Elixir d'Anvers is etched in the collective memory of every Belgian. For generations, it has been enjoyed in family circles, and children used to be given a sugar cube with a few drops of Elixir d'Anvers on it.
The production process of Elixir d'Anvers takes about five months and consists of the following steps:
Maceration: The plants and herbs are mixed with pure alcohol in a copper still, where they soak for a long time and release their flavours.
Distillation: During the slow distillation process, the still is heated with steam, causing the volatile properties of the ingredients to rise with the alcohol vapours and condense into an alcohol distillate or “alcoholate”. This distillate of pure alcohol contains all the aromatic properties of the ingredients.
Preparation in the autoclave: The alcoholate is mixed with pure alcohol, soft water and sugar.