Physician and alchemist Arnaldus de Villanova works with distilled alcohol (aqua vitae), combining it with sugar and spices. His experiments and writings helped establish early techniques for flavored and sweetened spirits. These ideas later influenced the development of what we now recognize as liqueurs.

A citizen of Modena begins producing large quantities of sweetened and flavored alcohol for sale, marking one of the earliest known examples of commercial liqueur production.

Italian distillers introduce the art of making sweetened and flavored liqueurs (rosoglio and similar cordials) to Paris. These expensive preparations—alcohol combined with sugar or syrup and aromatic herbs, spices, or flower essences—become prestigious luxury and medicinal products among the French nobility and court circles.

Michele Savonarola writes an important treatise on the medicinal art of distilling aqua vitae and early liqueurs.

Rosoglio emerges as an early Italian liqueur style made from alcohol, sugar, and botanical essences (often rose, citrus, or herbs). It was produced in monasteries and private homes across several regions. The style became especially popular in Piedmont, Sicily, and at the Medici court.

Catherine de’ Medici’s arrival in France is traditionally associated with introducing Italian liqueur culture to the French court. Distilled spirits and sugar remain costly, making liqueurs a drink of the noble class. Tradition holds that her favorite liqueur contained rose petals, orange, and jasmine.

Founded in 1585, Schlitzer is Germany’s oldest continuously operating distillery. It produces a wide range of spirits including liqueurs, fruit liqueurs, cordials, fruit brandies, and whiskies. The distillery has maintained production through centuries of changing ownership and political borders.

Historical accounts describe grain spirits being sweetened with sugar and honey to improve their taste as grain distilling became more widespread.

The Benedictine monks of Kloster Ettal (founded 28 April 1330) begin producing herbal liqueurs after the monastery pharmacy acquires a still in 1596. The strengthening drink made from local herbs is the origin of today’s Ettaler Klosterlikör. The recipes for the yellow (sweeter) and green (more herbal) versions are traditionally dated to the late 16th century and are still produced at the abbey.

Ambrosius Vermöllen establishes the “Salmon of Danzig” distillery. The house becomes known for producing Danziger Goldwasser (“Golden Water”), a distinctive gold-flake liqueur. The product gained an international reputation and remains one of the oldest continuously recognized gold liqueurs.

Archival research shows the business began in 1649, when Pieter Jacobsz Bultius started selling wine from a house called ’t Lootsje. Documented genever distilling appears in 1664. The brand still uses the traditional 1575 "founding date" which marked the arrival of the Bultius family in Amsterdam. Bols is regarded as the Netherlands’ oldest distillery brand.

Procopio opens the famous Café Procope in Paris, serving coffee, sherbets, ices, and a wide variety of liqueurs.

Montpellier becomes one of France’s leading centers for refined liqueur production.

Nicolas Audiger publishes La maison réglée, a household manual that includes the “véritable méthode” for making all kinds of essences, eaux, and liqueurs in the Italian fashion. The work helps popularize refined Italian-style sweetened and flavored liqueurs among the French nobility and upper classes.

Marie Brizard founds her liqueur house in Bordeaux and creates her Anisette. She is regarded as one of the first French female master liqueurists. The company remains one of the oldest continuously operating liqueur producers in France.

According to legend, in 1605 François Annibal d’Estrées gave the Carthusian monks an alchemical manuscript containing a recipe for an “Elixir of Long Life.” The manuscript reached the Grande Chartreuse in 1737. The definitive Élixir Végétal recipe was formalized in 1764 and remains the foundation of the Chartreuse liqueurs produced today.

Ausano Ramazzotti develops his herbal liqueur in Milan. The recipe helps define the Italian amaro tradition. Ramazzotti becomes one of the classic and longest-established Italian bitter liqueurs.

Peter F. Heering begins commercial production of Cherry Heering in Copenhagen. The cherry liqueur is made by macerating cherries and botanicals. It develops into a well-known European brand over the following decades.

Bernardino Branca creates Fernet-Branca in Milan. The intensely bitter herbal formula quickly gains popularity. It becomes one of the most influential Italian amari and a defining brand of the category.

