Aged Chartreuse.

The previous post on my old bottle of Yellow Chartreuse attracted some questions about the spirit aging in the bottle. I personally have not had the chance to sample anything vintage, but some good friends of mine have. The pics above are courtesy of David Nepove, who is basically the face of the San Francisco bar community. While I think these shots are from a trip he took awhile ago, he just went to the Chartreuse distillery in Grenoble a few months ago (that's where one of my elixir bottles came from.)

Anyway, on the question of bottling aging and vintages. There is a fairly significant amount of organic matter suspended in the spirit as evidenced by the color. Despite the high alcohol levels, this is going to undergo changes over time. Also, while it does not necessarily support the issue of aging, vintages are import to Chartreuse as the distillery has moved a few times over it's 400 year history due to things like avalanches, revolutions and world wars.

I remember talking with one of the owners of Chartreuse Diffusion, the company that exports the spirit, about vintage bottles and their attributes. I have an email into him for more info.

For now I will let Mr. Nepoves pics of the Chartreuse Cellar he was invited to drink in under a Michelin Stared restaurant in France.