Chartreuse Green (NV)

John's Cocktail - Lost in the Woods Recipe Ingredients
-1 1/4 cups chopped fennel bulb and 1/2 cup fronds, plus more fronds for garnish (from about 1 medium bulb) -3 oz. gin -1 oz. fresh lime juice -1 oz. Green Chartreuse liqueur -1 oz. simple syrup -seltzer, for topping (2 to 4 oz.)

Preparation
In the bottom of a cocktail shaker, using a muddler or the handle of a wooden spoon, muddle the chopped fennel and 1/2 cup fennel fronds until well mashed, about 1 minute. Add the gin, lime juice, Green Chartreuse, and simple syrup. Fill the shaker with ice. Shake well (about 20 good shakes) and strain into 2 rocks glasses filled with ice. Top with seltzer. Garnish with fennel fronds.

This St. Patrick's Day Cocktail Is Even Better Than a Pot of Gold

Chartreuse Clover Cocktail
Ingredients -1.5 oz green chartreuse -1.5 oz gin -2 oz pineapple juice -1 oz lime juice -0.5 oz ginger syrup -Ice -Lime wheel for garnish

Fill cocktail shaker with ice cubes and then add green chartreuse, gin, pineapple juice, lime juice, and ginger syrup. Shake well and strain into a rocks glass filled with ice cubes. Garnish with a lime wheel and serve immediately.

Cocktail of the Week: Cocktail Academy’s Oscar-Inspired Drinks -- Greener Pastures, inspired by Green Book

- 1.5 oz gin
- 0.5 oz green chartreuse
- 0.75 oz fresh lime juice
- 0.75 oz peach schnapps
Make Greener Pastures at home by adding all the ingredients to your shaker tin and filling it with ice, then shaking and double straining into a cup glass. Garnish the cocktail with a ripe, sliced Georgia peach.

“When developing drinks for Green Book we thought it would be important to connect two seemingly opposing flavors into one cohesive drink,” Landes explains. “Much like how Dr. Don Shirley (Mahershala Ali) and Tony Lip (Viggo Mortensen) forge a great relationship by the end of this film, our drink becomes more balanced and nuanced as it comes together.”

John's Cocktail: The James Joyce
Recipe by John Cusimano

Ingredients - Ice cubes
- 2 oz. Green Chartreuse liqueur
- 2 oz. Irish whiskey
- 2 oz. maraschino liqueur (such as Luxardo)
- 2 oz. fresh lemon juice
In a cocktail shaker filled with ice, add the Green Chartreuse, whiskey, maraschino liqueur, and lemon juice. Shake well. Strain into 2 chilled coupe glasses.

Here’s How to Spend This Year’s Bonus as If It’s Your Last -- “Chartreuse is an otherworldly liquid time capsule that becomes more layered and nuanced with age—as it also increases in value. Bottles labeled “Tarragona” were produced in Spain between 1902 and 1989, but it is not produced any longer. I’d buy a mix of yellow and green bottlings. The yellow liquid includes honey and saffron in the secret recipe and is a bit more melodic, while the green version is sharper and arguably, more complex.” —Jordan Salcito Bohr, founder, Ramona Wine Cooler"

Carthusian Sazerac -2 oz Rye Whiskey -2 dashes Bob’s Abbotts Bitters -2 dashes Portland Bitters Project Cacao Bitters -1 dash Angostura Bitters -1 barspoon Brown Sugar -Green Chartreuse -Lemon Peel Instructions: Add ice and water to an old fashioned glass and set aside to chill. Once chilled, dump the ice and water. Rinse the glass with Chartreuse and discard remaining liquid. In a mixing glass, stir sugar and bitters together until sugar is a bit diluted. Add whiskey and ice and stir for about 40 seconds. Strain into chilled old fashioned glass. (I like mine over a large cube of ice, but it’s up to you). Twist lemon peel over the drink to express the oils and rub, skin side up, over the rim of the glass. You can discard it or add it to the drink, it’s up to your preference.

"This lime-green, anise--scented liqueur is sweet at first sip, then herbaceous in the middle, showing fennel, pine, tarragon and mild floral notes. The finish is spicy and warming, with anise, white pepper and ginger heat. It's a bit too viscous and fiery for straight-up sipping, but it's beautifully complex and a key ingredient for the classic Last Word and other cocktails."

Chartreuse is very impressive to people not generally accustomed to the bartending world. Its high-proof, so youll want to serve it with something fatty, something able to cut through all that alcohol. Like a rib. Something rich, with a lot of spices. The Last Word is a great Chartreuse cocktail. It is crazy simple and so good.

Last Word
oz. gin
oz. green Chartreuse
oz. maraschino
oz. fresh lime juice

Made by French monks from a secret recipe of 130 different plants, this liqueur is sweet, herbal and pungentjust a little bit is all you need. It comes in two varieties: Green Chartreuse is slightly higher in alcohol and more intensely flavored (and more expensive), and Yellow Chartreuse is a bit sweeter and milder. Its commonly seen today in the recently popular Last Word cocktail, a mix of equal parts gin, Green Chartreuse, maraschino liqueur and lime juice. Read full article here

"The aromatics are bold offering scents of bark and roots, cedar, coriander, anise, rosemary, jasmine, and thyme with hints of tarragon and green tea. Rich and sweet with a bright peppery balance. A classic."

