BENEDICTINE, D.O.M. A famous aromatic liqueur made at Fecamp on the coast of Normandy, 44m. from Dieppe. Some connoisseurs regard it as the only rival to the old Chartreuse. Both liqueurs have a romantic history. The religious orders were early famed for their liqueurs. The abbey of Fecamp, the origin of which goes back to A.D. 665, had, in 151o, a very learned monk, named Dom Bernardo Vincelli; he dabbled in chemistry and was devoted to the preparation of medicinal beverages; and one day he succeeded in producing an elixir which soon acquired great reputation as a refreshing and recuperative cordial. Its fame spread. Francis I. visited the monastery in 1534, and praised the liqueur, which was named Benedictine, ad majorem Dei gloriam, "for the greater glory of God." In the Revolution of 1793 the abbey of Fecamp was swept away and the monks dispersed.
The recipe for the liqueur, jealously guarded, and other docu ments were entrusted to the procureur fiscal of the abbey. These, 7o years later, fell into the hands of M Alexander Le Grand, a descendant of the original trustee. Being a wine merchant and having some knowledge of chemistry, he set about the task of reconstructing the liqueur. Eventually he succeeded and estab lished a vast business. The present distillery buildings occupy the grounds which belonged to the old abbey. Every bottle of Benedictine bears the ecclesiastical initials D.O.M. or Deo Optimo Maximo—"To God most good, most great."