Why Paris Wine Bars Are Obsessed With a 400-Year-Old Monk-Made Liqueur
Chartreuse, a case study in how scarcity and authenticity can drive desirability
Chartreuse, the centuries-old herbal liqueur made by monks, has become a luxury obsession in Paris's natural wine bars. From giant jeroboams in windows to tableside orders, the spirit's scarcity and authenticity are driving its desirability, turning a niche digestif into a status symbol.
This was the city that, some 25 years ago, put natural wine bars on the map. Today those same bars have a new obsession: a 400-year-old digestif made by monks.
- wesleyd
Once upon a time, many years ago, I was working in a bar in rural Ireland. I was 16 or 17, I was alone in the place, it was a slow afternoon, I was crouched down, putting bottles on shelves, idly wondering what the strongest drink - highest ABV - in this place was. Most spirits were about 40%, many less, some slightly more. At that moment I happened to look up and I swear a beam of sunshine at that moment lit on a bottle of green chartreuse above my head, highlighting the “55% ABV” on the label. In my memory, music also chimed. I just had to taste this stuff, so I poured a tiny drop into a glass. O. M. G. It. Was. _Vile_. To this day, it is my benchmark for how bad something tastes.
- claytongulick
For the curious, the Chartreuse liquor isn't the original formula, it was developed in the late 1800's, IIRC.
The original "secret elixir of eternal youth" from the crusades era is still available though, it's meant to be consumed as a medicinal tonic with a spoon. It comes in a cool small wooden bottle, I just scored and got three of them at my local Total Wine.
- arjie
A few years ago there was a headline about how the monks who make chartreuse are going to spend more of their time on monastic pursuits and we're going to run out of chartreuse. Well, that's how many secondary articles described https://www.wsj.com/articles/chartreuse-craft-cocktails-liqu...
As a highly-intelligent anti-consumerist well aware of marketing materials and yellow journalism and also a very skilled reader of text who never makes decisions based on headlines, I scrambled to get a bottle of yellow chartreuse and one of green chartreuse. Never having had them as they are, I have to say they're quite enjoyable liqueurs on their own. Good fun.
After having bought the bottles and when the scramble was no longer necessary, I sat down to look at what the news actually said and found that all they said was that they aren't expanding production. Good show.