Mystery surrounds the origins of Chartreuse. In 1605, one of Estrées’‘ marshals presented the Carthusian Monks at Vauvert, Paris with a manuscript containing the formula for a plant elixir. In 1764, this formula using 130 plants was perfected and formalized by Father Jérôme Maubec, who created the Elixir Végétal de la Grande-Chartreuse, the monastery where Chartreuse would be produced until 1864. After a difficult end to the century marked by a French Revolution that posed many problems for religious orders, green and yellow Chartreuse were created in 1840 and quickly became popular. In 1903, the monks were expelled from France and sought refuge in Tarragona, Spain, where they continued to produce Chartreuse, despite the brand being sold to a group of liquor producers. They recovered the brand in 1929 and returned production to France, although the Tarragona distillery would continue operating until 1989. Today, Chartreuse Diffusion manages production, now at the Aigueneoire Distillery, which follows in the footsteps of Fourvoirie and Voiron. Various types of Chartreuse are distributed, from green Chartreuse, to yellow Chartreuse, the Elixir Végétal and VEPs. Older versions and limited editions are hugely popular among enthusiasts and collectors, who have nicknamed it the “Queen of Liqueurs”.

The V.E.P.s were created in 1963 and are produced in the same way as Yellow and Green Chartreuse but aged for extended periods in oak half-hogsheads, which are smaller than the barrels other versions are aged in, giving them additional complexity. The bottle used for V.E.P. Chartreuse is a copy of the first known bottle of Chartreuse, which dates back to 1840. Green Chartreuse is bottled at 54% and Yellow at 42%. Vintages and bottling years have varied over the years; today it is the year of bottling that is stated on the label, in this case 2012.