Joseph Grattau, a botanist, bought the recipe in the late 19th century for a traditional Basque liqueur dating back at least to 1835. He renamed it Izarra (Basque for "the star") and began selling it from 1904 onwards. He acquired the present production site at Quai Bergeret 9 in Bayonne in 1913. Izarra has been owned by Remy Cointreau since the early 1980s.

There are two varieties of Izarra:
In the 1930 ies Izarra became popular in France and other countries, such as the USA, Argentina, Spain, Belgium, Hollande, Great Britain, Italy, Canada and Sweden.
The recipe is kept secret, in the formula the Pyrenean herbs are used, as well as different spices ( nutmug, coriander, vanilla, cardamon).

• Yellow Izarra (Izarra Jaune in French) is made with 13 herbs with a predominantly almond taste and is 40 proof.
• Green Izarra ( Izarra Vert in French) is made with 16 herbs and has a peppermint taste and is at 40 proof.

Pyrenean herbs and other flavourings are used in a fifteen-month process to produce the liqueur. Four different liquids are produced: alcohol distilled with herbal flavorings; a liquid resulting from the soaking of prunes and walnut shells in armagnac; syrup of sugar and local acacia honey; and a colouring infusion of saffron for the yellow and several plants for the green variety. The liqueur matures for six months in barrels before it is bottled.
Izarra is drunk on its own, on ice or in cocktails, frequently with gin. It can be found in chocolates and desserts. Izarra vert has a fresh taste and a rich bouquet.

One of the famous coctails which is made with green Izarra is called “ Khrushchev” in order to commemorate the visit of Nikita Khrushchev to Pau in France during the Cold War in 1960.