Chartreuse Gentiane, Liqueur, France (22.7%, 100cl)

Gentiane is the French word for gentian, a vigorous perennial with yellow flowers and a huge role in some of the bar world's most iconic bottles. Angostura Bitters and Campari – for example – wouldn't be together without it! But if you want to experience gentian in its full glory, then it is a gentian liqueur that you must get hold of. And no one makes it better than the monks behind the world's most famous liqueur.

Gentian prefers nutrient-poor alpine eaters to garden mulch and is therefore notoriously difficult to grow. It typically has to be 4-5 years old before it is harvested, and you also have to dig up the whole plant, because it is the root that you use. Nevertheless, it is the cornerstone of a multitude of amari and bitter liqueurs – and thus also a number of the world's most famous cocktails.


Colour: Golden.
Scent: Lightly earthy, citrusy herbal scent.
Tasting notes: The taste is both sweet and slightly bitter, grassy, spicy and persistent.