“Diable de Bitter”
Road Trips Foodies heading to Switzerland for skiing this winter may want to add a detour to their journey.
The Musée des Ormonts in the village of Vers-L’Eglise (map) has a fascinating exhibit through April 20, 2014, about Bitter des Diablerets, a plant-based liqueur.
Concocted in 1876 by François Leyvraz, it was produced in Aigle for a century, until a Geneva-based company took over production. The recipe is, of course, still secret — and it’s an official part of Swiss culinary heritage.
According to legend, the recipe is based on a blend of plants that miraculously saved some peasants from a rock fall that was caused by the Prince of Darkness himself throwing stones onto the Les Diablerets glacier.
The museum, founded in 2008, is dedicated to the history of the Vallée des Ormonts.