Lillet () is a French wine-based aperitif from Podensac. Classed as an aromatised wine within EU law, it is a blend of 85% Bordeaux region wines (Semillon for the Blanc and for the Rosé, Merlot for the Rouge) and 15% macerated liqueurs, mostly citrus liqueurs (peels of sweet oranges from Spain and Morocco and peels of bitter green oranges from Haiti). The mix is then stirred in oak vats until blended. During the aging process, Lillet is handled as a Bordeaux wine (undergoing fining, racking, filtering, etc.). In the original Kina Lillet formulation (so named with respect to its status as a quinquina), quinine liqueur made of cinchona bark from Peru was included among its ingredients. "Lillet" belongs to a family of aperitifs known as tonic wines because of the addition of quinine. Varieties Kina Lillet (1887–1986): A liqueur made with white wine mixed with fruit liqueurs and flavored with quinine. The "Kina" in its name is derived from quinine's main ingredient: the bark of the kina-kina (or cinchona) tree. Lillet Dry (1920–?): A drier formula created for the British market. Some consider it the Kina Lillet mentioned by Ian Fleming's character James Bond when he created the Vesper Martini. Lillet Rouge (1962–present): A red-wine-based liqueur first suggested by the American wine merchant and importer Michael Dreyfus, one of the first to import Lillet into the US Lillet Blanc (1986–present): A sweeter variant of the white-wine-based version with reduced quinine content. It replaced Kina Lillet. Lillet Rosé (2011–present): A rosé-wine-based liqueur. History In 1872, the brothers Paul and Raymond Lillet, distillers and merchants of wines and spirits, founded their company La Maison Lillet in Podensac, south of Bordeaux, France. The idea of making aperitifs in Bordeaux came from Father Kermann, a doctor who left Brazil at the beginning of Louis XVI's reign. Back in France, he settled in Bordeaux, where he produced liqueurs and fortifiers from plants such as quinine. During that time, Bordeaux became one of the most important places for the European wine business. It was also France's main harbour for products imported from the Caribbean islands. At the end of the 19th century, people developed a great fear of illness as a consequence of the discoveries made by Louis Pasteur (1822–1895). Nevertheless, "Wine", Pasteur said, "can be considered with good reason as the most healthful and the most hygienic of all beverages". As a result, tonic wines