Hubert Underberg creates Underberg in Rheinberg, a concentrated herbal digestif made from a secret blend of herbs from 43 countries. The recipe remains a closely guarded family secret. The iconic single-serving bottles were introduced in 1949.

Gaspare Campari invents Campari in Italy. The distinctive bitter-sweet red aperitivo is based on a secret blend of herbs and fruit. It becomes a defining drink of modern Italian aperitivo culture.

Alexandre Le Grand creates Bénédictine after claiming to rediscover a lost monastic recipe attributed to Dom Bernardo Vincelli in 1510. He develops the commercial liqueur in Fécamp. He later builds the elaborate Palais Bénédictine as a prestigious distillery and showcase designed to link the brand to the historic Benedictine tradition.

Martin Wilkes Heron creates Southern Comfort in New Orleans in 1874 and begins commercial bottling in Memphis in 1889. It becomes one of the earliest American liqueur brands to gain international recognition, receiving a gold medal at the 1900 Paris Exposition.

The Cointreau brothers found the company in Angers in 1849. In 1875, Édouard Cointreau perfects the crystal-clear orange liqueur. The new style becomes the modern Cointreau and one of the most influential triple secs in cocktail history.

Eugen Verpoorten begins commercial production of Eierlikör. According to the company, the recipe was inspired by an alcoholic avocado drink (abacate) made by indigenous peoples in Brazil. Egg yolks were used as a substitute when avocados could not be grown reliably in Europe.

Louis-Alexandre Marnier-Lapostolle creates Grand Marnier by blending Cognac with the distilled essence of bitter orange. The combination of fine brandy and orange produces a richer style than typical triple secs. It becomes one of the world’s most recognizable orange liqueurs.

Arturo Vaccari creates Galliano in Livorno, naming it after the Italian military hero Giuseppe Galliano. The bright yellow herbal liqueur is made with around 30 botanicals. Its flavor is dominated by vanilla and anise with additional herbal, minty, and spicy notes.

The Reina family begins commercial production of Amaretto di Saronno (later Disaronno) in Saronno. Domenico Reina opens the shop and workshop “Domenico Reina Coloniali” in the early 1900s, where the liqueur is first produced and sold. The modern company, ILLVA Saronno, is founded in 1947. Tradition holds that the recipe originated in 1525, when a widow created a liqueur as a gift for the painter Bernardino Luini.

Commercial production of Drambuie begins in Edinburgh. The liqueur is based on a legendary recipe traditionally dated to 1745–1746. According to the story, the recipe was given by Bonnie Prince Charlie to Captain John MacKinnon after the Battle of Culloden.

Brothers Luigi and Silvio Barbieri create Aperol in Padua after seven years of experimentation. The bright orange, bitter-sweet aperitivo is lower in alcohol than many traditional amari. It later becomes widely known through the popularity of the Aperol Spritz.

Curt Mast creates Jägermeister, a herbal liqueur of 56 herbs, roots, fruits, and spices. An enthusiastic hunter, Mast names the liqueur after the German title Jägermeister, meaning “master hunter.” The brand later grows into one of the world’s most recognizable herbal liqueurs.

Kahlúa coffee liqueur is created in Veracruz. It is made with locally grown coffee beans, sugar, and alcohol. The brand becomes a defining name in the coffee liqueur category.

Baileys is launched as the world’s first major cream liqueur, combining Irish whiskey and cream. The product creates an entirely new global category. It quickly becomes one of the best-selling liqueurs in the world.

Frangelico hazelnut liqueur is created. The brand draws on a local legend of an 18th-century hermit monk named Fra Angelico who lived in the Piedmont hills. According to the story, he made liqueurs from wild hazelnuts and herbs.

Rob Cooper launches St-Germain, an artisanal elderflower liqueur made with hand-picked flowers from the French Alps. Its fresh floral profile helps establish elderflower liqueur as a modern cocktail-bar staple.

Caroline Porsiel founded House of Applejay as a liqueur-first distillery, placing liqueurs at the center of modern cocktails. At House of Applejay, she originated Liquistry—her original philosophy for modern American liqueurs. Through the Liquistry Manifesto, she formally introduced its defining principle: using natural ingredients to build cocktail balance into the liqueur itself.