Chartreuse is a 100% monastic company. The uniqueness, expertise and quality of this liqueur have led it to be among the top three Top Trend liqueurs in the world for the most famous cocktail bars around the globe. Its history goes back as far as the Middle Ages, when Arabic knowledge on distillation was brought to the School of Salerno, founded in 1100. Here, a distillation system close to the modern one was studied and refined, and within these walls the first aqua-vitae and elixirs of life were obtained. The most active in this regard were the Franciscans, one of whom, John of Rupescissa, speaks extensively of infusions and distillations for medicinal purposes, and mentions for the first time the word Elixir 'which cures all diseases and prolongs life'. The Jesuit friars took up the legacy of John of Rupescissa and further perfected the herbal infusion. The voluptuary use of liqueurs and bitters officially began at the court of Catherine de Medici, where there are reports of delicious preparations being used to welcome her guests. In 1605, a manuscript arrived at the monastery of the Grande Chartreuse containing a recipe for making a bitter elixir with no less than 130 herbs, the 'universal medicine' panacea for all ills, predicted by Llull. It took more than 100 years of study and the passion of the monk Jerome Maubec to make the liqueur following the indications given in the manuscript, the result of which was the Chartreuse Vert, the first bitter liqueur in history, which saw the light in 1737.
