Being green

Chartreuse

Noshing & Sipping by Theresa Regli

Chartreuse the color takes its name from Chartreuse the liqueur, which has been made exclusively by the monks of La Grande Chartreuse monastery near Grenoble, France, since 1605. The recipe for this greenish-yellow Alpine cordial contains 130 mountain herbs, but the exact method of fabrication is a secret, protected by a vow of silence among three of the monastery's brothers. It smells of pine and anise, and its taste -- like a crisp and earthy mountain day -- is unique. Although this 110-proof herbal elixir is sometimes drunk straight, as a digestif, it's more commonly mixed with soda water. A 750 ml bottle sells for $30 to $35 at most area liquor stores.

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