and series creator and executive producer Matthew Weiner, ...

") featured a Byrrh advertisement that won a CLIO Award in April 1965.

The A.V. Club ''The A.V. Club'' is an American online newspaper and entertainment website featuring reviews, interviews, and other articles that examine films, music, television, books, games, and other elements of pop-culture media. ''The A.V. Club'' was cre ...

Reviewer Keith Phipps notes: "One of the other Clios went to Byrrh, a wine-based aperitif whose failure to catch fire in America illustrates that even great advertising can’t sell something people don’t want." Byrrh signs are prominently displayed throughout Café Réne in the BBC sitcom '' 'Allo 'Allo!'' On a French postage stamp of 1932 is a small advertisement for Byrrh on the selvage of the stamp sheet. The stamp is a 50 centimes stamp designed for regular postage (not a commemorative) designated #267 in the Scott Catalogue of Stamps. It pictures a woman who is supposed to represent Peace holding an olive branch. The stamp is printed in red on white paper.

References

External links

Byrrh on the Pernod website
{{Pernod Ricard Cocktails with wine Pernod Ricard brands