Amer Picon
All About Amer Picon
If you have never been to France, then it is very possible that you've never heard of Amer Picon and you are truly missing out on this spirit. Commonly referred to as just Picon, it is a bitters that is made in France. It can be enjoyed by itself or in conjunction with many other cocktails. There are a few ways to get your hands on a bottle if you decide it's something that you want.
What Amer Picon Is
Amer Picon is a bitters that has a very herbal and orange flavor to it. It was originally produced as a 78 proof alcohol, however the House of Picon continues to lower the proof (and has been doing so since the 1970s). The current proof is somewhere around 35. The problem with this is that many old recipes that call for Picon is looking for the higher proofed alcohol and the newer version doesn't deliver the same results.
It is a bitter-sweet beverage that is most often served as an aperitif because of its bitters quality. It is a French spirit that is only produced in France. It is considered very rare because it is not known to be exported throughout the rest of the world very widely.
How to Get Amer Picon
Amer Picon is one of the more rare liqueurs that you will find in the world because the only place that it is produced is France and they don't make a habit of exporting it into the United States. There are a few Western European countries that are able to get it imported, however that doesn't help if you have no plans on crossing the pond anytime soon.
So, here are your choices:
- Look online
- Ask friends who are traveling
- Book a flight to France
Since Amer Picon is such a regional drink that can basically be enjoyed only in France, you will have to do a little digging to get your hands on a bottle of it. You can look online to some liquor stores that are based in Europe. You will probably pay a fortune for shipping and that's if you can find one that will ship Internationally. It will depend on how badly you want a bottle of Picon.
The only other way to get a bottle is to travel over to France or ask one of your friends that will be going over there to bring you back a bottle. It isn't an illegal product to have in the United States, it's just impossible to get. Therefore it is entirely legal to buy a bottle in France and bring it back in a suitcase (just make sure to wrap it really, really well). You may or may not have to pay duty on it depending upon how many bottles of liquor you plan on bringing back over with you. While this may not seem to be the easiest way to get yourself a bottle of Amer Picon, it is likely the only way to do it unless you can convince the House of Picon to import it more freely.
