We visited the Chartreuse distillery on our recent visit to the area. Nestled in Voiron, which is a…read morereally great little town to wander around, this is the distillery for Chartreuse. Meaning you won't actually see the Monks or the preparation of the herbs, but very interesting and worth the visit. Our guide was very good and though the tour was in French, he did check in with we "English as a first language" folks to see if we were tracking. Happily we were able to follow the French tour and learned a lot about this distinctive liqueur. Originally a medicinal blend of about 130 herbs, the monks realized its tastiness and as they say "Voila"! It was so interesting to wander thru the cellars with the large vats of Chartreuse and to learn the difference between the Green and Yellow Version (honey, basically). The tasting was fun and of course, we took advantage of the gift shop to bring home some product. Would definitely recommend taking advantage of this opportunity to visit and learn about this unique spot!

Bitterness is a flavor that interestingly develops as you get older. Beer, was one of the first big…read morehurdles. Coffee, tea, those things you enjoy much more as an adult than a child. I recently discovered Amaro, which then opened a whole new world of bitter flavor profiles to explore. Chartreuse made by the Carthusian monks back in the 1700s is one of those things I've discovered. Distilled alcohol plus 100+ different herbs and other plant products sure does make for an interesting flavor. The Green Vieillissement Exceptionnellement Prolongé (VEP) is pretty fantastic with it's aging in oak barrels. At 110 proof it also packs a good wallop, so it's something to be sipped and enjoyed not shot until you're silly. Though Im sure those monks had a good amount of "quality" assurance testing.