Brother Jean-Jacques, one of the two monks who knows Chartreuse’s secret recipe
Brother Jean-Jacques, one of the two monks who knows Chartreuse’s secret recipe.
(Image credit: Jean-Pierre Clatot / AFP via Getty Images)

During a recent trip to my local wine merchant, a vintage bottle of Chartreuse caught my eye – as did the price tag: US$4,295. This once-obscure French liqueur is having a moment with collectors and bartenders alike.

Crafted in the French Alps by silent Carthusian monks, the spirit’s origin dates to an alchemical recipe for an ‘elixir of long life’ given by Duke François-Annibal d’Estrées to the head of the Carthusian order in 1605. The monks used their knowledge of medicinal plants to fine tune the recipe, which they produced at their headquarters in the Monastery of the Grande Chartreuse outside Grenoble in eastern France. It’s still produced by lay brothers attached to the order, each of whom works on a small part of the elixir; the complete recipe of 130 plant products is known only to two monks.

In fact, there are several types of Chartreuse, the two main ones being green, which is 55% abv and has a pronounced herbal aroma and flavour; and yellow, which is 40% or 43% abv, and has a softer aroma with an edge of honey. Since 1963, the monks have also produced a version of each that’s aged for a longer period, known by the French acronym VEP (Vieillissement Exceptionnellement Prolongé).

Colourful history

Production is now limited by the monks to 1.6 million bottles, although they once sold almost twice this amount. Faced with growing popularity, the monks issued a letter announcing they were setting a limit to allow them to focus on their monastic life, solitude and prayer, and to reduce the environmental impact of production.

The monks were expelled from France in 1903 and relocated the distilling operations from their original base to Tarragona in northern Spain, where production continued until 1989.

The monks returned to the Chartreuse mountains in 1940, having earlier established a new distillery in their ageing cellar in Voiron. This site was used until 2017; some of the liqueur is still aged in Voiron, which has re-opened as a visitor centre. Chartreuse is now produced at a modern facility in Aiguenoire, not far from the monastery.

Bottles of Chartreuse from these different periods can sell for eyewatering sums. At a recent sale at US-based auction house Zachys, a bottle of Yellow Chartreuse from the Tarragona period sold for $11,875.

Perhaps the best way to experience Chartreuse is in a cocktail; the eminently drinkable creation The Last Word is ironically named, given the spirit is distilled by monks who’ve taken a vow of silence.

The Last Word

The Last Word cocktail

(Image credit: Alp Aksoy / Shutterstock)

Ingredients: 25ml Green Chartreuse, 25ml London dry gin, 25ml Maraschino liqueur, 25ml fresh lime juice

Glass: Coupe

Garnish: Maraschino cherry

Method: Put all of the ingredients in a shaker with ice. Shake well and strain into a chilled coupe.

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