This qualitative study aims to highlight the functions enacted by connoisseurs in both the initiation of recognition and the preservation of authenticity in traditional gastronomic product ranges. More specifically, we focus on the context of gastronomic and Bacchic brotherhoods. To do this, twenty semi-structured interviews were conducted with members of these communities of connoisseurs, supplemented with a set of secondary data. Four functions enacted by these communities of connoisseurs are identified: (1) the construction of connoisseurship, which helps initiate the recognition of the product’s singular authenticity; (2) sacralization, which helps reinforce and preserve the recognition of authenticity; (3) democratization, which consists of passing on the connoisseurship to a neophyte public; and (4) authentication, which ensures the product’s “genuine” character. Managerial implications aimed at overcoming the barriers to the commodification of traditional products are then discussed.