CHARTREUSE - Eau de Vie de Chartreuse - Vintage 1941 - 40%
The Order of the Chartreuse had existed for over 500 years when, in 1605, at a Chartreuse monastery located in Vauvert, a modest suburb of Paris, the monks received a precious gift from Duke François Hannibal d'Estrées: an ancient manuscript dedicated to an "Elixir" nicknamed "Elixir of Long Life." This unique document is said to be the work of a 16th-century alchemist, endowed with profound knowledge of medicinal plants and perfect mastery in assembling, infusing, and macerating up to 130 herbs to create a tonic with perfectly balanced virtues. The complexity of this recipe was such that only partial extracts were initially deciphered and used at Vauvert. In the early 18th century, this precious manuscript was transferred to the Mother House of the Order, the Grande Chartreuse, nestled in the mountains near Grenoble. The monastery's apothecary, Brother Jérôme Maubec, succeeded in uncovering the secret and, in 1737, wrote the practical formula for the official preparation of the Elixir, which went into effective production in 1764. In 1903, following nationalization by the French government, the Chartreuse distillery was seized and the monks expelled. However, after the factory's bankruptcy in 1929, the monks finally recovered the Chartreuse brand. They reoccupied their historic distillery, founded in 1860 at Fourvoirie, near the monastery, and relaunched the production of authentic Chartreuse liqueurs. After a devastating landslide in 1935 partially destroyed Fourvoirie, production was transferred to Voiron, where it remains active today.
This exceptional bottle of Chartreuse eau de vie, vintage 1941, was crafted in Aigues-Vives with ancestral know-how to serve as the base for the renowned liqueurs. It represents a true treasure of history and a unique symbol of the expertise of the Carthusian monks, making Clos des Spiritueux proud.
