Friend of IT Anastasia Kolobrodova is back to regale us with her journey to the caves of Chartreuse in Voiron, France.
Last
week, when my friend was visiting me in Lyon, France, we scheduled all of the usual touristy things - sojourning to Paris, visiting
every pâtisserie in town, eating crêpes at least three times daily. But the highlight by far is when we hopped on a train for a day trip to Voiron, a small town near
Grenoble, to tour the cellars of Chartreuse.
Every
liquor has a tale, but Chartreuse's background is particularly
intriguing. Based on a 1605 recipe for the Elixir of Life, the
combination of 130 herbs that create Chartreuse's uniquely medicinal
flavor has been handed down for generations. At any given
time only two people in the world know the recipe, and, both being
silent monks of the Order of Chartreuse, they're surely not going to tell.
Last
week, when my friend was visiting me in Lyon, France, we scheduled all of the usual touristy things - sojourning to Paris, visiting
every pâtisserie in town, eating crêpes at least three times daily. But the highlight by far is when we hopped on a train for a day trip to Voiron, a small town near
Grenoble, to tour the cellars of Chartreuse.
Every
liquor has a tale, but Chartreuse's background is particularly
intriguing. Based on a 1605 recipe for the Elixir of Life, the
combination of 130 herbs that create Chartreuse's uniquely medicinal
flavor has been handed down for generations. At any given
time only two people in the world know the recipe, and, both being
silent monks of the Order of Chartreuse, they're surely not going to tell.
On
the free guided tour of the cellars and distillery, we winded
through the impressively long hallways of the largest liqueur cellar in
the world, as our guide divulged historic tidbits about the liquor. Due
to persecution, our guide explained, the monks here were forced to flee
twice from the area and set up alternate distilleries in Tarragona,
Spain and Marseille, France in order to continue making Chartreuse.
After gazing longingly at the giant barrels of aging
Chartreuse, visitors sit down to a short film about the history of the
monks, which is pretty hilarious in its wanton use of 3D technology.
The tour culminates with a free tasting of any one of the nine products made in the distillery. I made the mistake of ordering, at my friend's behest, the Gentiane, a liquor intriguingly described as being made from the roots of Alpine flowers. Though the tour guide warned me it would be bitter, I thought that I would enjoy it, considering my love for hopsy beer and dark chocolate. The Gentiane went above and beyond my expectations and I could only manage meager swallows of the bitter concoction while my friend happily sipped on her healthy pour of tasty green Chartreuse. While enjoying our drinks, we had fun looking at the assortment of old bottles displayed in the tasting room, including a full shelf of Chartreuse impostors and counterfeits through the ages.
If after the tasting you still haven't had your fill of the delicious herbal liquor, you can buy any variety of it in the Chartreuse gift shop. We opted for the authentic and purchased the Elixir Végétal in its original form: a small, yet powerful bottle of 71% alcohol, sold in a wooden case and promising eternal life. If you're not that hardcore, you can also sample Chartreuse for as little as three euros per serving, even in its fanciest varieties, at any of the bars in Voiron.
There are also plenty of other things to do in Voiron before and after the tour. We visited the beautiful church of Saint-Bruno, sampled food from the large local market, and bought mouthwatering treats from Bonnat Chocolatier, one of the few chocolatiers in France that roasts cocoa beans in-house. All in all, Voiron provides a delicious day trip from Lyon.
Caves de la Chartreuse, 10 boulevard Edgar-Kofler, 38500 Voiron http://www.chartreuse.fr/pa_visit_uk.htm
Read More: Check out La Guillotine, the bar that's a former prison in Paris. And find all of our France coverage here.
Photo: Vintage bottles of Chartreuse by Anastasia Kolobrodova
The tour culminates with a free tasting of any one of the nine products made in the distillery. I made the mistake of ordering, at my friend's behest, the Gentiane, a liquor intriguingly described as being made from the roots of Alpine flowers. Though the tour guide warned me it would be bitter, I thought that I would enjoy it, considering my love for hopsy beer and dark chocolate. The Gentiane went above and beyond my expectations and I could only manage meager swallows of the bitter concoction while my friend happily sipped on her healthy pour of tasty green Chartreuse. While enjoying our drinks, we had fun looking at the assortment of old bottles displayed in the tasting room, including a full shelf of Chartreuse impostors and counterfeits through the ages.
If after the tasting you still haven't had your fill of the delicious herbal liquor, you can buy any variety of it in the Chartreuse gift shop. We opted for the authentic and purchased the Elixir Végétal in its original form: a small, yet powerful bottle of 71% alcohol, sold in a wooden case and promising eternal life. If you're not that hardcore, you can also sample Chartreuse for as little as three euros per serving, even in its fanciest varieties, at any of the bars in Voiron.
There are also plenty of other things to do in Voiron before and after the tour. We visited the beautiful church of Saint-Bruno, sampled food from the large local market, and bought mouthwatering treats from Bonnat Chocolatier, one of the few chocolatiers in France that roasts cocoa beans in-house. All in all, Voiron provides a delicious day trip from Lyon.
Caves de la Chartreuse, 10 boulevard Edgar-Kofler, 38500 Voiron http://www.chartreuse.fr/pa_
Read More: Check out La Guillotine, the bar that's a former prison in Paris. And find all of our France coverage here.
Photo: Vintage bottles of Chartreuse by Anastasia Kolobrodova
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I have a friend from Grenoble and she makes crêpes with sugar and Chartreuse liquor. Yummy!
Considering that this particular wine was used in 1605in a recipe known as: The Elixer of Life indicates that the wine is very old. I would also like to say the I'm a big fan of French wine and without France nobody would be able to experience the Vinyards of France.