Long story but my dad and I were looking through my late grandmother’s liquor cabinet and discovered an unopened bottle of very old chartreuse. Not super familiar with the stuff but from poking around online it seems like it may be as old as the ‘50s or ‘60s. Anyone have any insight? We’ll probably pop it open and sample regardless of age/value but very curious about it and couldn’t quite identify through random blog posts alone.
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supposedly there is a number on the top band that will tell you the date it was produced. 1084+(first 3 numbers)= year of production 2nd 3 numbers=Day of the year the bottle was produced
Great find! Looks like they changed distribution in 1969 too, it might be worth something for sure but I’d prolly want to drink it myself too
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Have a listen to this Proof podcast about chartreuse, [The Drink That Wouldn’t Die](Chartreuse: The Drink That Wouldn’t Die - America’s Test Kitchen https://www.americastestkitchen.com/articles/3716-chartreuse-the-drink-that-wouldnt-die-proof)
One of the most most interesting stories for sure. You def enjoy it more knowing it’s history
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Apparently the 69 on the label is not a bottled-on date, lots of bottles appear to have that same code across eras.
And also apparently the numbers on the band didn’t exist before 1991.
Thanks all! Quite a fun mystery, may get into that bottle this evening, when there’s some more family coming over for the holiday.
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There doesn’t, at least from those pics, appear to be an importer named on the labels. Could that possibly mean it was purchased in France? Or was there a point in time when the importer wasn’t legally required to be named?
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Chartreuse has been my radar since my last trip to Singapore in April. I tried a splash of Green Chartreuse 1948 for the first time at Burnt Ends (which is a phenomenal place to eat and drink, by the way) and was instantly smitten with this herbaceous elixir. It’s historical, it’s academic, it’s always on the verge of extinction, and yet it never goes bad… What a fascinating spirit! I learned from the mixologist that if there is an English tag, then it dates from 1940’s-50’s, FWIW… And as you strive to complete your quest, I wish you Bonne chance!
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I think it’s not super-old bexause the top isn’t wax.
“1-7-69” has reportedly been on the labels since 1869. It just dates the label design.
You might try getting in touch with Eric Witz via Instagram: Eric Witz (@aphonik) • Instagram photos and videos
Here is a NYT article that references him.
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There are 279 old bottles on this site:
Yellow with an unwaxed non-screwcap red and yellow top like in the photo is rare. These four look like they match, Voiron 1956-1964. No price on any of them.
This bottle’s 1250 Euros.
This one’s $1294: