Французский травяной ликёр Chartreuse: История и производство

French liqueur brand

Chartreuse (/US//audio=En us chartreuse. ogg//ʃ//ɑr/'/t//r//uː//z//, // /'/t//r//uː//s/, /UK// /'/t//r//ɜː//z/, ʃaʁtʁøz) is a French herbal liqueur available in green and yellow versions that differ in taste and alcohol content. The liqueur has been made by Carthusian monks since 1737 according to instructions set out in a manuscript given to them by François Annibal d'Estrées in 1605. It was named after the monks' Grande Chartreuse monastery, located in the Chartreuse Mountains north of Grenoble. Today the liqueur is produced in their distillery in nearby Aiguenoire. It is composed of distilled alcohol aged with 130 herbs, plants and flowers.

According to tradition, a marshal of artillery to French king Henry IV, François Hannibal d'Estrées, presented the Carthusian monks at Vauvert, near Paris, with an alchemical manuscript that contained a recipe for an "elixir of long life" in 1605. The recipe eventually reached the religious order's headquarters at the Grande Chartreuse monastery, north of Grenoble. The formula is said to include 130 herbs, plants and flowers and secret ingredients combined in a wine alcohol base. The recipe was further enhanced in 1737 by Brother Gérome Maubec. The beverage soon became popular, and in 1764 the monks adapted the elixir recipe to make what is now called the "Elixir Végétal de la Grande Chartreuse". One dispute was litigated in the United States, in which the monks won a lawsuit defending their trademark in Baglin v. Cusenier. Sales at the French company were very poor, and by 1929, it faced bankruptcy. A group of local businessmen in Voiron bought all the shares at a low price and sent them as a gift to the monks in Tarragona. In 2017 the distillery moved from Voiron to nearby Aiguenoire due to safety concerns.

The book The Practical Hotel Steward (1900) states that Green Chartreuse contains "cinnamon, mace, lemon balm, dried hyssop flower tops, peppermint, thyme, costmary, arnica flowers, genepi, and angelica roots", and that yellow chartreuse is "similar to above, adding cardamom seeds and socctrine aloes." The monks intended their liqueur to be used as medicine. The exact recipes for all forms of Chartreuse remain trade secrets and are known at any given time only to the three monks who prepare the herbal mixture. The only formally known element of the recipe is that it uses 130 different plants. Chartreuse is commonly used as an ingredient in cocktails, such as a Cloister and Last Word.

Green Chartreuse (110 proof or 55% ABV) is a naturally green liqueur made from 130 herbs and other plants macerated in alcohol and steeped for about eight hours. A last maceration of plants gives its color to the liqueur.) has a milder and sweeter flavor and aroma than Green Chartreuse, and is lower in alcohol content. meaning "exceptionally prolonged aging". It is made using the same processes and the same secret formula as the traditional liqueur, and by extra long aging in oak casks it reaches an exceptional quality. Chartreuse VEP comes in both yellow and green.

Chartreuse has a very strong characteristic taste. It is very sweet, but becomes both spicy and pungent. It is comparable to other herbal liqueurs such as Galliano, Liquore Strega or Kräuterlikör, though it is distinctively more vegetal, or herbaceous. Like other liqueurs, its flavor is sensitive to serving temperature. If straight, it can be served very cold, but is often served at room temperature. It is also featured in some cocktails. Some mixed drink recipes call for only a few drops of Chartreuse due to its strong flavor. It is popular in French ski resorts where it is mixed with hot chocolate and called verte chaud, translating to "hot green". Chartreuse is one of a handful of liqueurs that continue to age and improve in the bottle.

Chartreuse liqueurs generally have performed well at international spirit ratings competitions. The basic green offering has won silver and double gold medals from the San Francisco World Spirits Competition. It has also earned an above average score of 93 from the Beverage Testing Institute and has been given scores in the 96 100 interval by Wine Enthusiast. The VEP Green and VEP Yellow have generally earned similarly impressive scores. The basic Yellow Chartreuse has received more modest (though still average or above) ratings.

Chartreuse gives its name to the color chartreuse, which was first used as a term of color in 1884. Chartreuse yellow is a color originally named "chartreuse" in 1892 after Yellow Chartreuse liqueur, but since 1987 it has been called "chartreuse yellow" to avoid confusion with the green version of chartreuse.