" This has been around so long it had a color named after it- a translucent light green; complex, lush, spicy nose; 130 herbs create a mystical sweet, potent and seductive flavor; beautifully balanced between spice, sweet and alcohol heat; creamy, fascinating and very long; hints of lime, mint, pine, licorice and many more. Still superb after 405 years."

"This light green liquid features musky, herbal and botanical aromas: star anise, tarragon, basil and Dutch licorice. Flavors are bold and sweet, with a slight earthiness and alcohol heat. Finishes sharp, herbal, grassy, floral and complex. Thick and viscous. A classic for gin-based cocktail."

Winner of the Gold medal for Liqueurs-Herbal

How to make Green Cocktails for St Patrick’s day? “There are few green colored-liquors that make easy cocktails, like… Green Chartreuse. It is made from 130 herbs, plants and flowers found in the French Alps. It is 110 proof and has an intense floral and herbal flavor with hints of cloves, citrus, thyme, rosemary and cinnamon.”

“Chartreuse is like spring in a bottle— the yellow-green spirit is said to be made from more than 130 plants—making it a fitting choice for this month’s zodiac cocktail. Melon adds sweetness to Chartreuse’s complex herbal notes in this vibrant sip”. The Aries drink recipe, features honeydew melon, gin, seltzer and Chartreuse.

“Intense, multidimensional flavors including toasted cumin, sandalwood, and pine; smooth and surprisingly harmonious with a finish of sweet juniper.”

“I had two glasses of the stuff… One was poured from a newly opened bottle… the other came from a vintage miniature Chartreuse... “Taste this alongside some from a new bottle,” read the note that accompanied the wee bottle of green stuff. Was there any difference between my two samples of Chartreuse? Nope. None at all. I was wrong. Again. I’m getting used to it by now.

The silent monks, it seems, got the last word on this subject, so I'll bring you the Last Word cocktail as a sort of homage to the Carthusians. It’s a drink that’s detailed in “Jones’ Complete Barguide,” a book from the '70s, and it’s a cocktail that might help open your eyes to the beauty of Chartreuse.”
The Last Word
Makes 1 drink

• 3/4 ounce dry gin
• 3/4 ounce maraschino liqueur
• 3/4 ounce green Chartreuse
• 3/4 ounce fresh lime juice

Instructions: Fill a cocktail shaker two-thirds full of ice and add all of the ingredients. Shake for approximately 15 seconds and strain into a chilled cocktail glass.

“The bouquet is vibrant, prickly and displays cedar, coriander, cardamom, aniseed, jasmine, rosemary, sage, basil and other botanicals. The palate is lushly textured, herbal sweet, peppery and minerally. Sublime aftertaste.”

“This is all about asking a bartender to think about the job exactly as a chef does,” says Doug Frost, a wine and spirits expert and Star columnist… “These men and women are working to create fascinating and well-balanced flavors, just like you want in a restaurant meal. David Smuckler of Morton’s Steakhouse won the first Greater Kansas City Bartending Competition. [His recipe follows:]" Meditation Libation (makes 1 drink) 5 honeydew melon balls 2 tablespoons diced cucumber 1 ounce fresh squeezed lime juice 1/2 ounce lavender simple syrup 2 drops rose water 1 mint leaf, torn 1 1/2 ounces Tanqueray No. 10 gin 1/2 ounce Green Chartreuse Ice Cucumber spear and honeydew melon ball, for garnish Place honeydew melon balls, diced cucumber and lime juice in a shaker glass, and muddle. Add lavender simple syrup, rose water, mint leaf, gin, Chartreuse and ice; shake. Fill a highball or double old-fashioned glass partway with ice; strain cocktail into prepared glass. Garnish with cucumber spear and honeydew melon ball.

“Simplicity is often the key to a good drink, and Purgatory is just about as simple as they come. Mix a base spirit with two liqueurs, add a twist of lemon, and you're in Purgatory. Or Purgatory is in you. Simple as it might sound, though, this is one very complex animal, and the intricacies that lay in wait in the glass are due mainly to Kilgore's somewhat unorthodox choice of liqueurs… It’s the mixture of these two liqueurs that intrigues me, though. When I looked at the formula on paper I envisioned them fighting each other for attention in the glass, but they actually complement each other well. The Benedictine brings honey into play under a fairly soft herbal blanket, and the Chartreuse brings some astringency into the picture, along with another burst of herbs. Layer upon layer of flavors leap out of the glass when you sip a Purgatory.” Purgatory Makes 1 drink Adapted from a recipe by Ted Kilgore, bartender and bar manager at Monarch Restaurant, Maplewood, Mo. 2 1/2 ounces Rittenhouse 100-proof straight rye whiskey 3/4 ounce Benedictine 3/4 ounce Green Chartreuse 1 lemon wedge or twist, for garnish Instructions: Fill a mixing glass two-thirds full of ice and add the whiskey, Benedictine and Chartreuse. Stir for approximately 30 seconds, strain into a chilled cocktail glass, add garnish.

“This isn't new, but did you ever wonder about Chartreuse, that odd-shaped bottle behind the bar filled with a liquid that's vividly, well, chartreuse? It's an herbal liqueur, invented in 1605 by monks in the French Alps. The recipe is secret, but they're happy to tell you how to turn it into a ''Chartini'' -- 1 ounce Chartreuse, 1 ounce vodka, 1 ounce cranberry juice, 1 ounce orange juice. Shake over crushed ice and pour into a martini glass, rimmed with sugar. (Recommended for getting you through hurricane season.)”

