The Grand Chartreuse Package

The Grand Chartreuse Package assembles all four expressions from the Carthusian monks who have produced Chartreuse in the French Alps since 1737 according to a secret recipe of 130 botanicals known only to two monks at any given time. This is the complete spectrum in one collection: Green Chartreuse VEP, standard Green Chartreuse, Yellow Chartreuse, and Elixir Végétal. Where most liqueur ranges offer variations on a theme, these four bottles represent fundamentally different approaches to the same monastic formula, from the 80-proof honeyed gentleness of Yellow to the 142-proof medicinal concentration of Elixir Végétal. The monks distill Chartreuse at their distillery in Aiguenoire, macerating and distilling the 130-plant formula in copper stills before aging the liqueurs in oak casks beneath the mountains. Green Chartreuse VEP spends additional years in those cellars beyond the standard aging cycle, mellowing the mint and anise intensity into deeper honeyed complexity while the standard Green holds the bold herbal profile that has anchored pre-Prohibition cocktails like the Last Word. Yellow Chartreuse shifts the botanical balance toward saffron, chamomile, and honey at a lower proof, making it the modifier of choice when you want herbal depth without overpowering a stirred cocktail. Elixir Végétal condenses the formula to its most potent form, traditionally taken in drops on a sugar cube or diluted in hot water as a digestif. You can read the full story of the Carthusian monks and their jealously guarded recipe at offpremisechicago.com/producer/chartreuse. The VEP shows integrated spice and a finish that stretches for minutes, softening the bracing 110-proof character of standard Green into something rounder and more contemplative. Standard Green remains the backbone for classic cocktails but also compelling enough to sip neat after dinner, delivering that signature mint-forward alpine intensity bartenders have relied on for generations. Yellow works over ice with a twist of lemon or as a background player in drinks where Green would dominate, leaning herbal without aggression. Elixir Végétal is the monks' original medicinal tincture, still bottled in the same small format, meant for careful dosing rather than full pours. Together, the four trace nearly three centuries of monastic distilling tradition, offering a complete education in what makes Chartreuse unlike any other spirit category. In stock at Off Premise in Lincoln Park.