Damassine

Damassine is a clear, fruit spirit, distilled from the red damson plum, produced exclusively in the Swiss Republic and Canton of Jura following appellation d'origine protégée guidelines that require specific sourcing and production practices. Damassine is also considered an eau de vie (water of life), more specifically an eau de vie de prunes, and is commonly referred to as a fruit brandy contrary to the regulation defining it as a fruit spirit. The production of Damassine in the Canton of Jura is an age old tradition however, due to a lack of historical documentation, no one really knows how the red damson plum arrived in the Jurassic region or how the practice of distilling the fruit began there. The true story, being lost to history, has been replaced by romantic legend and speculation. One legend says that the red damson plum was brought back by the knights that left for the 2nd crusade in 1129 with Saint-Bernard de Clervaux. Another story has it that a former parish priest named François Guenat, from Charmoille, brought the seeds back with him from a trip to Palestine in 1145. Still another legend attributes the importation of the red damson to the Duke of Anjou who is believed to have discovered it in Jerusalem circa 1220 during the 5th crusade. Regardless of when the red damson arrived in the Canton of Jura and how the practice of distillation began, one thing is certain, the name Damassine is derived from Damascus, the Capital city of Syria.

Source: Wikipedia