Chartreuse, Verte Liqueur

Hauvette Dinner : Bottled in 2021. A perfect digestif, not too sweet, really complex, but certainly enough alcohol to finish a good dinner!

I just made a discovery: search for "Wildbrunner Blutwurz", a Likör at 50%. It is largely based on Blutwurz = Potentilla erecta which I swear is what contributes much of the taste to this Chartreuse Verte. How on earth they keep it from giving its red color to this one and make it green is beyond me and probably an essential part of their secret recipe. Perhaps there is a very similar plant in existence which yields a green rather …

This will teach you the meaning of "Stat crux dum volvitur orbis" ! Take the Grande Chartreuse Jaune , crank up the herbal and intensity volume by two notches, throw in a dead skunk, mature for a year or two and you get the "Verte". This took some getting used to, but after a few weeks, the skunk was beautifully integrated with the citrus, mint, various herbs, ginger and eucalyptus. Glad I have two more of this and will leave …

A private lunch (Café Comptoir Abel, Lyon, France) : This is the young, commercially available rendition of this liqueur. It has all the usual characteristics of citrus zest, green herbs and ginger bread, but without the finesse and intensity of older, aged examples. Length is very good, and the alcoholic heat (this is 55% ABV) on the finish burns away your sins.

Had some misc. cocktails in April: Vesper--gin, vodka, lillet; very strong, manly all-alcohol drink! Pink gin--Plymouth gin, angostura: strong martini-like with bitters and a little color. Add more angostura if don't have sweet plymouth gin. Not really a fan. White Lady--gin, cointreau, lemon; tasty clean citrusy with gin character Horse's Neck--ginerale, cognac, angostura; great cognac mix with bubbles and sightly sweet. Pegu Club--gin, very tasty citrusy, complex, sophisticated Last word--gin, chartreuse, lime, maraschino liquor; one of my favs. really good, …

Well, this was certainly an experience. Always wanted to try it, always missed out, but there it was available at a beer festival, so I said why not. Sweet, though not cloying, with a subtle, complex herbal profile that isn't rough at all, very well integrated. The 55% is, simply put, amazingly well hidden. You could never tell it was that strong. A world classic with a reason!

Chartreuse (1605) Liqueur Fabriquée par les Pères Chartreux, 'Green'. 55 pabv. In Impitoyable, from 375 ml/$40, screw cap. Pure light green over complete downsheeting on sides of glass. Fermented straw (coumarin), Mexico vanilla, shoe leather and shoe polish over lacquer. I aver it SMELLS green. Summary of all this comes through on the palate; its considerable sweetness borne up on the extract, with subtle finish from the mint or the mint components. A tickle, only, from the 'heat'; which becomes …

A private dinner (Restaurant Comme Chez Soi **, Brussels, Belgium) : Bottled 1978. Pale green colour; incredibly intense nose of bitter mountain herbs and citrus zest, gingerbread, deep and rich; the palate is very powerful, extremely concentrated, medium-dry, hot and flavoursome; complex and complete finish, excellent length.

From 1956-1964, this was simply brilliant. Wow. need more.

- Greenish color and aromas of lemon and has flavours of lemon with a medium/full body.

A private lunch (Restaurant Flocons de Sel ***, Mégève, France) : Bottled 1977. From the collection of Emmanuel Renaut, the chef of Flocons de Sel. Wonderful intensity of herbs and spices, very delicate, only off-dry (the sugars seem to have integrated) gingerbread, very intense, amazing length.

The wine looks Greenish gold colored. The legs are Slow. It smells like Lemon, Lime, Lychee, and Melon. It tastes like Lime, Grapefruit, and Lemon. The body is Medium. The wine is textured Smooth. The wine finishes Long.