Élixir Végétal de la Grande-Chartreuse

This is NOT supposed to be available in the USA... until recently. Found bottles at Total Wine in Spokane, WA, June 2024. 100ml bottle at 69% ABV in a wooden form-fitting box for $60. Label is different from the one on this page (see below)--doesn't say "Elixir Vegetal", just "Vegetal." But it's the same. Directions are to take a few drops in chilled water or on a sugar cube or to use like bitters, for health. I'm tasting sips, neat then chilled neat. Chartreuse color (but not as electric green) with strong coating legs in the glass. Classic Chartreuse nose--intense herbal, mint, anise, and softly floral sweet. No ethanol. That shows up in the mouth, BANG. But it comes with an intense herbal, minty, anise, peppery, earthy, medicinal flavor that's very different from the regular green Chartreuse (or the VEP which is barrel aged). It's deeper, like it's been distilled down, concentrated, strained through an old funky sock. Oily coating mouthfeel that tingles and lingers. Almost feels like it gently effervesces or foams if you let it linger on your tongue and breath in. There's some sweetness, but not much--just enough to make the medicine go down (yes, Mary Poppins). Taste chilled is quite nice, tames the ethanol just a bit, but the funky herbal shines through. Such a slurge, but cheaper than the flight to Paris I was considering (OK, the Elixir was a secondary point of a trip). Now that I'm looking online, it appears you can find it at some CA liquor retailers for half what I paid... but that's another trip. Right now, I'll just experiment with what I have and enjoy it, hoping I won't have to test its medicinal efficacy on a cold anytime soon. Shhhh, silent monks!

Outstanding - this has been my cure all for coughs and sore throats for many years. Delicious flavor that feels like medicine in a good way.

This is pretty awesome.