We look at the history and mystique which surrounds this little known cousin of the deadly Absinthe.
The order of the Benedictine monks of La Grande Chartreuse was founded by Abbot Bruno in 1084, in the beautiful monastery which can still be found in the Massif Centrale in France. The Benedictines were the only mediaeval monastic order not to be slaves to austerity, and the relative ease of their lives enabled them to become great metal workers and helped to bring fame to the region. Even today, it is frequently visited for its history and natural serenity.
But it is their later developments in the liqueur stakes that has made their name legendary. The official history of Green and Yellow Chartreuse begins in 1605, with the registering of a business on the monastery site, but the origins of these mysterious twin elixirs can be traced back another century at least.
An unknown alchemist of the 16th century first concocted the seductive brew, and it is rumoured that the essences of around 130 different plants were used in the distilling process of the drink. Having established the compound, work was transferred to the monastery in Chartreuse, thereby enabling the recipe to remain a closely guarded secret. Even today, it is said that only three monks at the monastery know the secret recipe; each one of them knowing one third of the herbs and spices used to create it. So even if you could track down one of them, his information would only give you a starting point, and you'd have to find the other two to discover the full recipe!
This secret was kept within the monastery walls until the foundation of the Chartreuse liqueur label in Paris in 1605. This followed a seemingly fortuitous accident when one of the most brilliant minds of contemporary French noble society, the Maréchal d'Éstrée, discovered the old alchemist's manuscript with the recipe for Green Chartreuse. Curiously, the manuscript was entitled 'An Elixir for Long Life'. This suggestion of the alchemists' legendary quest for immortality via the Philosopher's Stone intrigued the Maréchal and piqued his interest, so he investigated further.
Over a century later, in 1737, Jerome Maubec, an apothecary monk at the Chartreuse monastery, refined the recipe of the liqueur to create what he called 'the vegetable elixir of la Grande Chartreuse', which was 71% proof. This was the originally marketed Green Chartreuse. Quickly a gentler version (only 55% proof!) was developed – Yellow Chartreuse. Considering the drink to be a restorative of good health, Maubec administered it to those monks who were sick or frail. This medical usage soon extended beyond the monastery walls to the poor villagers who also wanted to share in the liqueur's magickal properties.
Its reputation as a medicine was augmented even as late as the 19th century when it was widely used as a treatment in the cholera epidemic that swept Paris in 1832. It is even reputed that the explorer Livingstone took the drink into Africa as a solution to the many diseases rife in the jungles.
Today Chartreuse is no longer produced at the monastery where it found fame. During the 18th century, when coal and fossil fuels replaced the old wood burning fires, production of the drink was moved to a purpose-built brewing station on the estates of the Maréchal d'Éstrée. Today this site receives over 200,000 visitors a year, who see video presentations of the history of the estate and the liqueur, are shown around the distillery, and can witness the processes of refining the drink. However, the secret of its recipe has never been divulged.
With this kind of reputation and mystery behind it, Green Chartreuse in particular has never really been out of fashion, if not as widely known or experimented with as its deadly cousin Absinthe. Today's modern Pernod, Ouzo and Pastis all share some degree of heritage to the legendary Chartreuse, though none of them has quite the same kick. The strong taste works well on its own as a digestive drink, or served over ice or mixed with lemonade as a refreshingly unusual cooler in summer. It should always be drunk in moderation of course. It may not share Absinthe's lethal capabilities, but it is still powerfully alcoholic (the Green today is 55% and the Yellow 45%). It is easy to get roaring drunk on Chartreuse, but it is best appreciated in small doses. Popularised by the vampires in Poppy Z Brite's novel 'Lost Souls', it is curious to note that this strange drink (which in fact hails from Lestat's homeland, the Auvergne) has long been associated with long life, health and the quest for immortality.
It may not be cheap, but there are bars around which stock it, and it's worth hunting one out. The taste is not suited to everyone's palate, but if you can enjoy it you may content yourself with the thought that you are walking in the footsteps of wily alchemists, innovative monks, and noble intellectuals. If they all believed it was the essence of long life, health and even immortality, perhaps it is the one tipple which should be an essential for any good time vamp.
Home
Back to Issue Listing
Back to Literary Header
Next