Tuesday 7 December 2010

Cheers

Green D'Or! I now know that the festive season has really arrived - we went to see Part 1 of 'Harry Potter - The Deathly Hallows' this afternoon, and (2) our annual bottle of Chartreuse has arrived. Here is H.I.'s measure, in a cordial glass with a tear-stem, dating to around 1750 - a prized possession.

Once a year, we buy a bottle of this stuff, though it is becoming increasingly difficult to buy in this country and impossible to get in Bath - unless you know a friendly publican - which I do.

There is a great film called Die große Stille (The Great Silence) where a German film maker spends a year in the Chartreuse Monastery, and part of it includes the making of this stuff - all done in silence. Only the Abbot and the Brewer know the recipe, which is mainly herbs - including tobacco.

And the frost is on the trees - let's hope it stays there until the 26th.

14 comments:

  1. HIC
    just about to open my individual can of gin and tonic from sainsburys

    chin chin

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  2. I agree with Sue, Tom, the glass is stunning! I've never tried Chartreuse is it very potent? HI's measure looks economical, perhaps another little measure 'cos it's cold out maybe?

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  3. What a beautiful vessel for your Chartreuse. Cheers!

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  4. We traditionally get a bottle of Chartreuse for the holidays, too. Fabulous cordial glass. A worthy prize.

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  5. Yes All - it's a great glass. Mid 18th C. cordials in that form are quite rare. I would not knock your can of G & T from Sainsbury, John - they are good! I topped up H.I,'s measure for the picture, Moll - don't worry. Anyway, it's 55%, so I try to stop her from singing in public. Nice to know that we are not the only ones with this tradition, Tess. Anyone seen the fillum?

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  6. That's a beautiful glass. Not sure if I've ever had Chartreuse . . . I'll definitely have to try a bit sometime soon!

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  7. Never mind about that, Amy - we need an audio clip of your radio debut!

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  8. I'll get one posted as soon as I get a copy myself--maybe a few days.

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  9. I am always so suspicious of products where 'only two people know the recipe'. Blah Blah. Do they think we're all going to become monks and start producing Chartreuse?

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  10. I forgot to add... Beautiful glass!!

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  11. I also forgot to add, that one drop of Chartreuse in a half-decent Spectrometer would give its recipe at once!

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  12. I think the main reason why the recipe for Chartreuse is kept a 'secret' Cro, is because one of the herbs that go into it is tobacco, and the international health and morals police would make it illegal. A bit like taking the wormwood out of Absinthe - where's the fun in that? If I want to go mad and die at the same time, then that's my business, isn't it?

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  13. P.S. The monk who makes this stuff spends his day in a huge and ancient room of the monastery, pulling great bundles of herbs from dusty bins, and carefully blending them by weight before tying them into hessian sacks and loading them into the back of an old pick-up truck.

    The truck is then driven down into town, and taken to a commercial distiller, who actually makes the liqueur and bottles it, puts the labels on and distributes it. The monk would not be able to cope with demand if he had to do it all himself!

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