Chartreuse Verte

Created in 1840, the "Liqueur de Santé" is the first liqueur made from the original recipe of the Elixir Végétal de la Grande Chartreuse. It was so popular that Father Garnier, attorney and responsible for the liqueurs at the time, later decided to officially name it 'Chartreuse Verte', and registered the “Chartreuse” mark in 1852. It is still produced and manufactured today by the Chartreux Fathers in their Aiguenoire distillery in Entre-Deux-Guiers (Isère - France).

'Chartreuse Verte' derives its unique character from its natural color, its power and its aromatic complexity from 130 plants, flowers, bark, roots and spices.

Its development requires several weeks of work and is done in various stages:
- Grinds made by the monks in the plant room at the Grande Chartreuse monastery.
- Distillation to obtain the aroma.
- Different types of maceration that extract the active ingredients from the plants and give the liquor its natural color.
It then ages for a long time in oak casks before being bottled, and continues to evolve and develop its complexity in the bottle.

As Chartreuse's popularity grew, production was moved from the monastery at La Grande Chartreuse to the Fourvoirie Distillery, which was unfortunately destroyed by a landslide in 1935. Since then Chartreuse has been manufactured in Voiron in France at a facility that boasts the longest liqueur cellar in the world. Some of the barrels here are over 100 years old, being salvaged from the original distillery at Fourvoirie.

Only two monks are privy to the secret recipe and they oversee a team of technicians responsible for production. The two brothers are solely responsible for ordering and blefiding the 130 natural botanicals at the monastery. Bags containing the blends are sent down the maintain to the technicians in the distillery.