Chartreuse
I first fell in love with Chartreuse just a
couple of months ago. I now enjoy a very small cordial after each
rich meal. There’s really nothing like Chartreuse. Find the
geekiest wine and spirits lover and challenge them to identify
flavors within this alluring elixir, and they’ll be stumped.
At any given time, only two Carthusian monks—of the contemplative order of
monks that reside alongside the Chartreuse Mountains of France, in the ancient
Chartreuse Monastery—know one portion of the secret,
trade-protected recipe. When one of these monks dies, another is
left to carry on the tradition but is, again, given only one
portion of the recipe. These monks have been making Charteuse from
the same recipe since 1605, and though they give credit to unnamed
plants for this drink’s beauty, it is also widely believed that
other unnamed, secret ingredients comprise this sublime
beverage.
Chartreuse is made of 130 plants, using a base of wine alcohol.
They are macerated and distilled into a liqueur. The ingredients
include only naturally occurring sugars, the inherent attributes of
130 different plants, and chlorophyll, which occurs naturally, and
gives this drink its hypnotic color. In fact, everyone’s favorite
flourescent color, chartreuse, was named for the beverage. Although
it can also be yellow, the most popular form of Chartreuse is
green. This sexy, heady beverage is a beverage of temperance. Like
the racier and more unpredictable Absinthe, Chartreuse is best
enjoyed in small, measured sips. The effects on the palate and
being though, when enjoyed gradually and reasonably, can be quiet
electric.
Alcohol content: 55% (110 Proof in U.S.)
Availability: www.chartreuse.fr and in select fine spirits
retailers.
Recommended: Serve 1 or 2 ounces on ice as the perfect after
dinner cordial or digestivo. There are numerous cocktails that have
been created using this strong, yet elusively delicate liqueur. I
think it’s a shame to hide the mysterious flavors so abundant is
this green siren. It’s best consumed on its own.