What do author Hunter S. Thompson, bon vivant, the Queen Mother and soft rockers Bon Jovi have in common? They all class Chartreuse liqueur as one of their favourite all-time drinks. A liking they share, apparently, with many young Australians who have taken Chartreuse in this country to the third highest per capita consumption in the world and to number 14 (and rising) on the nation's charts of best-selling spirits.

Jean-Marc Roget, president of Chartreuse, was in town recently and we savoured a glass or two of Green as he told me the gospel according to Chartreuse, and an interesting tale it is.

Green Chartreuse (55 per cent alcohol) was developed by Cartusian monks in 1738 from a secret (aren't they all?) recipe known as "the elixir of long life" donated to them in 1605 by an associate of King Henry IV. Another century went by before Yellow Chartreuse (40 per cent alcohol) was released to hit the local bars in 1838. By the end of the 19th century the elixir's fame had spread worldwide, but in 1904 the government, having nationalised and sold the distillery and monastery, expelled the monks from France. When the new owners attempted to continue production of Chartreuse it was but a pale imitation of the real thing - the monks had smuggled the recipe to their new home in Tarragona, Spain.

In Tarragona, the monastic alchemists set up another distillery and preserved the tradition by producing a genuine version of Chartreuse. France did welcome the Cartusians back to the original distillery, near Grenoble, in 1921 but Chartreuse production did not recommence there until the early 1940s. As a perhaps unexpected reward for their trials the monks were able to maintain parallel production of the liqueur in Tarragona until 1989. To this day the monks continue to make Chartreuse at their original distillery using the secret recipe known to only three members of their order. It is a complicated process that involves multiple maceration and distillation of some 130 herbs, roots and spices in a neutral base spirit. According to Peter and Frances Robotti in their book, Key to Gracious Living, the recipe includes "…balm leaves, orange peel, dried hyssop tops, peppermint, angelica seed and root, cinnamon, mace, cloves, tonka beans, calamus aromatics and cardamom." (I tried this at home once but couldn't find any tonka beans in the pantry.)

I enjoy both Yellow and Green Chartreuse, their main strengths being perfumed herbal pungency combined with citrus notes - the Yellow presenting softer and sweeter. Monsieur Roget informs me that Green Chartreuse makes up 90 per cent of the Australian market. Much of that consumption he says is at clubs and bars where a shot is usually consumed straight - for the pleasure of a shock hit of alcohol. "Sacre Bleu!" I'm sure the monks would be horrified to hear that. Popular in France says M. Roget, is Chartreuse mixed with orange juice, while Australians prefer it with pineapple juice: one measure of liqueur to six of juice, over ice. Me, I like to sip straight Green Chartreuse after a good dinner, or on the rocks during summer. Green Chartreuse sells for around $60.00 and Yellow for around $52.00 the 700ml bottle. Visit Chartreuse on the web at www.chartreuse.fr . and select the English link.

© Martin Field