Bartolomeo Mecánico

What is Gentian?

Gentian is tall flowering plant whose root produces a bitter product that is frequently used as a tonic and a bittering agent for the near gamut of vermouths, amari and apéros (a French aperitif). Gentian-based apéro, as we’re discussing, uses the pulverized roots of Gentiana lutea (yellow Gentian) as a primary element in bittersweet liqueurs. Gentiana lutea is a wild native of the alpine region and is found en-masse in the mountainous terrains of the Tyrol, Burgogne and Auvergne regions of Central Europe. – The Liquid Culture Project

Suze Advertisement by Roger Mayer (1959) – The Liquid Culture Project

Other Suze ads:

Old painted roadside adverts – Elve.net – Bartolomeo Mecánico

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Un million dans un verre
Bartissol
si délicieux à l’apéritif

One million in a glass
Bartissol
So delicious as an aperitif.

The slogan alludes to a very popular radio advertising campaign of the 1950s. If you happened to produce a Bartissol cap to the right person (a radio man in disguise) you could win a million centimes. – from Bartolomeo Mecánico’s Roadside Painted Advertisements [www.elve.net/padv/]

Pernod (France)

Tile-red, amber, amber “hors d’âge”: whatever its style, Bartissol presents aromas packed with Mediterranean sunshine. Created in 1904 by Edmond Bartissol, after the second world war the aperitif obtained Appellation Rivesaltes Contrôlée, making it a feature at the most festive gastronomic events. Perfect neat, on ice, with a slice of orange or lemon. – Pernod Website (France)

Edmond Bartissol was a French politician born on 20 December 1841 in Portel (Aude), and died on 16 August 1916 in Paris .

Civil engineer, he participated in the drilling [of the] Suez Canal in 1866. In 1874, he participated in the railway construction in Spain and Portugal and the construction of the metro Lisbon. He was a member of the Pyrénées-Orientales from 1889 to 1893 sitting with moderate Republicans. Beaten by Jules Pams in 1893, he ran in 1898 in the Aude, where he was narrowly elected and disabled. Became mayor of Fleury-Merogis , he finds a parliamentary seat in the Pyrenees-Orientales from 1902 to 1910 serving in Progressive Republicans .

In 1904 he created the sweet wine that bears his name, Bartissol . – Wikipedia (France)