“…The Leaning Mary-tini at Ivy Speaking of Noir, it also serves the Chartreuse Basil ($12), a mixture of fresh basil, lime, and Green Chartreuse, a complex French liqueur. Infused with more than 100 herbs and flowers, Chartreuse is produced at a monastery by Carthusian monks and gets its natural coloring from chlorophyll. But enough about the details. What matters is that it tastes like a French fairy tale. And how else can you enjoy 100 herbs and flowers crammed into a glass?

Word of mouth is the ultimate form of marketing. Which could be a little difficult if your most knowledgeable staff members have taken a vow of silence. The owners and producers of Chartreuse—a liqueur made from 130 herbs and plants—are Carthusian monks who live an ascetic life dedicated to prayer and contemplation at a monastery called La Grande Chartreuse, nested in the French Alps in Voiron, near Grenoble. Nevertheless, because the income generated by sales of the Chartreuse liqueur helps support La Grande Chartreuse and the order’s other monasteries around the world, the business—privately and solely held by the Carthusians—also dedicates itself to boosting the bottom line. In the U.S., the popularity of liqueurs has soared, with almost 12 million cases imported in 2006, an increase of 5 million cases since 1995, says Frank Walters, senior vice president of research at M. Shanken Communications… But what’s really driving the category, says Walters, are younger drinkers. They were first targeted by German producer Jägermeister, whose marketing team hired young women to stage promotional events in bars. In 2006 Jägermeister accounted for about 25% of all liqueurs imported into the U.S., Walters says. Having women hand out free samples is probably another selling tool unavailable to a religious order, yet total U.S. Chartreuse sales rose 18% last year because the monks got religion when it came to marketing. Green Chartreuse, which was first sold in 1764, retails in the U.S. for $40 to $45 for 750 ml. Jean Marc Roget, president of Chartreuse Diffusion, the brand’s marketing arm, says the brand’s updated website—“more modern, colorful and informative”—helped bring about worldwide sales of a million bottles of Green, V.E.P. and Yellow, totaling $13 million. “Many professional sommeliers, bartenders and maître d’s love to know the history of the liqueur,” says Roget. That history includes the monks’ getting tossed out of the country during the French Revolution and the distillery being nationalized in 1903 (it was not returned to the monks until 1930). The website’s beverage and cooking recipes have helped introduce the drink to newcomers, including bartenders, “who use the recipes for inspiration.” That’s particularly vital in the U.S., where mixologists in trendy bars have a huge influence on sales. “People love the complexity it adds to cocktails and mixed drinks,” says Audrey Saunders, owner of Pegu Club, in New York City's SoHo district. Back in the Alps, technology has also become part of the distillation and by extension the contemplation process. La Chartreuse has relied on a sophisticated software program that's updated constantly—“It cost a fortune,” says Roget—and helps run production automatically. The monks got hold of the recipe, originally a health potion, in 1605 but it was so complex they didn’t master it for another century. The two monks at La Grande Chartreuse who are each privy to part of the liqueur’s formula no longer need to spend their days at Voiron distilling the stuff. Instead, the technology allows the pair to oversee the process remotely via television monitors in their cells. The goal, says Roget, is not to boost production but rather to allow the monks more time for spiritual activities. The monks’ vocation “is not to make liqueur but to pray,” he says. The monks didn’t make it to the U.S. for the opening of a film about them called Into Great Silence. There is no product placement either. The liqueur and its producers—the Chartreuse monks, as they are called in France—are inextricably bound up in a mystery that not even Roget has cracked. “I’m totally in the dark about what I sell,” he says. “They are very secretive, these monks.”

“The most common complaint I hear about the offerings on the current cocktail scene concerns the epidemic of “Martinis” that aren't Martinis. For the purists, it’s bad enough that a drink of vodka and vermouth is referred to as a Martini. But one doesn't have to be a stickler to bemoan the candy-colored cocktails with labels like “Raspberry Martini” or “Apple-tini” that fill out the “Martini List” at innumerable bars and restaurants. A drink of vodka, sweet liqueur and fruit juice is not a Martini… SAVOY HOTEL SPECIAL 2 oz gin ½ oz dry vermouth ¼ oz Dubonnet (rouge) Shake with ice and strain into a stemmed cocktail glass. Garnish with a twist of orange peel. INTERNATIONAL 2 oz gin ¼ oz dry vermouth dash crème de cassis Shake with ice and strain into a Martini glass. Garnish with a twist of lemon peel. …David Embury, in his opinionated 1948 classic "The Fine Art of Mixing Drinks," decrees as acceptable "occasional interesting variations in your Martinis," but each variation he suggests comes with a name attached. Add a couple of dashes of orange curaçao to a Martini and you have a Flying Dutchman. If instead you add a touch of the herbal French liqueur Chartreuse, the drink is called a Nome. A dash of crème de cassis and you get an International. Embury is so serious about correct Martini nomenclature that he insists a Martini is not worthy of the name if it has not been stirred: "If you shake the Martini, it becomes a Bradford…"

