The Cocktail College Podcast: Picon Bière

In the 1830s, French soldier Gaétan Picon was stationed in Algeria when he crafted his namesake liqueur — an intensely bitter, herbal, and orange-forward spirit meant to fight off fevers. Back home, locals soon discovered that a dash of Amer Picon in their beer transformed an ordinary pint into something extraordinary. And so, the Picon Bière was born.

In the nearly 200 years since, the drink has remained relatively consistent but Amer Picon isn’t the same as it used to be. The recipe has been tweaked. The alcohol content has dropped. And outside France, it’s nearly impossible to find, making this a decidedly lesser-known combo. But luckily for us, our guest today has plenty of suggestions for recreating this drink with or without Amer Picon.

That guest is Jay Zimmerman, longtime bar owner and bartender at Bar Ba’sik, which sadly recently closed, and sales manager at Good Time Brewing Co. We’ll be talking about beers, amari that don’t require a transatlantic voyage to acquire, and even an approach to making the Picon Bière that doesn’t include alcohol at all. It’s all right here on the “Cocktail College” podcast. Tune in for more.