CHARTREUSE - Elixir Liqueur 1605 - Bottling 2026 - 56%
The Order of the Chartreuse had existed for more than 500 years when, in 1605, at a Chartreuse monastery in Vauvert, a small suburb of Paris, the monks received a gift from Duke François Hannibal d'Estrées: an ancient manuscript of an "Elixir" nicknamed the "Elixir of Long Life." This manuscript was probably the work of a 16th-century alchemist with extensive knowledge of herbs and the skill to assemble, infuse, and macerate 130 of them to create a perfectly balanced tonic. The manuscript's recipe was so complex that only parts were understood and used at Vauvert. At the beginning of the 18th century, the manuscript was sent to the Order's Mother House, La Grande Chartreuse, in the mountains near Grenoble. The monastery's apothecary, Brother Jérôme Maubec, eventually solved the mystery and, in 1737, wrote the practical preparation formula for the Elixir in 1764. In 1903, the French government nationalized the Chartreuse distillery and the monks were expelled. After its bankruptcy in 1929, the monks regained ownership of the Chartreuse brand. They returned to their distillery, built in 1860 at Fourvoirie, near the monastery, and resumed production of the true Chartreuse liqueurs. In 1935, Fourvoirie was almost destroyed by a landslide; production was transferred to Voiron, where it remains today.
The selection, grinding, and blending of the secret herbs, plants, and other medicinal plants used in the production of the liqueurs are carried out in the monastery by two monks. Once blended, the ingredients are sent to Voiron where they are first macerated in carefully selected alcohol, then distilled. Finally, these liqueurs are aged for several years in huge oak barrels and placed in the aging cellar which has the longest maturations in the world.
The Elixir Liqueur 1605 was created in 2005 to commemorate the 400th anniversary of the Manuscript.
This item is limited to 3 units per customer.
