Wine & Spirits - October 2016 - 14
Spirits
Aged Chartreuse
by Jordan Mackay
Still distilled at
the monastery in
Voiron, the secret
formula is known
to only three monks,
two of whom prepare
separate elements of
the formula.
14
WINE & SPIRITS
But a couple years later, when he'd become a sommelier, a representative of the Chartreuse distillery
in France offered a taste of Chartreuse "VEP," which
stands for Vieillissement Exceptionnellement Prolongé,
or "exceptionally long-aged" in old oak casks. "I never
had a singular moment of revelation with wine," he
says. "But I had it with Chartreuse. It was simply one
of the most magical things I'd ever tasted."
Einbund (who, full disclosure, is a friend and neighbor) opened his first restaurant in San Francisco at the
end of August. Named for his late father, The Morris
is unabashedly a sommelier's restaurant, featuring a
robust wine program filled with gems Einbund has
been collecting for years, as well as highly refined bar,
coffee and tea programs. But the centerpiece is his
Chartreuse collection, lovingly amassed over the last
15 years.
For the uninitiated, Chartreuse is a liqueur that the
French Carthusian monks began making in Fourvoirie,
OCTOBER 2016
in the French Alps, in 1737. The recipe came from an
already ancient formula for an "elixir of long life" given
to them in 1605 (the intervening 132 years were evidently spent deciphering the knotty instructions). Still
in production (now sold in small bottles with a shaker
top), the Elixir Végétal is made from 130 different roots,
barks, flowers, herbs and plants. More popular today,
however, is the more palatable green Chartreuse they
began to produce in 1764.
It's been a stormy path for the liqueur since then. In
1793, the monks were forced to flee during the French
Revolution, and production was held up until 1816.
Once up and running again, they worked out a formula
for a sweeter, less potent and less complex yellow version, which they introduced in 1838, as well as a white,
but in 1903, they were once again forced out under the
government's move to "nationalize" religious properties. The monks took their formula to Tarragona, where
they produced the spirit under the label Liqueur fabri-
photos by Alison Christiana Photography.
Twenty years ago, Paul Einbund discovered Chartreuse the same way most people
did back then: He pointed at a dusty bottle sitting lonely on a high bar shelf and
asked, "What's that?" The answer: A sour face and "Ick, Chartreuse. Stay away!"
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Wine & Spirits - October 2016
Contents
Wine & Spirits - October 2016 - Cover1
Wine & Spirits - October 2016 - Cover2
Wine & Spirits - October 2016 - 1
Wine & Spirits - October 2016 - 2
Wine & Spirits - October 2016 - 3
Wine & Spirits - October 2016 - 4
Wine & Spirits - October 2016 - Contents
Wine & Spirits - October 2016 - 6
Wine & Spirits - October 2016 - 7
Wine & Spirits - October 2016 - 8
Wine & Spirits - October 2016 - 9
Wine & Spirits - October 2016 - 10
Wine & Spirits - October 2016 - 11
Wine & Spirits - October 2016 - 12
Wine & Spirits - October 2016 - 13
Wine & Spirits - October 2016 - 14
Wine & Spirits - October 2016 - 15
Wine & Spirits - October 2016 - 16
Wine & Spirits - October 2016 - 17
Wine & Spirits - October 2016 - 18
Wine & Spirits - October 2016 - 19
Wine & Spirits - October 2016 - 20
Wine & Spirits - October 2016 - 21
Wine & Spirits - October 2016 - 22
Wine & Spirits - October 2016 - 23
Wine & Spirits - October 2016 - 24
Wine & Spirits - October 2016 - 25
Wine & Spirits - October 2016 - 26
Wine & Spirits - October 2016 - 27
Wine & Spirits - October 2016 - 28
Wine & Spirits - October 2016 - 29
Wine & Spirits - October 2016 - 30
Wine & Spirits - October 2016 - 31
Wine & Spirits - October 2016 - 32
Wine & Spirits - October 2016 - 33
Wine & Spirits - October 2016 - 34
Wine & Spirits - October 2016 - 35
Wine & Spirits - October 2016 - 36
Wine & Spirits - October 2016 - 37
Wine & Spirits - October 2016 - 38
Wine & Spirits - October 2016 - 39
Wine & Spirits - October 2016 - 40
Wine & Spirits - October 2016 - 41
Wine & Spirits - October 2016 - 42
Wine & Spirits - October 2016 - 43
Wine & Spirits - October 2016 - 44
Wine & Spirits - October 2016 - 45
Wine & Spirits - October 2016 - 46
Wine & Spirits - October 2016 - 47
Wine & Spirits - October 2016 - 48
Wine & Spirits - October 2016 - 49
Wine & Spirits - October 2016 - 50
Wine & Spirits - October 2016 - 51
Wine & Spirits - October 2016 - 52
Wine & Spirits - October 2016 - 53
Wine & Spirits - October 2016 - 54
Wine & Spirits - October 2016 - 55
Wine & Spirits - October 2016 - 56
Wine & Spirits - October 2016 - 57
Wine & Spirits - October 2016 - 58
Wine & Spirits - October 2016 - 59
Wine & Spirits - October 2016 - 60