It can be hard to find a quiet spot to think in this town, and movie theatres generally don’t top the list. Lately, however, Film Forum has emerged as an oasis of silence, owing to the runaway success of a nearly three-hour documentary, by the German filmmaker Philip Gröning, about Carthusian monks, titled “Into Great Silence.” Gröning spent five months at the Grande Chartreuse, a monastery in the French Alps. Because Carthusians obey a rule against speaking (apart from chants, meetings with superiors, a few hours of casual conversation every Monday, and emergencies), interviews were out of the question. Most of the film consists of wordless shots of monks being monks-watering their gardens, preparing meals, praying in solitude, praying in groups. Originally scheduled for a two-week run, the film has been extended indefinitely. In deference to the needs of gabby New Yorkers, Film Forum enlisted a Carthusian, Father Michael Holleran, to conduct Q. & A. sessions following some screenings. (Never mind the irony inherent in a talkback for a movie about silence.) Holleran is, to his knowledge, the only Carthusian living in New York City. On a recent Sunday afternoon, having just finished saying a Spanish-language Mass in the Bronx, where he lives, he caught a No. 2 train to Houston Street. He took a seat between a man blasting hip-hop on his headphones and a woman who continually zipped and unzipped the compartments of her handbag. “I love the sound of the subway,” Holleran said. “Ever since I was a teen-ager I have, even before I went to the monastery.” Holleran, who is fifty-seven, grew up on Long Island and entered the order when he was twenty-two. He spent twelve years at a Carthusian monastery in Vermont before moving to the Grande Chartreuse, where he stayed for seven years. (He left before the film was made.) He doesn’t regret his time as a monk, but, after two decades of near-speechlessness, he began to doubt the spiritual benefits of isolation. “The monastic archetype is in all of us, but I’m not sure that living it out for your entire life is really a viable thing,” he said. Plus, he found wearing an ankle-length robe all the time “a little hard to bear,” and wanted to catch up with the modern world. (He particularly likes neon signs and the “Lord of the Rings” movies.) He’s now an exclaustrated member of the order, “which sounds painful,” he said, “but it just means I live outside the cloister.” With a few exceptions-crowded restaurants, a Billy Joel concert-the noise of the city doesn’t bother him. “The battle, like fighting the Balrog in the dwarf caves, is defeating the noise inside you,” he said. He was interrupted by an earsplitting announcement: because of construction, the train would make all local stops. Static. Holleran continued, “The drive seems to be to make things louder and louder. People are becoming desensitized to the tiny natural sounds that are around them all the time. Sound doesn’t have to be loud to be exciting.” The train arrived at Houston Street, and Holleran hurried into Film Forum. The one-fifteen show was about to end. “We had to turn away a hundred people,” an employee said. “It’s ridiculously popular.” Once the movie was over, Holleran took his place at the front of the audience. A crop of hands went up. “Does everyone have to wear a robe?” (Yes.) “Are you allowed to bring instruments to the monastery?” (No.) “Can you keep up on current events?” (Yes, with weekly updates from the superior.) “I’m going to the Alps this summer. Am I allowed to visit?” (No.) “You guys are supposed to be celibate, right?” (Right.) “What are the prerequisites for joining this particular order, and do you have washing machines?” (“A capacity for solitude and community life”; yes.) “Is there any way to tell if someone is slacking off in his meditations?” (Well . . .) The session ended, and a crowd immediately formed around Holleran. Several people asked if he had a business card; he did not. He slipped out of the theatre and took a left onto Varick Street. A woman listening to an iPod asked him for directions. Music was thumping from inside a dance club on the corner. Holleran admitted that he felt a little “talked out.” Then he walked off, the patter of his footsteps fading into the din of a traffic jam near the Holland Tunnel.

There’s just one sommelier in the Bay Area we’d call “irrepressible.” And we mean that as a compliment. After beginning his career in wine at some of Southern California's most heralded restaurants—Water Grill and Melisse—Paul Einbund arrived in San Francisco three years ago to help open George Morrone's Tartare. Recently, Einbund became chef Daniel Patterson's partner at the three-star Coi restaurant in North Beach… “No matter what happens to me in life I will always be a sommelier,” Einbund explains. “I am obsessed with liquids. Every second of every single day I am thinking about some sort of liquid, be it water, tea, coffee, wine, brandy, Chartreuse or sake.” Q: Do you have any favorite spirits? A: I am incredibly obsessive about Chartreuse. When I was in the Rhône Valley, I stayed at this hotel that cooked with Chartreuse and had verticals with vintage-dated Chartreuse. Every night I was there, I would have one or two vintages of Chartreuse. And when I was in Spain I found Tarragona Chartreuse and that ends up being my prized bottle of Chartreuse. Then I found out that Chartreuse actually ages in bottles—it continues to develop. I have six or seven different bottles of Chartreuse in my personal collection.

“Folklore, of the sort propagated by resourceful publicists, has it that the recipe for the liqueur Chartreuse is a mystery to the entire world excepting three Carthusian monks cloistered inside a monastery in the French Alps. And even those three holy men each knows but a portion of the complete formula. Protecting trade secrets is one thing, but this sounds a bit excessive if you ask me. After all, if you can’t trust a cloistered monk, then who the hell can you trust? (Oprah, maybe? The Dalai Lama?) What we do know about the production of the mysterious Chartreuse is that it contains over 130 herbs and botanicals, it’s the only liqueur to be aged in oak vats, and the Carthusian Order has been at it nonstop for 400 years. There are two types of Chartreuse — green and yellow. The former is intensely floral, with strong hints of fennel, rosemary, cinnamon and cloves. Yellow Chartreuse is the more citrusy of the two, brimming with flavors such as blood orange, lemon and honey. Chartreuse isn’t really the type of elixir to be enjoyed straight, but it can really spruce up a cocktail. Fortunately, I know a guy on the inside at the monastery who managed to smuggle out a few cocktail recipes [see below]” CHARTREUSE FIZZ (as featured at Diner in Brooklyn, N.Y.) 1 oz. Gin 3/4 oz. Green Chartreuse 1/2 oz. lime juice Fill a collins glass with all the ingredients, soda and ice. MONA’S SMILE By Janice Brown 1/2 oz. Green Chartreuse 1/2 oz. Calvados (apple brandy) 1.61803 oz. Rye of Bourbon blended whiskey 3-4 hearty dashes of Amaro Ramazzotti Liqueur water (club soda optional) Shake all ingredients in a cocktail shaker half-filled with ice. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass and garnish with a pyramidshaped Jerusalem artichoke cube and a cherry on a sword pick.

