Yellow Chartreuse - 1960-1965 - Tarragone - La Seisenta, 75 cl
Bottle in good general condition. Cork cap with pewter capsule, in good condition. Tax stamp glued, dirty and in bad condition. Label in average condition, a little bit unglued and torn at the top right side. Slightly torn on the bottom. Seal on the bottle. Dark shade.
History:
In 1605, at a Chartreuse monastery of Vauvert, in Paris, the monks received a gift from Marshal d'Estrées, an ancient manuscript talking of an “Elixir”, which no one knows the origin of. In this period, only a few monks and even fewer apothecaries understood the use of herbs and plants in the treatment of illness. The manuscript's recipe was so complex that only bits and pieces of it were understood and used by the monastery's apothecary, Frère Jerome Maubec. He finally unraveled the mystery and, in 1737, drew up the practical formula for the preparation of the Elixir.
The distribution and sales of this new medicine were limited. One of the monks of La Grande Chartreuse would load his mule with the small bottles that he sold in Grenoble and Chambéry, and other nearby villages.
So tasty was this elixir that it was often used as a beverage rather than a medicine. Recognizing this, the monks, in 1764, adapted the elixir recipe to make a milder beverage, and which we know today as "Green Chartreuse" (55% alcohol). The success of this liqueur was immediate and its fame was no longer restricted to the area around La Grande Chartreuse. In 1838, the Chartreuse distillers developed a sweeter form of Chartreuse: "Yellow Chartreuse" (43% alcohol)
In 1903, the French government nationalized the Chartreuse distillery. The monks were expelled. The monks took their secret recipe to their refuge in Tarragona, Spain, where they built a new distillery, and began producing their liqueurs with the same label, but with an additional label which said "Liqueur fabriquée à Tarragone par les Pères Chartreux" ("liqueur manufactured in Tarragone by the Carthusian Fathers").
After World War II, the government lifted the expulsion order, making the Carthusian monks once again legal French residents. Since the closure of the distillery of Tarragona in 1989, the liqueur is produced exclusively in Voiron using the herbal mixture prepared by two monks at Grande Chartreuse.
Chartreuse today:
Today, this Elixir is still made only by the Carthusian monks following that ancient recipe, and is called Elixir Vegetal de la Grande-Chartreuse. The selection, crushing and mixing of 130 secret herbs, natural plants and other botanicals used in producing the liqueurs of completely natural colour, is done in the monastery by two monks. This liqueur is aged for several years in huge oak casks and placed into the world's longest liqueur cellar for maturation. Even today the formula remains a mystery which modern investigation methods have not been able to penetrate!
Data sheet
- Period
- 1960-1965
- Format
- 75 cl
- Color
- Yellow Chartreuse
- Ingredients
- Alcohol, sugar, honey, 130 plants and flowers
- Production origin
- Spain, Tarragona
- % vol.
- 43 %
- Maturity
- 50+ years
- Serving T°
- 5°-11°C
- Tasting Note
- To bring out the flavors, Chartreuse is best served with ice. Traditionally considered an after dinner drink, Chartreuse is more and more being enjoyed as a long drink
- Made by
- The Pères Chartreux
- Cuvée
- La Seisenta
- Level
- 7,1 cm
- Label
- Average condition
- Glass
- Smooth and clean
- Cap
- Tin cap, good condition
- Tax Stamp
- Bad condition
- Shade
- Light
The famous liqueur made by Carthusian monks
In 1605, at a Chartreuse monastery of Vauvert, in Paris, the monks received a gift from Marshal d'Estrées, an already ancient manuscript from an “Elixir”, which no one knows the origin of. In this period, only a few monks and even fewer apothecaries understood the use of herbs and plants in the treatment of illness. The manuscript's recipe was so complex that only bits and pieces of it were understood and used by the monastery's apothecary, Frère Jerome Maubec. He finally unraveled the mystery and, in 1737, drew up the practical formula for the preparation of the Elixir.
The distribution and sales of this new medicine were limited. One of the monks of La Grande Chartreuse would load his mule with the small bottles that he sold in Grenoble and Chambéry, and other nearby villages. So tasty was this elixir that it was often used as a beverage rather than a medicine. Recognizing this, the monks, in 1764, adapted the elixir recipe to make a milder beverage, and which we know today as "Green Chartreuse" (55% alcohol). The success of this liqueur was immediate and its fame was no longer restricted to the area around La Grande Chartreuse. In 1838, the Chartreuse distillers developed a sweeter form of Chartreuse: "Yellow Chartreuse" (43% alcohol)
In 1903, the French government nationalized the Chartreuse distillery. The monks were expelled. The monks took their secret recipe to their refuge in Tarragona, Spain, where they built a new distillery, and began producing their spirits with the same label, but with an additional label which said "Liqueur fabriquée à Tarragone par les Pères Chartreux" ("liqueur manufactured in Tarragone by the Carthusian Fathers"). After World War II, the government lifted the expulsion order, making the Carthusian monks once again legal French residents. Since the closure of the distillery of Tarragona in 1989, the liqueur is produced exclusively in Voiron using the herbal mixture prepared by two monks at Grande Chartreuse.
Discover the Chartreuse liqueur made by the monks, on Pleasure Wine. The French specialist in rare and ancient Chartreuses.