At precisely 2am on 19th March 1863, François-Xavier de Beukelaer — a young Antwerp native trained in medicine and pharmacy — finalised a recipe he had been perfecting for years. That recipe would become Elixir d'Anvers, a herbal liqueur unlike anything Belgium had seen before.
De Beukelaer began producing his creation at Paardenmarkt in Antwerp, but demand soon outpaced his modest workshop. By 1870 he had established a proper distillery at Bredastraat, and by the 1890s the business had grown enough to commission architect Jules Hofman to design grand new premises in the Flemish neo-Renaissance style at Haantjeslei, in Antwerp's elegant Zuid quarter — buildings that still stand today.
International Recognition
International acclaim followed rapidly. The liqueur earned dozens of gold medals at exhibitions spanning four continents. A particularly notable honour came from Boulogne-sur-Mer, France, in 1887: a diploma bearing the signature of Louis Pasteur, the pioneering scientist.
The quality of Elixir d'Anvers was recognised not only at trade exhibitions but also by European royalty. The distillery received multiple royal warrants, cementing its reputation as a producer of exceptional quality.
A Family Legacy
When the company was formally incorporated in 1909, it was registered in the names of de Beukelaer's wife and their two sons, Emile and Louis-Xavier. The family tradition continued through the generations, with each steward maintaining the founder's commitment to the original recipe and artisanal methods.
Today, the distillery — Belgium's oldest continuously operating liqueur producer — is owned by the Nolet de Brauwere family, who continue to craft the liqueur using the same unchanged recipe. The production process still takes approximately five months, from maceration through distillation to maturation in oak casks.
Learn more about the founder in our dedicated page on F.X. de Beukelaer, or explore the cocktail recipes that showcase this historic spirit.