“…At Vessel, a top contender for Seattle's most severely fashionable space-black and white and midcentury modern all over-Jamie Boudreau mixes up what might be my favorite cocktail of the moment: the Widow's Kiss, a clear, golden mix of Calvados (French apple brandy), bitters, and the monastery-produced liqueurs Chartreuse and Bénédictine. A sweet-tart kiss greets you when you bring the drink to your lips, but as you sip, all of the components emerge, glimmer, evolve. Ten minutes after you finish your glass, you're still catching whiffs of the botanicals in the Chartreuse. Boudreau doesn't claim to have invented the drink. In fact, he credits it-on the menu, even-to George Kappeler, and lists the date of creation as ‘circa 1895.’”

“Now that guiltlessly tossing trash out of moving automobiles is considered déclassé, it’s time to celebrate Mother Nature with a few green cocktails. To evoke the spirit of the season, sip a libation containing the greenest, most herbaceous liqueur, Chartreuse-the singular high-proof spirit crafted from the secret recipe of the Carthusian Monks and distilled in Voiron, France, with more than 130 plants and flowers. Ah, the Spring Feeling (gin, green Chartreuse and lemon juice): clean, refreshing and a bit bracing, like a cool April breeze. Simply add a splash of egg white and a cherry and you’ve made a Greenfield. For the late-night talk show set, don’t wait for us-shake up a Green Room (brandy, curaçao, sweet vermouth), a cousin of the Sidecar with a more pro-environment moniker. Lastly, get in the summer mojito season early and celebrate the Year of the Pig by enjoying a tangy Green Dragon, which includes kümmel, an imported caraway-based liqueur with an anise flavor. To get into the green swing of things beyond Chartreuse and crème de menthe, mixologists can also employ green curaçao, shake up an apple martini with apple schnapps, get crazy with muddled mint or break out the color wheel by mixing blue curaçao with orange juice to produce a pseudo-green hue. As to why we neglected to mention the green Midori liqueur: We prefer to assuage our thirst for melon with fruit salad. SPRING FEELING 1½ oz. Plymouth gin ¾ oz. green Chartreuse Healthy squeeze of lemon juice Shake with ice and strain into a cocktail glass. GREENFIELD 1 part Plymouth gin 1 part green Chartreuse 1 dash lemon juice 1 egg white, or less (one egg white can make 2 servings) Shake with ice and strain into a cocktail glass. Garnish with a maraschino cherry. GREEN ROOM 2/3 dry vermouth 1/3 brandy 2 dashes curaçao Shake over ice and strain into a cocktail glass. Note: There’s a ton of vermouth in this drink, producing a major herbal uptick from the usual martini. GREEN DRAGON 4 parts Plymouth gin 1 parts green crème de menthe 1 part kümmel (substitute: anisette liqueur) 1 part lemon juice 4 dashes peach bitters Shake with ice and strain into a chilled cocktail glass.

“Saturday is a fine day for drinking, not fretting about the impure mischief of those who would be Irish for a day. Sure, that pint of Guinness or wee dram of Bushmills or Jameson's is grand in plain brown or amber the year round. But St. Patrick’s is a day for frolickin’ and wearin’ o’ the green by man, woman, beast, beer and anything else at the bar. Celebrate in color, and if you’re above green beer, cocktails can go emerald, too. It’s easy, says Hiram Hernandez, who has been behind the bar at Dan Marino’s in St. Petersburg for almost five years. “You just reach around for a liqueur,” he says.In the liqueur spectrum of intense color and flavor, green is found in… absinthe and the grand herbal Chartreuse of Carthusian monks…”

“The bouquet is vibrant, prickly, and displays cedar, coriander, cardamom, aniseed, jasmine, rosemary, sage, basil and other botanicals. The palate is lushly textured, herbal sweet, peppery, and minerally. Sublime aftertaste.”

“A wonderful classic liqueur that is often overlooked in bars today is Chartreuse, a pair of herbal liqueurs produced by monks of the Carthusian order in the French Alps. It comes in two varieties, green and yellow, both of which are produced by a well-kept secret formula of 130 different herbs. If you have not yet experienced the floral bouquets found in Chartreuse or have not had any for quite sometime, I highly recommend discovering or rediscovering it. Serve it straight or one the rocks to experience the pure flavor of the mysterious elixirs or mix it up in one (or two) of the inspirational cocktails that feature Chartreuse. The Chartreuse Soleil is great with a rich Kentucky bourbon like Maker's Mark and a Harrington is excellent with a silky, smooth vodka such as IDOL or Grey Goose. Surprisingly, Chartreuse is versatile and a great compliment to a variety of other spirits.”

“Of course, the Italians aren’t alone in their appetite for appetite-quelling herbal liqueurs. The French would probably turn green nightly without a little something to break down all that butter and cream—but with a nip of neon-hued Chartreuse, they remain in the pink.”