Wine & Spirits - October 2016 - 61
Wine & Spirits - October 2016 - 62
Wine & Spirits - October 2016 - 63
Wine & Spirits - October 2016 - 64
Wine & Spirits - October 2016 - 65
Wine & Spirits - October 2016 - 66
Wine & Spirits - October 2016 - 67
Wine & Spirits - October 2016 - 68
Wine & Spirits - October 2016 - 69
Wine & Spirits - October 2016 - 70
Wine & Spirits - October 2016 - 71
Wine & Spirits - October 2016 - 72
Wine & Spirits - October 2016 - 73
Wine & Spirits - October 2016 - 74
Wine & Spirits - October 2016 - 75
Wine & Spirits - October 2016 - 76
Wine & Spirits - October 2016 - 77
Wine & Spirits - October 2016 - 78
Wine & Spirits - October 2016 - 79
Wine & Spirits - October 2016 - 80
Wine & Spirits - October 2016 - 81
Wine & Spirits - October 2016 - 82
Wine & Spirits - October 2016 - 83
Wine & Spirits - October 2016 - 84
Wine & Spirits - October 2016 - 85
Wine & Spirits - October 2016 - 86
Wine & Spirits - October 2016 - 87
Wine & Spirits - October 2016 - 88
Wine & Spirits - October 2016 - 89
Wine & Spirits - October 2016 - 90
Wine & Spirits - October 2016 - 91
Wine & Spirits - October 2016 - 92
Wine & Spirits - October 2016 - 93
Wine & Spirits - October 2016 - 94
Wine & Spirits - October 2016 - 95
Wine & Spirits - October 2016 - 96
Wine & Spirits - October 2016 - Cover3
Wine & Spirits - October 2016 - Cover4
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/winespirits/2024spring
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/winespirits/2023winter
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/winespirits/2023fall
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/winespirits/2023summer
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/winespirits/2023spring
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/winespirits/2022winter
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/winespirits/2022fall
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/winespirits/2022summer
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https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/winespirits/202112
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/winespirits/2021winter
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/winespirits/202110
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https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/winespirits/2017winter
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https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/winespirits/201709
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https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/winespirits/201702
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/winespirits/201612
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/winespirits/2016winter
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/winespirits/201610
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/winespirits/2016fall
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/winespirits/201608
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/winespirits/201606
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/winespirits/201604
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/winespirits/201602
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/winespirits/201512
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/winespirits/2015winter
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/winespirits/201510
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/winespirits/2015fall
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/winespirits/201508
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/winespirits/201506
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https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/winespirits/201412
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/winespirits/2014winter
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/winespirits/201410
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/winespirits/2014fall
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/winespirits/201408
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https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/winespirits/201312
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/winespirits/2013winter
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https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/winespirits/2013fall
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/winespirits/201308
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https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/winespirits/201212
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/winespirits/2012winter
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