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Chartreuse is a bit weird in that it's a kind of joint partnership between an isolationist monastery [1] and a liquor producer/distributor. I lived near Voiron

Chartreuse is a bit weird in that it's a kind of joint partnership between an isolationist monastery [1] and a liquor producer/distributor. I lived near Voiron and did the obligatory tour of the production facility (I already liked the liquor thanks to a friend (hey Iv!), and the place smelled delicious!) They do a good job maintaining the mystique of the Secret Recipe Known Only By A Handful™, which I suppose the monks tolerate and maintain to ensure the steady revenue stream. As one story goes, they were the "first internationally distributed" liquor when the French Foreign Legion loved the stuff and decided to always have some on their campaigns. The Carthusian monks are an isolationist order, with intentionally limited contact with the outside, which dovetails well with Chartreuse mystique. There was a 2005 documentary, Into Great Silence [2], about life inside the monastery, whose filming was granted 18 years after it was first requested! I'm sure Quentin Tarantino already has a good supply of the liquor ;) If you're ever around the Alpes, try and find some genepi [3] liquor (not to be confused with absinthe! Made from same genus, different species,) which you'll find is 70% of the flavour of Chartreuse! (dang, I miss Grenoble) [1] https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grande_Chartreuse https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grande_Chartreuse [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Into_Great_Silence https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Into_Great_Silence [3] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/G%C3%A9n%C3%A9pi https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/G%C3%A9n%C3%A9pi

kerrsclyde 4y ago
Buckfast Tonic Wine, in the UK is produced in the same way. And it has been much maligned, linked with many alcohol related crimes, particularly in Scotland. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buckfast_Tonic_Wine https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buckfast_Tonic_Wine [2] https://www.thescottishsun.co.uk/news/scottish-news/7702950/buckfast-crime-scotland-police/ https://www.thescottishsun.co.uk/news/scottish-news/7702950/...
- mabbo 4y ago
  270mg of caffeine and 112ml of alcohol per 750ml bottle. Like three strong coffees and seven shots of vodka in a single serving. I truly think it ought to be taxed heavily to repay the costs that society bares for it's existence.
  - Metacelsus 4y ago
    It's the British equivalent of Four Loko.
    - bee_rider 4y ago
      It is a bit funny that Four Loko got this reputation, when alcohol+caffeine have been helping people make bad decisions faster for ages (it isn’t like the FDA is gonna somehow ban rum and coke).
      - TheCondor 4y ago
        I don’t know that I’ve ever seen or heard about rum and coke resulting in the same effects as four loko or vodka Red Bull. Could be the formula, could be the intent of the drinkers. I don’t think it’s a cognitive bias, but there is a rowdiness at a party with a keg and then there is a different level at a party with 40s.
        jonhohle 4y ago
        The median rum and coke drinker is very different from the median Four Loko drinker for any metric except maybe height and weight.
        SturgeonsLaw 4y ago
        > I don’t know that I’ve ever seen or heard about rum and coke resulting in the same effects as four loko or vodka Red Bull Then I take it you have never been to Australia... https://www.betootaadvocate.com/uncategorized/cane-champagne-is-the-most-dangerous-drug-in-australia/ https://www.betootaadvocate.com/uncategorized/cane-champagne...
      - fknorangesite 4y ago
        Because there's practically no caffeine in a rum and coke. Very fuzzy napkin-math incoming: if you were to consume an equivalent amount of caffeine as a Four Loko via rum-and-cokes, you've now had about 50oz of rum. The caffeine would, uh, not be the problem. Edit: Hm, though maybe this says more about my "rum, wave a Coke over it" preferences.
- soylentcola 4y ago
  Ah, Buckfast gets ya fucked fast. I remember splitting a bottle with friends on a few occasions when doing a semester abroad in Ireland. Even then we didn't particularly like it, but it was a cheap buzz when we were young and less discriminating.
- Thoreandan 4y ago
  While looking to see if Buckfast was explicitly banned from import, I did a Google search for '"buckfast tonic" site:gov' giving two hits, one of which was a cardiology report about a 16 year old who'd reported to the ER after drinking it mixed with Red Bull. Yikes.
- mustacheemperor 4y ago
  I'm not an expert, but I think it's different in that Buckfast is licensed to big commercial distributors but Chartreuse production is quite restricted - hence the current situation. It sounds like this monastery doesn't want to industrialize production in the same way.
heywhatupboys 4y ago
Could anyone on HN give some insight as to what these 130 might be? to my knowledge, we don't even have 130 edible spices/plants growing naturally in France!
- jkh1 4y ago
  Of course there are more than that. Look at any comprehensive guide book on edible/foreageable plants and you'll definitely find more than a couple hundreds. For example, the plants for a future database (https://pfaf.org/user/Default.aspx https://pfaf.org/user/Default.aspx) lists thousands of edible plants that grow in temperate climates. Many plants are edible if only for some parts and many are not particularly tasty and/or need some preparation. Edit: To answer the question of the composition, the dominant taste comes from Tanacetum balsamita (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tanacetum_balsamita https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tanacetum_balsamita).
- kergonath 4y ago
  > we don't even have 130 edible spices/plants growing naturally in France! I counted 44 here*, but that’s only because I stopped just before the letter B. There are loads of edible and medicinal plants in France, as in much of the world. * https://fr.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liste_de_plantes_médicinales_de_France https://fr.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liste_de_plantes_médicinales...
flurie 4y ago
Haus Alpenz carries a genepy made by Dolin that is fairly easy to find at large/specialty stores. https://alpenz.com/product-genepy.html https://alpenz.com/product-genepy.html
- kergonath 4y ago
  Yes, the Dolin génépi is good, I really like it. It is no chartreuse, though. The closest I have seen to a mystic revelation is when I had a glass of green VEP (that’s the aged chartreuse; the one I tried was from the 1940s). It’s a life-changing experience. Maybe the lack of chartreuse will help selling Bénédictine and génépi. I need to find new cocktails, though, I quite enjoy a Last Word.
- himinlomax 4y ago
  Génépi tastes like a budget, unrefined Chartreuse. Though it could easily replace it in most cocktails.

