Chartreuse is a bit weird in that it's a kind of joint partnership between an isolationist monastery [1] and a liquor producer/distributor.
I lived near Voiron and did the obligatory tour of the production facility (I already liked the liquor thanks to a friend (hey Iv!), and the place smelled delicious!) They do a good job maintaining the mystique of the Secret Recipe Known Only By A Handful™, which I suppose the monks tolerate and maintain to ensure the steady revenue stream. As one story goes, they were the "first internationally distributed" liquor when the French Foreign Legion loved the stuff and decided to always have some on their campaigns.
The Carthusian monks are an isolationist order, with intentionally limited contact with the outside, which dovetails well with Chartreuse mystique. There was a 2005 documentary, Into Great Silence [2], about life inside the monastery, whose filming was granted 18 years after it was first requested!
I'm sure Quentin Tarantino already has a good supply of the liquor ;)
If you're ever around the Alpes, try and find some genepi [3] liquor (not to be confused with absinthe! Made from same genus, different species,) which you'll find is 70% of the flavour of Chartreuse!
Ah, Buckfast gets ya fucked fast. I remember splitting a bottle with friends on a few occasions when doing a semester abroad in Ireland. Even then we didn't particularly like it, but it was a cheap buzz when we were young and less discriminating.
While looking to see if Buckfast was explicitly banned from import, I did a Google search for '"buckfast tonic" site:gov' giving two hits, one of which was a cardiology report about a 16 year old who'd reported to the ER after drinking it mixed with Red Bull. Yikes.
I'm not an expert, but I think it's different in that Buckfast is licensed to big commercial distributors but Chartreuse production is quite restricted - hence the current situation. It sounds like this monastery doesn't want to industrialize production in the same way.
Yes, the Dolin génépi is good, I really like it. It is no chartreuse, though. The closest I have seen to a mystic revelation is when I had a glass of green VEP (that’s the aged chartreuse; the one I tried was from the 1940s). It’s a life-changing experience.
Maybe the lack of chartreuse will help selling Bénédictine and génépi. I need to find new cocktails, though, I quite enjoy a Last Word.
Could anyone on HN give some insight as to what these 130 might be? to my knowledge, we don't even have 130 edible spices/plants growing naturally in France!
Of course there are more than that. Look at any comprehensive guide book on edible/foreageable plants and you'll definitely find more than a couple hundreds. For example, the plants for a future database (https://pfaf.org/user/Default.aspx) lists thousands of edible plants that grow in temperate climates. Many plants are edible if only for some parts and many are not particularly tasty and/or need some preparation.
> we don't even have 130 edible spices/plants growing naturally in France!
I counted 44 here*, but that’s only because I stopped just before the letter B. There are loads of edible and medicinal plants in France, as in much of the world.
Living in Grenoble (25km away from Voiron where the Chartreuse is made), I welcome this decision.
I'd hate to see Chartreuse (also the name of the local mountain range where the monks' monastery is based) become industrialized to the point where its authenticity is lost, for the sake of global market supremacy.
For an alternative, try Genepi. It's not a brand name, but another type of artisanal liquor made out of a cocktail of mountain plants and herbs. Taste can be lighter than Chartreuse, but it warms you up just as well after a day of skiing.
Genepi production is pretty limited itself because of the heavy restrictions on the plant harvest, espacially since it grows mainly in the Alps. And the Mercantour rangers are not tolerant of people picking more than their share.
As someone who didn't like genepi, I found Verveine du Velay interesting. Perhaps it's less rare herbs, still nice green color, less complex.
I also hope the security conference in Grenoble will secure it's supply of Chartreuse (you get a small 50cl bottle in the welcome package for as long as I remember)
Not at all. In fact, like pastis genepi is a "generic" name, you can get it from any number of companies, and even make your own: the name comes directly from the Artemisia it's macerated from (Artemisia genipi).
The recipe is simple enough too: 40 strands, 40 days in 40º, 40 sugar (cubes), for a liter.
Though in modern recipes it's usually macerated in pure neutral alcohol which is then diluted to 2x, and the sugar is usually ~halved (but to taste): ~300g sugar per liter is a lot, the goal of the sugar is to mellow the genepi so 100~150g is usually sufficient.
