THE HOUSE OF PERNOD AND SONS
Spacious, solidly vaulted cellars occupy the floor under
the buildings. The central structure which houses the distillery forms on the ground floor a single room 22 meters by 20 by 4-1/2
meters high; the ceiling is supported on strong iron crossbars
supported by four cast iron columns.
The visitor is struck by the majestic aspect of this section,
where 26 large stills and 22 colorators capable of producing
twenty thousand liters of absinthe a day are symmetrically
arranged. Two steam generators supply the distillery; a third
supplies the turbine which is turned by the Doubs (river), in
case repairs are needed to the turbine or water is exceptionally
low. The nominal force of these three generators is 250
horsepower.
Atop the distillery is the storeroom where the plants and
seeds are measured out; using a carriage covered by a fabric
sleeve and traveling on rails, they are easily distributed to the
equipment. On the right and left sides of the storeroom are the
stores of anise and fennel.
As we said, distillation is done using double boilers
heated by steam. Through the years many modifications have
been made to the distilling equipment; these perfections, now
completed, make it possible to distill under the best conditions.
