Is anyone here a fan of Chartreuse liqueur?

[Dover]

Historically known as the 'elixir of long life'.

I only learned about it last year (I'm not a drinker to begin with, so anything beyond an occasional glass of wine is a mystery). But I watched a film about the Carthusian monks at the Grande Chartreuse monastery high in the Chartreuse Mountains and there was a little special piece about the long history of the making of this liquor bearing their name, the secret recipe and the gathering of 130 herbs that go into it. In fact, it is used medicinally in France as well as enjoyed as a liqueur. Anyway, my curiosity got the better of me and I bought a bottle. To my surprise I LOVED it. It's a very complex flavor, but the anise (or licorice) spicy flavor seems the dominant one to me, though subtly so. It has a very high alcohol content so is only enjoyed on occasion, and then sipped slowly from a small chilled glass or over ice.

Anyhoo....someone recently told me that it has become a popular ingredient with some prominent chefs and I'm wondering if anyone has come across this either in a dining experience or in a recipe forum?
There are a few recipes at the first link which I intend to try.

If you also have not heard of it, here's a couple of websites:

Home page - http://www.chartreuse.fr/

Wikipedia - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chartreuse_(liqueur)


History -

According to tradition a marshal of artillery to French king Henri 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.<1> The recipe eventually reached the religious order's headquarters at the Grande Chartreuse monastery, in Voiron, near Grenoble. It has since then been used to produce the "Elixir Végétal de la Grande Chartreuse". The formula is said to call for 130 herbs, flowers, and secret ingredients combined in a wine alcohol base. The monks intended their liqueur to be used as medicine. 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 Green Chartreuse. In 1793 the monks were expelled from France, and manufacture of the liqueur ceased. Several years later they were allowed to return. In 1838 they developed Yellow Chartreuse, a sweeter, 40% alcoholic (80° proof) liqueur, colored with saffron.

The monks were again expelled from the monastery following a change in French law in 1903, and their real property, including the distillery, was confiscated by the government. The monks took their secret recipe to their refuge in Tarragona, Spain, and began producing their liqueurs with the same label, but with an additional label which said Liqueur fabriquée à Tarragone par les Pères Chartreux ("liquor manufactured in Tarragona by the Carthusian Fathers").

At the same time in Voiron a corporation owning the Chartreuse assets produced without benefit of the monks' recipe a liqueur which they sold as Chartreuse, but all attempts to reproduce real Chartreuse failed; sales were very poor, and by 1927 the production company was facing bankruptcy, and its shares became nearly worthless. 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.

After regaining possession of the distillery the Carthusian brothers returned to the monastery with the tacit approval of the French government, and began to produce Chartreuse once again. Despite the eviction law, when a mudslide destroyed the distillery in 1935 the French government assigned Army engineers to relocate and rebuild it at a location near Voiron where the monks had previously set up a distribution point. After World War II the government lifted the expulsion order, making the Carthusian brothers once again legal French residents.

Today the liqueurs are produced in Voiron using the herbal mixture prepared by three monks at the Grande Chartreuse. Other related alcoholic beverages are manufactured in the same distillery (e.g. Génépi). 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. It is said that no single person holds the entire recipe. Each monk is said to have knowledge of 1/3 of the ingredients used to make to liquor. The herb hyssop is one of the most obvious major constituents of the flavor.

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YouTube: The monastery
http://youtube.com/watch?v=d-LYCdQ8V78

Film Trailer: Into Great Silence
http://pop.youtube.com/watch?v=aClOJzUFIvs

[Warpy]

1. Back in the good old days before an Asian gene

expressed itself, giving me a red face and raging migraine with any intake of alcohol, I adored Chartreuse.

It is best sipped alone, with no food or mixture in the glass. It's an amazing experience, first the burn of the alcohol and then a cascade of a dozen different flavors, one after another. The longer you hold a sip on the tongue, the more flavors ensue, always different with each sip, never seemingly repeating.

Were I to learn I could drink alcohol one time before I died, Chartreuse would be what I would drink. Yes, it is that good.

[Dover]

2. I love your description.

It can inspire one to new heights of prose.

I'm so glad someone else knows the depth and beautiful herbal bouquette of this drink.
And though I don't have the broad experience for comparison, I think it's one of those taste
experiences where you just KNOW how unique and special it is.

So sorry it's off limits for you, but glad you got to enjoy and savor it. I can't imagine
why anyone might combine it with anything else, it's so complete in its formulation and
pure form.

I do hope to go to France someday and visit the distillary and the monastery. And of course illegally pack away some of the medicinal 140 proof Elixir Végétal de la Grande-Chartreuse
which is obviously not available in this country. I'm not sure what other difference there is between that and the regular 'green' chartreuse available in the U.S. other than the alcohol content.