Trestle on Tenth (242 Tenth Avenue at 24th Street, 212-645-5659) “Mr. Kuettel makes his own bitters, and puts them in cocktails including a ‘Cloister Fizz’ ($10), with cognac and sparkling wine; and an aromatic murk of gin, chartreuse, rosewater, and pastis ($11)…”

“Drink to her: Bitter cocktail (gin, lemon juice, Chartreuse)...”

“..Mr. Dufresne and Mr. Mason regularly use Campari, Chartreuse and other distinctively flavored liquors in the kitchen, but they have left the cocktails largely to their bar staff (which for the most part, serves up creatively composed, excellent cocktails, but not obstinately modern drinks like those in this article…”

“..Ms Saunders is determined to resurrect such forgotten spirits as pisco, Madeira, Chartreuse herbal liqueur (‘Only three monks know the recipe for it!’), maraschino liqueur, sloe gin, rhum agricole from the ranch Caribbean islands and Lairds AppleJack from New Jersey…Wine specialists sometimes carry offbeat brands: Sherry-Lehmann has applejack, Chartreuse, obscure European aperitifs and Caribbean plantation rums..”

“Megu Midtown is introducing ‘Monk’s Dream,’ a summer beverage inspired by jazz great Thelonious Monk. It’s made with Chartreuse, an herbal liquor created by monks, Suigei sake, pineapple juice and lime juice. $13; 845 UN Plaza (212) 964-7777.”

Marcuya Mosquito (Mixologist Charlotte Voisey) 3 white sugar cubes Juice of half a lime 6 basil leaves 1 oz. Reyka vodka ½ oz. Green Chartreuse 1 oz. passion fruit puree Muddled, shaken with crushed ice then poured on top of the passion fruit seed foam, which causes the drink to bubble. Available at Gramercy Park Hotel.

“If you’re looking for a break from Bloody Marys and mimosas, you could sample the restaurant’s Mid-Morning Fizz, made from gin and Green Chartreuse with orange flower water, lemon juice, and an egg white.”

“Happy-hour lovers, you’ve got some summer reading. Food & Wine recently released Cocktails 2006 (American Express Publishing, $14.95) featuring more than 150 recipes from some of the hottest bars in the U.S. Needless to say, the Miami area made the cut. The mag’s editors chose their fave local drinks.” Emerald Martini (citrus vodka, Green Chartreuse, lemon twist), $13: Nemo, 100 Collins Ave., Miami Beach, 305-532-4550.

“In April, Maine’s Seacoastonline.com held a contest for the definitive “Da Vinci Code” cocktail. The winner: Mona’s Smile with Chartreuse (made by Carthusian monks), Calvados apple brandy, rye or bourbon and Amaro Ramazzotti liqueur; shaken; and garnished with a triangle-shaped Jerusalem artichoke cube and a cherry on a yellow-golden sword pick.”

Idle Hour This tiny but cozy corner bar is among a growing number of recently refurbished watering holes along Fort Avenue. Owners Brendan Finnerty and Randal Etheridge plan to add a smoke-free space upstairs by early next year. Where: 201 E. Fort Ave., Baltimore Call: 410-468-0357 Notable: A slew of empty Chartreuse bottles sits atop the shelving behind the bar. Made from herbs, the liqueur is said to be as close as you can legally come in the United States to absinthe. Idle Hour is the No. 1 seller of the drink in the mid-Atlantic, Finnerty said... Vibe: Laid back, from the service to the atmosphere. Idle Hour has no TVs - it's all about the conversation. What to Wear: Something a notch above normal streetwear and a notch below what you'd wear to a Cross Street square bar. Crowd: Mostly mid-20s to late 30s yuppies. There's also a smattering of music geeks and intellectuals (former English/philosophy majors and the like). Music: Sundays resident DJ Tyler Quinn spins at 10 p.m.; open turntable night (bring your own vinyl) is 5 p.m. Mondays; 7 p.m. Tuesdays, see DJs Matt Pierce (of Lake Trout and Big in Japan) and Kris Vandevander.

“Black mint isn’t an herb gone ‘goth,’ but rather a type of peppermint that’s commonly used for tea and actually turns out to have more of a dark-purplish or brownish cast around the stem. The hardy perennial lives well into the fall, and can often be found at the Stokes Farm stand at Union Square Greenmarket. Although the granité that A Voce pastry chef April Robinson makes with it is wonderfully refreshing in the summer, it’s also an elegant garnish for her season-bridging Chartreuse-roasted Black Mission figs.” April Robinson’s Black-Mint Granité 1/4 cup black-mint leaves, washed and stemmed 1 cup milk 1/4 cup granulated sugar Juice from one lemon (1) Crush mint by stacking and rolling up the leaves and mashing them with the back of a knife. (2) Combine milk and mint in a pot over medium heat, and bring almost to a boil. Remove pot from heat and add sugar, allowing it to dissolve. Cover with plastic wrap and allow liquid to cool completely. (3) Strain through a fine mesh strainer, add lemon juice, and pour into a shallow metal pan. Freeze, breaking up the ice with the back of a spoon after the first two hours and then every hour or so. Shave with a fork over each portion of roasted figs (see recipe below). FOR FIGS: 15 small-medium Black Mission figs Zest from 1 orange, pith removed 3/4 cups orange juice 2 strips lemon peel 1 tablespoon lemon juice 1 star anise, toasted 1 1/2 tablespoons honey 2 tablespoons Green Chartreuse Preheat oven to 400. Cut the tips off the figs. Combine all ingredients and toss in a bowl. Stand figs up in a shallow baking dish and cover with aluminum foil. Bake until plump and soft, but not split (approximately 20–25 minutes). Let cool in pan, preferably overnight in fridge. When ready to serve, slice figs in half lengthwise and warm slightly in a small saucepan with a little roasting liquid over medium heat. Reduce the remaining roasting liquid in a saucepan over medium heat to syrup consistency, about 8 minutes, and drizzle over figs. Divide into bowls, top with granité, and sprinkle each serving with a couple drops of Chartreuse.

