The Chartreuse is not a simple liquor: along the centuries, it became legendary. In fact, it is an integral piece of French History, although its ingredients still remain a secret. It is said that in 1605, the Monks of the Chartreuse de Vauvert, in Paris, received a manuscript from the hands of the Duke of Estrées. In it, the complex recipe of the precious liquor, made with more than 130 different plants. A century later, in 1737, the monks of the Grande Chartreuse Monastery near Grenoble simplified this recipe and made what became the definitive version of the "Elixir Végétal" we still drink today.

The Chartreuse became all the rage and the monks decided to make new versions of their product. In 1840, the Green Chartreuse (whose recipe stays close to the original elixir) and the Yellow Chartreuse, called the "Queen of Liquors", sweeter than its green sibling (43°), were created. The Chartreuse Blanche, nicknamed the "Melissa", came out in 1860. This one is much more difficult to find, nowadays.