Paul Ricard

This article or the following section is not adequately provided with supporting documents ( e.g. individual evidence ). Information without sufficient evidence could be removed soon. Please help Wikipedia by researching the information and including good evidence.

Paul Ricard (born July 9, 1909 in Marseille ; † November 7, 1997 ) was a French entrepreneur and founder of the company of the same name, which merged with its competitor Pernod in 1975 . From this merger, the Pastis group Pernod Ricard emerged.

Life

The son of a wine merchant showed an early interest in the visual and performing arts , primarily painting and the theater . As a teenager, he began to experiment with an alambic in a small laboratory improvised in his father's house to find a recipe for making pastis , the typical aniseed spirit in southern France . After the production and sale of high-percentage absinthe on 16 March 1915, the pressure of the wine producers and the assertion that its consumption would rapidly for delirium tremens lead to a state of mental derangement put and was the origin of criminal acts had been prohibited by law, Several companies produced the so-called “aniseed liqueur”, which was released for sale from 1922, under the name “Pastis” and the brand names “La Cressonnée”, “Tommysette”, “Amourette”, “Berger” and Pernod . In terms of its aroma, however, it lagged far behind the intensity of absinthe, which prompted the young Ricard to start his experiments with the declared aim of making his pastis the most popular drink of this type, and most appreciated by consumers. When it came to the dosage, he paid particular attention to the typical aniseed taste, which he achieved with carefully selected ingredients , mainly aniseed and fennel and the addition of liquorice .

When the sale of 40 percent aniseed drinks was permitted by decree on April 7, 1932, Paul Ricard was able to set up his own company with his long-developed original recipe. The ambitious self-made man who had to prevail in Marseille against strong competition, pulled himself through the bistros and cafes to the fashion of the long drink - aperitifs to launch and the typical, self-designed, yellow water vessel distribute its spout the ice holding back. He also drew the templates for the advertising space on the company's own delivery truck.

In the first eight months Ricard managed to sell 250,000 bottles in Marseille alone. In 1936 he conquered Lyon and - after an increase in the alcohol content of the pastis to 45% was approved by decree in 1938 - the capital Paris in 1938 . In the same year he launched his brand in Spain , Italy and North Africa .

In 1970 Paul Ricard had the Circuit Paul Ricard built in Provence , a racetrack on which the Formula 1 Grand Prix was held 16 times between 1971 and 1990 and again since 2018.

Ricard was married. His son Patrick Ricard (1945–2012) followed him in the company successor at Pernod Ricard.