kerrsclyde 4y ago

Buckfast Tonic Wine, in the UK is produced in the same way. And it has been much maligned, linked with many alcohol related crimes, particularly in Scotland. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buckfast_Tonic_Wine https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buckfast_Tonic_Wine [2] https://www.thescottishsun.co.uk/news/scottish-news/7702950/buckfast-crime-scotland-police/ https://www.thescottishsun.co.uk/news/scottish-news/7702950/...

mabbo 4y ago
270mg of caffeine and 112ml of alcohol per 750ml bottle. Like three strong coffees and seven shots of vodka in a single serving. I truly think it ought to be taxed heavily to repay the costs that society bares for it's existence.
- Metacelsus 4y ago
  It's the British equivalent of Four Loko.
  - bee_rider 4y ago
    It is a bit funny that Four Loko got this reputation, when alcohol+caffeine have been helping people make bad decisions faster for ages (it isn’t like the FDA is gonna somehow ban rum and coke).
    - TheCondor 4y ago
      I don’t know that I’ve ever seen or heard about rum and coke resulting in the same effects as four loko or vodka Red Bull. Could be the formula, could be the intent of the drinkers. I don’t think it’s a cognitive bias, but there is a rowdiness at a party with a keg and then there is a different level at a party with 40s.
      - jonhohle 4y ago
        The median rum and coke drinker is very different from the median Four Loko drinker for any metric except maybe height and weight.
      - SturgeonsLaw 4y ago
        > I don’t know that I’ve ever seen or heard about rum and coke resulting in the same effects as four loko or vodka Red Bull Then I take it you have never been to Australia... https://www.betootaadvocate.com/uncategorized/cane-champagne-is-the-most-dangerous-drug-in-australia/ https://www.betootaadvocate.com/uncategorized/cane-champagne...
    - fknorangesite 4y ago
      Because there's practically no caffeine in a rum and coke. Very fuzzy napkin-math incoming: if you were to consume an equivalent amount of caffeine as a Four Loko via rum-and-cokes, you've now had about 50oz of rum. The caffeine would, uh, not be the problem. Edit: Hm, though maybe this says more about my "rum, wave a Coke over it" preferences.
soylentcola 4y ago
Ah, Buckfast gets ya fucked fast. I remember splitting a bottle with friends on a few occasions when doing a semester abroad in Ireland. Even then we didn't particularly like it, but it was a cheap buzz when we were young and less discriminating.
Thoreandan 4y ago
While looking to see if Buckfast was explicitly banned from import, I did a Google search for '"buckfast tonic" site:gov' giving two hits, one of which was a cardiology report about a 16 year old who'd reported to the ER after drinking it mixed with Red Bull. Yikes.
mustacheemperor 4y ago
I'm not an expert, but I think it's different in that Buckfast is licensed to big commercial distributors but Chartreuse production is quite restricted - hence the current situation. It sounds like this monastery doesn't want to industrialize production in the same way.

heywhatupboys 4y ago

Could anyone on HN give some insight as to what these 130 might be? to my knowledge, we don't even have 130 edible spices/plants growing naturally in France!

jkh1 4y ago
Of course there are more than that. Look at any comprehensive guide book on edible/foreageable plants and you'll definitely find more than a couple hundreds. For example, the plants for a future database (https://pfaf.org/user/Default.aspx https://pfaf.org/user/Default.aspx) lists thousands of edible plants that grow in temperate climates. Many plants are edible if only for some parts and many are not particularly tasty and/or need some preparation. Edit: To answer the question of the composition, the dominant taste comes from Tanacetum balsamita (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tanacetum_balsamita https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tanacetum_balsamita).
kergonath 4y ago
> we don't even have 130 edible spices/plants growing naturally in France! I counted 44 here*, but that’s only because I stopped just before the letter B. There are loads of edible and medicinal plants in France, as in much of the world. * https://fr.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liste_de_plantes_médicinales_de_France https://fr.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liste_de_plantes_médicinales...

flurie 4y ago

Haus Alpenz carries a genepy made by Dolin that is fairly easy to find at large/specialty stores. https://alpenz.com/product-genepy.html https://alpenz.com/product-genepy.html

kergonath 4y ago
Yes, the Dolin génépi is good, I really like it. It is no chartreuse, though. The closest I have seen to a mystic revelation is when I had a glass of green VEP (that’s the aged chartreuse; the one I tried was from the 1940s). It’s a life-changing experience. Maybe the lack of chartreuse will help selling Bénédictine and génépi. I need to find new cocktails, though, I quite enjoy a Last Word.
himinlomax 4y ago
Génépi tastes like a budget, unrefined Chartreuse. Though it could easily replace it in most cocktails.