Chartreuse

About

Chartreuse

Chartreuse is a popular herbal liqueur produced by French monks from a 400-year-old manuscript which containing the recipe, dating back to 1605. Both Green and Yellow Chartreuse use a secret blend of 130 herbs and plants. Only two monks know the identity, blending technique, and distillation process of these ingredients. They are also the only ones who know which plants they have to macerate to produce the natural green and yellow colors, and they alone also supervise the slow aging process in oak casks.

History

In 1605, the duc d’Éstrées entrusted the Carthusians with a manuscript containing a mysterious recipe composed of 130 plants which could be used to produce an “elixir of long life.” For over one and a half centuries, the Carthusians worked to perfect this recipe, which resulted, thanks to Brother Jérôme Maubec, in a final product established in 1764 called the “Élixir Végétal de la Grande-Chartreuse.” It was rapidly distributed to the local populations. Brother Charles was the first to sell it at the local markets, riding down from the monastery on a donkey. The recipe for the élixir has remained unchanged ever since 1764.