“I first fell in love with Chartreuse just a couple of months ago. I now enjoy a very small cordial after each rich meal. There’s really nothing like Chartreuse. Find the geekiest wine and spirits lover and challenge them to identify flavors within this alluring elixir, and they’ll be stumped. At any given time, only two Carthusian monks—of the contemplative order of monks that reside alongside the Chartreuse Mountains of France, in the ancient Chartreuse Monastery—know one portion of the secret, trade-protected recipe. When one of these monks dies, another is left to carry on the tradition but is, again, given only one portion of the recipe. These monks have been making Chartreuse from the same recipe since 1605, and though they give credit to unnamed plants for this drink’s beauty, it is also widely believed that other unnamed, secret ingredients comprise this sublime beverage.
Recommended: Serve 1 or 2 ounces on ice as the perfect after dinner cordial or digestivo. There are numerous cocktails that have been created using this strong, yet elusively delicate liqueur. I think it’s a shame to hide the mysterious flavors so abundant is this green siren. It’s best consumed on its own.”

“Fountain of youth, 130 secret plants and flowers, only two people know the recipe. How can you say no?” asks Paul Einbund, Bacar’s irrepressible sommelier. “Besides, everything’s better when it’s made by monks.” Einbund is speaking of Chartreuse, the luminescent French cordial based on a recipe entitled “An Elixir of Long Life” and still produced by the Carthusian monks of La Grande Chartreuse monastery near Grenoble. The original Chartreuse, which was used as a medicine, debuted in 1737; sludgy green and 142 proof, it’s still sold in France as Elixir Végétal. The cordial became so popular that enterprising monks transmuted the recipe into the milder, 110-proof formula that we know today as Green Chartreuse. Eventually, the monks got around to inventing Yellow Chartreuse, a milder and less alcoholic version of the original. With all of the secrecy shrouding the liqueur, it seemed appropriate to find myself late one night in the basement bar of Bacar with Einbund and a few bartenders. They’d gathered to take their turn making Chartreuse cocktails—not an easy task. Green Chartreuse tastes like a perfect elaboration of its color: complex, with aromas of mint, menthol, pine, cloves, rosemary and more. Strong and pastis-like, it clears the head. Yellow Chartreuse has a quite delicious honeyed character with aromas of cinnamon, orange rind, anise and licorice. In what he called the Champs-Elysées, bartender Duggan McDonnell of Frisson rinsed a martini glass with Yellow Chartreuse and then added orange juice, cognac, Cointreau, lime, Angostura bitters and simple syrup. Alberta Straub of the Orbit Room, who makes a mean drink called Everybody’s Irish, also created the Sharpie, a combination of Green Chartreuse, gin, grapefruit juice, orange bitters and maraschino liqueur. And Einbund mixed a fantastic cocktail called the Green Monk that made it onto Bacar’s permanent drinks list. But generally speaking, Einbund prefers to drink Chartreuse straight up (many people also like it chilled). “A shot of it at the beginning of the night wakes me and settles the stomach,” he says, adding, “I’m not sure if it prolongs life—but I am young-looking.” Green Monk Sommelier Paul Einbund of Bacar (448 Brannan St., San Francisco, 415-904-4100) uses either Roth or Skyy 90 vodka, “depending on the day,” and insists on Chartreuse VEP (which is extra-aged). Lychee syrup can be found in many Chinese markets. 1½ ounces Vodka 1 ounce lychee syrup ¼ ounce Green Chartreuse VEP Half a lime Luxardo Maraschino liqueur Lychee for garnish In a cocktail shaker filled with ice, combine the vodka, lychee syrup and Chartreuse. Squeeze the lime in and add a splash of the maraschino liqueur. Shake and strain the mixture into a martini glass. Garnish with a lychee. Everybody’s Irish This is a classic from bartender Alberta Straub of the Orbit Room (1900 Market St., San Francisco, 415-252-9525). 2 ounces Irish whiskey 1 ounce Green Chartreuse 1 ounce green peppermint schnapps In a mixing glass half-filled with ice cubes, combine all of the ingredients. Stir well. Strain into a cocktail glass.

"The bright pale green color is crystal clear and attractive. The nose after the pour is vibrant, prickly, and completely integrated as layers of woods/barks (cedar), seeds (coriander, cardamom, aniseed), flowers (jasmine), herbs (rosemary, sage, basil), and other botanicals (fennel, kale) unite in this magical elixir; the bouquet after further aeration is even more harmonious than in the initial passes; a textbook bouquet that is unlike any other. The palate entry is lushly textured, herbal sweet, peppery, and minerally; the midpalate profile reinforces the entry impressions as the flavor goes on long, longer, longest into the sublime aftertaste... As many times over the course of the year that I taste this classic, it never becomes boring or routine. Each time, it’s different, new, and brilliant."

