How a surge in popularity is making the iridescent spirit scarce
While it may not be the most popular or well-known cordial, Chartreuse has an alluring backstory. The herbal liqueur’s recipe comes from the “Elixir of Long Life,” an ancient manuscript, and is known for a bittersweet taste featuring notes of anise, tarragon and fennel. To this day, it is still produced by French monks and has been for more than two centuries.
Chartreuse is having a resurgence in popularity of late, thanks in part to innovative bartenders who have taken a strong liking to the liqueur and started including it in craft cocktails recipes. Good news for those taciturn monks, right? Wrong.
The iridescent green liqueur, made from a secret recipe of 130 botanicals is still tightly controlled and produced with great care by the Carthusian brethren, who blend about 40 tons of ingredients, and then send the mixture to a distillery and supervise the process. It turns out the secretive monks, who closely guard the recipe for the luminous spirit, have chosen to cap production at 1.4 million bottles per year to limit the environmental impact and to focus more on prayer and solitude over increasing their business.
The cocktail mixer has become soo scarce, that some bartenders have taken to hoarding what few bottles they may find. Retailers, restaurants, and bars are feeling the pinch and may continue to until the demand for the spirit decreases or if some divine intervention changes the minds of the monks.
If you are lucky enough to find a cocktail bar that has the cordial on hand, order this cocktail to experience the fabled immune-strengthening properties or just the unique sweet, herbaceous taste. Or make it yourself with the recipe below if you can get your hands on a bottle of Chartreuse.
{The Last Word}
Ingredients
3/4-ounce Gin
3/4-ounce Chartreuse (green variety)
3/4-ounce Maraschino liqueur
3/4-ounce Lime juice, freshly squeezed
Garnish: Brandied cherry
Ingredients
In a shaker with ice, combine gin, Chartreuse, maraschino liqueur and lime juice and shake until well-chilled.
Strain into a chilled coupe glass.
Garnish with a brandied cherry.
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