What's The Benefit Of Dom Benedictine?

Benedictine is an alcoholic herbal liqueur drink that is brewed in France. It is said to be made with 27 different herbs and spices but the actual recipe is a closely guarded secret and only 3 brewers at a time are given access to the true ingredients list. For this reason, Benedictine is very difficult to replicate as a drink and has never been done effectively. The DOM on the bottle stands for 'Deo Optimo Maximo' which is a Latin phrase meaning 'To God most good, most great' or 'to the greatest and best God'.

• Medicinal benefits of Benedictine

When the drink was first brewed by monks in France in the 19th century it was to be used as a medicine to treat internal ailments such as coughs and fevers. The alcohol in the drink made it very popular and when its medicinal properties were dismissed the drink was still used as a sweet beverage. There is not really any proven medicinal benefit of the drink. On the contrary, alcohol is thought to be harmful to the body in large quantities. Alcohol is still used today as an anti-bacterial sanitizer, but a much higher volume of alcohol would need to be present in Benedictine for it be used effectively for this purpose.

• The benefits of Benedictine

Alcohol is not needed to live, nor does its consumption have a particular medical benefit so the enjoyment of the drink as a luxury serves as its sole purpose. It should be drunk responsibly as large quantities can be harmful for the body and alcohol can be addictive.