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The Loire has many attractions for lovers of food and drink but if you want to do something rather different while in this fabulous area. I would recommend you include a visit to the Cointreau factory at Angers in your itinerary. I must admit I wasn't a particular fan of Cointreau. For the uninitiated Cointreau is a distillation of orange peel not but just any orange peel. (oh.. no!) this particular orange peel is a blend of various dried peels imported for their special zest from the furthest corners of the orange growing world.

In 1849 Adolphe Cointreau and his brother, Edouard created the drink that bears their name. The secret blend remains unchanged and has been passed from one generation to another. Cointreau is an interesting product because it is both unique and instantly recognizable.

Unlike the fabulous Loire chateau and their acres of ancient vineyards that are only a few miles away, the Cointreau factory is modern and looks every inch the successful corporate HQ but is based in a rather unpromising industrial estate on the outskirts of Angers. It's the sort of commercial estate you are likely to visit to get your car serviced. But don't let this put you off! Open the car window and take a deep breath, with a bit of luck the wonderful aroma of oranges will greet you.

The tours are quite regular but it is worth finding out at the tourist information office in Anger when there is an English speaking tour before visiting. The tour takes you through the production process and you are given a detailed explanation of the various stages of distillation and blending. It is somehow reassuring that even in these modern buildings you see that many of the oldest stills are on display, and in regular use. It saddens me that many British breweries have largely become liquid chemical factories. The French appear to have a different attitude to these processes than many of the global corporate drinks giants. There is a strong emphasis on quality and purity at every stage. Their maxim seems to be "if it ain't broke, don't fix it". You are shown the process at each stage from the dried peel, delivered to the factory in sacks to the final product in its distinctive square bottle.

A really fascinating part of the visit are the displays of art work associated with advertising Cointreau for over a 150 years The art work of Cointreau seems to closely mirror the various movements of the art world over this period, from Lautrec type posters through various stages including a "Disney like" adoption of cartoon characters to today's polished television commercials. The drink has been undoubtedly been marketed in some very interesting ways over the years.

There have been many attempts to copy this distinctive drink and Cointreau have their own rogue's gallery of fakes, copies and forgeries which appear to have been successfully sued in the courts and these are included in the tour.

At the end of the tour you are guided into the bar and the guide demonstrates how to make a particular cocktail. Even before tasting I was a convert, we watched as the clear colourless liquid was transmuted into a cloudy concoction. It is difficult to articulate without this sounding like a company advert, why this tour is worth undertaking. The visit is an intriguing mixture of industrial heritage, slick modernity, masterly marketing, alchemic mystery all experienced within the all pervading aroma of oranges.

We really enjoyed the tour but in truth I can't tell you why ? We brought a bottle back to England, and opened it on Christmas day...its become a family tradition now.

Learn more about this author, Andrew Mercer.
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