Chartreuse 1960-1965 | La Seisenta

The Chartreuse "La Seisenta" of 1960-1965 (Tarragona)

The Chartreuse "La Seisenta" is technically not a special cuvée , but we still have to distinguish it from the previous releases. Made in Tarragona, Spain, the famous Seisenta served as a way to celebrate the new year 1960. Hence the name, as the number "sixty" translates to "sesenta" in Spanish. Back then, it was also known as the "Sinfonia de Plantas", or "Plant Symphony" in English. A nickname earned from the many ad campaigns that emphasized the 130 plants and herbs found in the Chartreuse liqueur.

If we take a close look at the labels found on the Seisenta, we can see a new mention: "Chartreuse S.A.E. = Tarragona (España)". This sentence was added underneath the usual text that says "Fabriquée par les Pères Chartreux" (which means "Made by the Carthusian Fathers" in English). That's because 1960 was the year the Spanish Unión Agricola officially became "Chartreuse SAE", a limited company (SAE is the acronym for "Sociedad Anónima Española"). In 1963, its director, Xavier de Muller, left the company to his son Joaquim.

One year later, Joaquim de Muller battled the Spanish administration, which wanted to know the exact recipe of the liqueurs sold in the country. Although the SAE managed to come through with the simple mention "Plant substances, sugar, alcohol" for its Chartreuses, the other products made by the Carthusian monk were more impacted. As such, everything medicinal was banned from the Spanish market. The monks could no longer sell their famous "steel ball", for example. A medicinal item made with iron or steel filings and precious gums.

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