THE AMARO ATLAS

RECORD suze · EVIDENCE GRADE A · UNCLAIMED · LAST VERIFIED 2026-07-04

Suze

Thuir · France · 42.632, 2.759

REGION: franceTRADITION: GentianeEST. 1889WEBSITE ↗

ZONE 01VERIFIED FACTS

Founded
1889, first sold under the name 'Picotin' at the Paris World's Fair by Ferdinand Moureaux, who had inherited his family's distillery in Maisons-Alfort; renamed Suze in 1898C·2
Founders
Fernand Moureaux and Henri Porte (recipe created in 1885)B·3
Ownership
Became part of Pernod in 1965; today owned by Pernod RicardA·1
Production site
Produced since 2003 at a factory in Thuir, France, in the Pyrenees foothills — the site known as Caves ByrrhB·3
Bottle design
Tall, angular bottle designed by Henri Porte in 1896; Porte's original 19th-century design is still used for every batchB·3
Flagship ABV
15% ABV (Suze L'Originale)A·1
Bottling strengths
15% ABV across Europe; a version bottled at 20% for the British marketC·2
US availability
Not available in the United States until 2012B·3

ZONE 02AI-COLLATED SUMMARY

AI-ASSISTED · FROM GRADED PUBLIC SOURCES

Suze first went on sale in 1889 at the Paris World's Fair under the name Picotin, taking the name Suze in 1898. Created by Fernand Moureaux with partner Henri Porte, whose tall, angular 1896 bottle is still used, it is built on a distillate of gentian root finished with a secret blend of aromatic plants. Pernod acquired the brand in 1965; Pernod Ricard produces it today at the Caves Byrrh site in Thuir, at 15% ABV in Europe with a 20% British-market version. It reached the US only in 2012.

AI-collated from the graded sources below; adversarially re-verified 2026-07-04 (all three retained sources fetched live); operator review pending.

ZONE 03PRODUCER-SUBMITTED NOTES

This record is unclaimed. This space opens to the producer when they claim it. Producer claiming is coming soon.

PRODUCTS ON RECORD

Suze L'Originale

15% ABV

BOTTLE IMAGE
ADDED BY THE PRODUCER

SUBCATEGORY aperitivoRING familyTRADITION GentianeSELF-IDENTIFIED a French aperitif, luminously yellow and delicately bitter with citrus undertones

A gentian-root-distillate-based French aperitif (not wine-fortified), built on yellow gentian root combined with a proprietary blend of aromatic plants and herbs; produced since 2003 at the Thuir site (Caves Byrrh) in the South of France.

BOTANICAL MATRIX — 2 GRADED EDGES

  • yellow gentian root · bitteringA·1
  • aromatic plants and herbs (undisclosed blend) · aromaticA·1

DESCRIPTORS

  • bitter ▮▮▮▮▮A·1
  • citrus ▮▮▮▮▮A·1

SERVES

Neat on ice with citrus twist

producer
  • · Suze L'Originale
  • · ice
  • · citrus twist

Serve neat over ice with a citrus twist, or top with tonic.A·1

White Negroni

canonical
  • · Suze (in place of Campari)
  • · gin
  • · dry vermouth (or Lillet Blanc)

Substitute Suze for Campari in the classic Negroni formula.B·3

ZONE 04COMMUNITY TASTING NOTES

RESERVED — community notes open in V2 with moderation and bias handling. The contributions ledger is already recording.

COMMON QUESTIONS

Where is Suze made?
Suze is made in Thuir, France, and was founded in 1889.
What style of amaro is Suze?
On The Amaro Atlas, Suze L'Originale is recorded in the family ring, aperitivo subcategory, within the Gentiane tradition. The producer describes it as "a French aperitif, luminously yellow and delicately bitter with citrus undertones".

SOURCES — A–D GRADED (3)

  1. [1]ASuze | Pernod Ricard (official brand page) · Pernod Ricard · producer-official · accessed 2026-07-04Parent group site, fetched live 2026-07-04. States: 'Since 1889'; 'became part of Pernod in 1965'; L'Originale 15% ABV; gentian plus 'aromatic plants' / 'extracts of aromatic herbs'; 'luminously yellow and delicately bitter with citrus undertones'; 'served neat on ice with a citrus twist, with tonic'.
  2. [2]CSuze (drink) · Wikipedia · database · accessed 2026-07-04Corroborates: Picotin launch at the 1889 Paris World Fair, rename to Suze in 1898, Ferdinand Moureaux's inherited Maisons-Alfort distillery, and bottling strengths (15% across Europe, 20% version for the British market). Contains no production-site detail.
  3. [3]B8 Things You Should Know About Suze · VinePair · press · accessed 2026-07-04Major spirits trade publication, fetched live 2026-07-04. States: recipe created 1885 by Fernand Moureaux and Henri Porte; Porte's tall, angular 1896 bottle still used for every batch; produced since 2003 at Thuir (Caves Byrrh site), Pyrenees foothills; gentian-root distillate plus 'top-secret blend of aromatics'; not available in the US until 2012; White Negroni swaps Suze for Campari.

A producer-official / regulatory · B reputable published · C secondary · D community/unverified