Interesting. I live in Tarragona, the Spanish city mentioned in the article where Chartreuse was produced for a period of time. This left a profound mark in the city and nowadays Chartreuse is closely associated with the town celebrations, specially the main annual festival, Santa Tecla. The traditional drink for this festival is called "mamadeta" (which has clear innuendo in Catalan that I'll let you figure out), which is 1 part green Chartreuse and 2 parts yellow Chartreuse mixed with lemon granita ("granissat de llimona"). It is a bit pricier than the standard glass of beer but definitely affordable to pretty much everybody, including young people, so it was a bit shocking to see the prices listed in the article.
I wonder how the reduced production will affect its consumption or even its presence in the celebrations going forward.
Hey! We spend a ton of time in La Pineda/Vila-seca and I've never met another tech person there. Ping me, would love to get together with another HN member.
Artificially limiting production on a secret recipe liqueur is a great tactic for turning what could be a commodity into more like a Veblen good. The opposite has happened to Campari, where you can now buy a ton of different red-hued craft aperitivo with similar flavor profiles.
Alas, the Last Word was mentioned in passing, just not especially favorably:
> It’s honestly inspiring that the monks refuse to see their earthly purpose as satisfying the demands of some knucklehead mixologist doing his little riff on the Last Word at some lame speakeasy in some third-tier city.
Which is a shame, because it is a fantastic cocktail.
I'm quite amazed by the concentration of ugly opinions the author managed to squeeze into one relatively short sentence! I thought cocktails were meant to be fun, that they were meant to be riffed on and explored. I guess if you're from a "third rate" city that doesn't apply.
They're a bit of a cliche, they're too sweet, and they have sort of a reputation as a quick way to get your date drunk. It's a gateway cocktail that's dead easy to make, so dissing on them is also a way to be snooty.
If you're sad about Last Words getting expensive, just switch to Paper Airplanes.
A friend working at Campari told me their strategy is to cut off supermarkets for a couple of years to focus on bar and restaurants, before an increase in pricing and a comeback in a couple of years.
They honestly need to try tweaking the recipe too if they want to move upmarket again. To me the amount of sugar in Campari seems high compared to other aperitivo and amaro.
I had the most fantastic mezcal Last Word at Ginbo in Palma de Mallorca last week. Simply splendid.
(Strangely, ChatGPT suggested a mezcal Last Word variation, dubbing it "The First Word", with a slightly different composition than Ginbo did: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nPMEozP8vvY)
And someone who, in response to a decision made by the monks for ecological reasons, chose to take his car and drive dozens of unnecessary miles just to grab all the bottles he could find and keep them to himself. Sounds to me like he should indeed recognize a knuckle head when he sees one.
'When the cocktail first appeared on the menu at the Black Pearl in Melbourne, Australia, in 2010, no ingredients were listed. And if you asked what was in the drink, the bartender would not tell you. The only thing offering the customer a hint as to what they were getting into was the ominous description: “You don’t wanna meet this cocktail in a dark alley.”'
Fascinating fact: one of the 5 people who know the secret Chartreuse formula is a parish priest at the Church of Notre Dame in upper Manhattan, Fr. Michael K. Holleran.
'When he departed the site in 1990, he became the only living outsider to know the liqueur’s ancient formula. “It’s safe with me,” he said. “Oddly enough, they didn’t make me sign anything when I left.”'
Chartreuse is an incredible liqueur with an incredible story. See NYTimes' "An Elixir From The French Alps, Frozen in Time" [1]. I see chartreuse's story as an inspiration for craftspeople: great workspace, integration with more abstract values, emphasis on quality, reflecting the landscape.
Readit News
I lived near Voiron and did the obligatory tour of the production facility (I already liked the liquor thanks to a friend (hey Iv!), and the place smelled delicious!) They do a good job maintaining the mystique of the Secret Recipe Known Only By A Handful™, which I suppose the monks tolerate and maintain to ensure the steady revenue stream. As one story goes, they were the "first internationally distributed" liquor when the French Foreign Legion loved the stuff and decided to always have some on their campaigns.
