Chartreuse VEP Green 1L

V.E.P. stands for Vieillissement Exceptionnellement Prolongé, exceptionally prolonged aging, a designation the Carthusian monks created in 1963 for the finest lots of their green liqueur. The formula is the same secret of 130 plants behind classic Green Chartreuse, but here selected liqueurs rest for many additional years in oak demi-muids, emerging at 54 percent with aromas of unusual complexity and persistence. Licorice and flowers lead the nose, the mid-palate turns sweetly herbal, and the finish runs long through herbs, white pepper, and burnt flowers. Each bottle is a reproduction of the 1840 original, individually numbered, cork-stoppered, wax-sealed, and cased in a wooden box branded with the order's insignia, released in strictly limited quantities each year. This is the summit of Chartreuse: serve barely cool, sip it, and say a prayer.