Cristal Limiñana, sunshine in your glass all year round!

A 100% family-ownedcompany – 100% Marseille-based.

At the end of the 19th century, and, a serious economic crisis was raging in Spain, pushing many Spaniards to leave and seek their fortune across the world. Pascual and Manuel Limiñana crossed the Mediterranean from Alicante to Algiers, where a cousin that was already established  there made them work in his bar.

Many Spaniards frequented the Limiñana bar. They were asking for paloma, the aniseed drink from their native Spain! The Limiñana brothers then began to make this by buying aniseed flowers and they called it Cristal Anis. The success was immediate and the adventure officially began in 1884 in Algiers. After Pascual’s return to Spain and Manuel’s death, Manuel Jr. found himself at the head of Cristal Limiñana. Passionate about pétanque (French game with boules), he sponsored many tournaments in Algeria, then in Marseille.

Manuel had a sense of communication that many would envy today. Many posters featured situations from the Spanish culture and folklore: the musician of a student pimp serenading a lover on the balcony, a gypsy woman toasting with her glass of anisette… The vision often refers to the three communities that rubbed shoulders in Algeria: the symbols displayed on the label of the Cristal Anis, the advertising calendars mentioning the Muslim, Hebrew and European holidays, the Pasha, the main figure in the Arab world.

Since 1962, the factory has been located in Marseille. Manuel Limiñana bought back the Mediterranean distillery and the Saint-Jean-du-Désert earthenware factories there. Cristal Anis is still the flagship product: easily recognizable by its hexagonal bottle and orange label that evokes a parchment, it remains the favourite drink of many connoisseurs. Some of our other drinks are bottled in a hexagonal bottle (Pacha Mint, Pink Crystal, Blue Crystal, Blue Crystal, Vodka Crystal, Crystal 100…) and all are packaged at our Marseille factory, the only place of production at the moment. Located within the walled city of Marseille, it is one of the last to manufacture pastis (aperitif) from Marseille… in Marseille! The building looks like a boat, a symbol of the Limiñana family’s Mediterranean adventure. Today, Noëlle Vasserot Limiñana, Manuel’s daughter, is at the head of the company, assisted by her daughter Maristella. Our core business remains aniseed, but we have expanded our range and you will find a wide range of aperitifs and digestive drinks. If you would like to visit our factory and learn more about the Limiñana family, you can make an appointment.

You can also come and visit our factory store.