by Rachel Sahaidachny

Created on: July 08, 2008

Recently I have peaked an obsession in my boyfriend for a Liqueur called Chartreuse. An eerie crystal green, it is 110 proof and created from a blend of 130 secret Alpine herbs.
I first experienced the drink in New Orleans. On a trip in my younger days, obsessed with being Goth, I read about the mysterious drink in some vampire novel by Poppy Z. Brite, and was bound to try some. I ordered the stuff at every bar and pub we went to in that spring trip, and never twice was it served the same way. On Decatur Street they serve it straight from the bottle, warm and zingy, on Bourbon Street they water it down in the shaker before shaking it with ice, and pout out shots the color of cloudy sea water. So, when ordering it, be specific. I didn't know better, I was only 19 at the timethis was before New Orleans changed the drinking age to 21.

Now we take small bottles of the stuff to parties, introduce it, cold from the freezer to friends and family. The bottle sends up clouds of frost into the hot summer air, and we present it with an air of mystery, always mentioning it's distilled by monks in the French Alps vowed to silence, and the fact that it is 55% alcohol.
At first people are turned off, assuming it must be something like that other famous green liqueur, Absinthe. But it is nothing like it. The taste is tangy and sweet and herby, and despite its high alcohol content, when served chilled there is no burn. Some say they feel the herbs working on their system immediately, and there certainly is a sudden "open" feeling in the brain and limbs.
Even its story is romantic, distilled in the French Alps by a monastery where all have taken a vow of silence, and only two monks at one time know the secrets of the recipe and its preparations. Perhaps there is some truth that the effect of Chartreuse is different from other alcohols, because the recipe is the same as an Elixir of Life created in 1605. The Elixir was 71% alcohol, and when the monks realized people preferred it for a nice cocktail, they managed to make a couple of weaker versions, the Green Chartreuse and then the Yellow.
Now, I have never found this drink available in my local bars, but on two occasions have convinced the bar manager to order it for consumption by me and my friends. Otherwise, to my shock and surprise, I have found it at some local liquor stores, usually 21st Amendment, where it sits on the shelves with other tangy and elitist type bottles of liqueur, though usually covered in a layer of dust. The price is around $40 a bottle. It is best served very cold. I like to drink it chilled with ice and strained with a shot, but it is also nice sipped slowly on the rocks. But danger danger, so easy to consume too much, once you become enticed by its soft and spicy taste.

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