Emerald Water

Since the 17th century there is the emerald water of the Benedictine nuns in Bouzy-la-Forêt, a universal remedy for mouth and skin care. One of the sisters had worked for a pharmacist. The latter, out of gratitude, arranged for her to enter a convent and entrusted her with the secret of making Eau d'Emeraude.
The main ingredients are honey, Spanish sage, rosemary and peppermint in alcoholic solution. You can use it as a mouthwash, as a shaving lotion, for poultices, as a massage lotion, as an additive to partial baths after exercise and on many other occasions. Emerald water does not contain artificial additives.

"Would you like to make a little visit to the studio of the sisters? First of all, you will see here the large barrels of honey (280 kg), the main raw material, as well as the plants: sage, mint, rosemary. All this together gives off a light, very pleasant scent. The honey is diluted with water in large vats, the plants are added and everything is left to ferment in a ventilated room at a constant temperature: here the sugar of the honey is transformed into alcohol and the plants develop their beneficial virtues. After about twelve days we go to a neighboring room, in the middle of which stands an alambic (distilling apparatus) in its copper shining splendor. This is where the distillation takes place. Starting from an alcohol content of 11%, a distillate of 50% is produced here. One distillation in the morning and one in the afternoon are framed by the hours of prayer and are interrupted by the welcome break of the common meal, accompanied by a reading. Let's go back to the studio: the emerald water is now stored for a certain time in stainless steel containers in a climate-controlled room. Afterwards, the sisters fill the beautiful emerald liquid into small bottles. This relatively simple step allows an atmosphere for silent prayer during this work. Now it's on to selling the emerald water: in our store, in other monasteries, in France and beyond."
Benedictine Sisters of Bouzy-la-Forêt