"With a national cuisine of butter, cream, and cheese, it's not surprising that France has an herbal digestif or two. Formulated by Carthusian monks in the French Alps five hundred years ago, the syrupy green or yellow libation is made from more than 100 herbs, spices, and fruits and is served very cold, often over ice. The original green has a strong pine palate, while the yellow is more floral and fruit-driven." - Pameladevi Govinda

"The Town: Grenoble The Delicacy: The distinctive, frog-green, oil-thick and potent (110 proof) liqueur called Chartreuse turns 400 this year. An ancient order of monks making a medicinal, herbaceous tipple from a secret recipe in silence and seclusion -- what could be better? Answer: The stuff actually tastes good." - Adam Sachs

"On the one hand, this product of a Carthusian monastery is sticky, syrupy, gaudy, and fey. On the other, it's totally delicious and will spin your head around on your shoulders." -- Pete Wells

"While the Benedictines cooked their elixirs in the northwest coast of France in Fecamp, the Carthusian (or Chartreuse) monks were creating their own potions in the Alps to the southwest in Voiron. Legend tells us that the Carthusians received an ancient manuscript in 1605 for "an elixir of long life." That green liqueur -- still around as Elixir Vegetal, though difficult to find in the United States -- was modified into a milder version the following year. It is now sold as Chartreuse Green, and an even milder version of that, created in 1838, is now sold as Chartreuse Yellow. "These liqueurs were the Alka-Seltzer of Pepto-Bismol of the time," says Daniel Carro, the national brand manager of the Chartreuses for Frederick Wildman & Sons, their American importer. Almost every distillery tries to keep its ingredients and its processes a secret, but the Carthusians play it particularly close to the cowl. Members of the order take a vow to live most of their lives in silence, and that includes details about how they make their liqueurs. At any given time, three of the brothers each know about one-third of the mix of botanicals and spices that are used -- they toss there part of the recipe into the pot stills where the botanicals steep in neutral grain spirit. After four distillations in copper pot stills, the spirit is aged -- more than five years for the green -- in French oak casks that have been reused so often that the don't impart any of the flavors and aromas that usually come from the wood. Then comes the blending, the addition of honey, and finally bottling." Tasting note: "It's the color of Chartreuse, which is to say that the color was named after the liqueur. The aroma is complex and so is the taste: mint, anis, bitter orange, thyme, and so much more. Considering that this is stronger than most spirits of any kind on the market, it's almost miraculously smooth." -- Ron Givens

We have at our disposal the ability to utilize classic gems like Chartreuse (since 1607) and Benedictine (since 1510) as well as brand new products ... Whether the liqueur will be the dominant ingredient or the modifier, summer is the perfect time to explore the vast array of flavors and colors in the world of spirits.

Liqueurs such as Chartreuse and Benedictine have existed for centuries, their recipes kept by their makers under lock from one generation to the next ... Chartreuse ($43) was first produced in 1605 as a digestive for the cloistered monks of the Charthusian monastery near Grenoble. The recipe, which is believed to contain 130 Alpine herbs and plants, is reputedly known to only three monks at any given time. Chartreuse is made in two styles: the original yellow, at 40 percent alcohol, and the green, at 55 percent. Both blends have high notes of basil and mint, citrus peel and spices. There is also the incredibly complex and limited V.E.P. edition ($130), aged 12 years, that takes the elegant and complex flavors of Chartreuse to new heights. The Grand Garnier Enrico's mixologist David Nepove won the 2002 Chartreuse Drink Recipe Contest with this cocktail. INGREDIENTS 1/3 orange, cut like a wheel 1 slice lime, cut like a wheel Ice 1 ounce Grand Marnier 1 ounce Green Chartreuse Lime zest and lime twist for garnish INSTRUCTIONS Place the orange and lime in a shaker and cover with ice. Vigorously muddle the ice and fruit to a pulp. Add a bit more ice, the Grand Marnier and Green Chartreuse. Shake and strain into a martini glass and garnish with a lime twist and a few lime zest shavings. Serves 1 For full article, please click here.

# 22 on the TOP 100 distilled spirits for 2003 Mysteriously overlooked and neglected but remains one of the finest examples of the distilling art. Nothing else even remotely like it in character, legend and quality.

Invented by the Carthusian Order of Christian monks in Grenoble, France in the 1760s. Pale green-yellow color. Mesmerizing, multilayered, complex bouquet includes cents of licorice, anise, violets, spearmint and basil. On palate, it's very spirity, with sweet tastes of candied banana, key lime pie and peppermint. Finishes mellow, herbal and minty. A one-of-a-kind legend.

Chartreuse, the 17th century French monastery liqueur, is arguably the world's most sophisticated and elegant herb-based drink, on its own or as the main ingredient of a cocktail.

Spirit Journal's 1991-2002 summary of USA and international liqueurs

Chartreuse Green is most often used to mix exotic cocktails, but it is very underrated as a stand-alone sipping liqueur. This herbal elixir, produced by monks from the Carthusian order, offers a unique array of sweet and bitter aromatic sensations when enjoyed on the rocks.

#22 on the Spirit Journal Top 100 . . . remains one of the finest examples of the distilling art. Nothing else even remotely like it in character, legend and quality

Intensely floral, with a warm nose of honeyed perfume. A touch of heat, with a pleasing medicinal, bitter leaf flavor and a hint of burnt flowers; sweet licorice in the rounded finish.