The Carthusian monks are an isolationist order, with intentionally limited contact with the outside, which dovetails well with Chartreuse mystique. There was a 2005 documentary, Into Great Silence [2], about life inside the monastery, whose filming was granted 18 years after it was first requested!
I'm sure Quentin Tarantino already has a good supply of the liquor ;)
If you're ever around the Alpes, try and find some genepi [3] liquor (not to be confused with absinthe! Made from same genus, different species,) which you'll find is 70% of the flavour of Chartreuse!
(dang, I miss Grenoble)
[1] https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grande_Chartreuse
[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Into_Great_Silence
[3] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/G%C3%A9n%C3%A9pi
And it has been much maligned, linked with many alcohol related crimes, particularly in Scotland.
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buckfast_Tonic_Wine
[2] https://www.thescottishsun.co.uk/news/scottish-news/7702950/...
I truly think it ought to be taxed heavily to repay the costs that society bares for it's existence.
https://alpenz.com/product-genepy.html
Maybe the lack of chartreuse will help selling Bénédictine and génépi. I need to find new cocktails, though, I quite enjoy a Last Word.
Edit: To answer the question of the composition, the dominant taste comes from Tanacetum balsamita (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tanacetum_balsamita).
I counted 44 here*, but that’s only because I stopped just before the letter B. There are loads of edible and medicinal plants in France, as in much of the world.
* https://fr.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liste_de_plantes_médicinales...
I'd hate to see Chartreuse (also the name of the local mountain range where the monks' monastery is based) become industrialized to the point where its authenticity is lost, for the sake of global market supremacy.
For an alternative, try Genepi. It's not a brand name, but another type of artisanal liquor made out of a cocktail of mountain plants and herbs. Taste can be lighter than Chartreuse, but it warms you up just as well after a day of skiing.
Source, I live there.
I also hope the security conference in Grenoble will secure it's supply of Chartreuse (you get a small 50cl bottle in the welcome package for as long as I remember)
Chartreuse shots were provided at the end of SnowCamp [1] a few weeks ago, though I missed my chance for talking too long with one of the speakers..
[1] https://snowcamp.io/
The recipe is simple enough too: 40 strands, 40 days in 40º, 40 sugar (cubes), for a liter.
Though in modern recipes it's usually macerated in pure neutral alcohol which is then diluted to 2x, and the sugar is usually ~halved (but to taste): ~300g sugar per liter is a lot, the goal of the sugar is to mellow the genepi so 100~150g is usually sufficient.
*Edit: spelling
The article missed out on mentioning the best Chartreuse-based cocktail though: The Last Word. It’s absolutely sublime. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Last_word_(cocktail)
> It’s honestly inspiring that the monks refuse to see their earthly purpose as satisfying the demands of some knucklehead mixologist doing his little riff on the Last Word at some lame speakeasy in some third-tier city.
Which is a shame, because it is a fantastic cocktail.
If you're sad about Last Words getting expensive, just switch to Paper Airplanes.
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I will have to check how much it costs in mine (it's great, but I'm not really into alcohol...)
They honestly need to try tweaking the recipe too if they want to move upmarket again. To me the amount of sugar in Campari seems high compared to other aperitivo and amaro.
(Strangely, ChatGPT suggested a mezcal Last Word variation, dubbing it "The First Word", with a slightly different composition than Ginbo did: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nPMEozP8vvY)
But my favorite Chartreuse drink by far is the Monte Cassino
1 part Green Chartreuse 1 part Fernet 1 part simple syrup 1 part lime juice
It was big when I lived in Athens, GA
Sounds like a good decision for the monks but that’s a lot of condescension for someone who lives in Philly of all places.
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https://punchdrink.com/articles/death-flip-became-modern-cla...
'When the cocktail first appeared on the menu at the Black Pearl in Melbourne, Australia, in 2010, no ingredients were listed. And if you asked what was in the drink, the bartender would not tell you. The only thing offering the customer a hint as to what they were getting into was the ominous description: “You don’t wanna meet this cocktail in a dark alley.”'
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/17/business/chartreuse-monks...
'When he departed the site in 1990, he became the only living outsider to know the liqueur’s ancient formula. “It’s safe with me,” he said. “Oddly enough, they didn’t make me sign anything when I left.”'
1 - https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/17/business/chartreuse-monks...