The distillery was founded in 1905 in Thouarcé, and specialized in the production of fruit spirits (brandy) and industrial alcohol (fuel ethanol and for the chemical industry).

However, over the course of the years, the distillery built a solid reputation for their Poire Williams eau-de-vie, made exclusively from fruit grown in the Loire Valley orchards.
Today, the distillery enjoys a membership of 1000 partners and plays an important role in local sustainable development. They take in and reprocess around 25,000 tonnes of grape marc and 1.5 million hectolitres of wine.