Lillet

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Lillet" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (December 2018) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

Lillet (French pronunciation: [li.lɛ]) 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.