The monks have had enough.

Since 1737, the Carthusians have produced Chartreuse, the herbaceous, bright-green liqueur that’s delighted sippers and cocktail enthusiasts for generations. Produced in the French Alps, Chartreuse is crafted from a secret recipe of 130 herbs, plants and flowers. The drink is old enough that the color chartreuse gets its name from the liqueur, not the other way around.

Green Chartreuse’s popularity grew with the rise of the craft cocktail movement in the early 2000s as bartenders looked to give their concoctions a zip of something unexpected. And during the pandemic, demand only grew as at-home mixologists looked to expand their repertoire beyond martinis and Manhattans; American sales of green Chartreuse doubled in 2020. (Yellow Chartreuse, a sweeter, milder sibling, also saw a spike in interest).

But the Carthusians—the Latin enclosed religious order that holds the exclusive rights to manufacture Chartreuse—have decided not to increase their output. In a letter dated Jan. 16, 2023, the monks announced that they were limiting their production to focus more time on their monkly duties and limit their impact on the environment.

The decision to cap production at 1.6 million bottles per year has caused many a mixologist to scramble. Not only has Chartreuse become harder to find, but the price has doubled in many states.

Old Dominion advantage

Luckily for Virginians, local distillery Trial & Error has stepped up to fill the void. Created by the owners of Bombolini Pasta in the Fan—and operated in the same space—Trial & Error began producing its own liquors and liqueurs in 2017. The decision to pursue a Chartreuse-like liqueur came about after the distillery asked its followers on Facebook which flavors they’d like to see.

The result was Elixir 1605, named for the year that the French diplomat François-Annibal d’Estrées is believed to have given the monks a set of instructions on how to make the beloved liqueur. After running into a trademark issue, the liqueur was recently renamed R3take.

“It tastes pretty much spot on,” says John Kreckman, who co-owns Trial & Error and Bombolini with his wife, Lolita. “Maybe there’s not an herb that’s from grandma’s backyard in southern France, but for the most part, we’re there. And it’s cheaper.”

Where Green Chartreuse runs $67.99 in Virginia, Kreckman’s R3take costs $49.99.

For decades, boozehounds have been annoyed at the fact that Virginia is a control state, meaning all liquor sales are conducted by state-owned stores. This limits the variety of alcohol found in Virginia, but there’s also a benefit: the state controls the price.

Though California may have a wider selection of alcohol available to purchase, a fifth of green Chartreuse could set you back as much as $139.99.

“As a control state, Virginians can expect consistent prices across our more than 400 stores,” says Pat Kane, spokesman for Virginia ABC. “Price adjustments, increases and decreases, are made based on the cost we pay suppliers.”

In fiscal year 2022, Virginia ABC’s sales of green Chartreuse grew to 6,542 bottles, up from 4,384 in fiscal year 2019. Fiscal year 2024 saw 4,841 sales, but Kane says the decline has to do with the distiller capping production: “The product sells out quickly when it reaches our store shelves.”

Kreckman says he often receives frantic calls from bartenders and amateur mixologists alike who were planning to make a Chartreuse cocktail for a function.

“The ABC stores will send them here,” explains Kreckman, who also sells a yellow version of R3take.

Initially, Kreckman marketed his liqueur as Chartreuse, but has since dropped the practice. Was that the result of a cease and desist letter? He’s coy in providing a direct answer.

“Potentially. I may have a letter in my house,” Kreckman says. “In the early 1800s they put a trademark on it, and it’s a strong trademark.”

A bartender’s dream

Green Chartreuse has a fan in Marcelo Lopez-Cortez.

“Delicious,” says the bar manager of The Emerald Lounge in Church Hill. “Green has clove and cardamom and it’s peppery. It’s herbaceous, which I really, really like. It has notes of licorice, anise. When you taste it, it’s definitely a pleasant punch to the mouth.”

Last year, for Chartreuse Day—the 16th of May, i.e. 1605—Emerald Lounge featured the Piña Verde as a cocktail special. The Piña Colada riff features Chartreuse, pineapple juice, lime juice, cream of coconut and a sprig of mint.

Other popular green Chartreuse cocktails include the Green Sprite, the Bijou, the Swamp Water and The Verdant Lady, the latter of which even inspired the name of a cozy West End cocktail bar.

But The Last Word is the cocktail that launched green Chartreuse into the stratosphere. Created just before the start of Prohibition at the Detroit Athletic Club, the Last Word combines gin, green Chartreuse, maraschino liqueur and lime juice to create a perfect balance of sweet, sour and herbal flavors.

Lopez-Cortez says that customers have become more adventurous as of late, mentioning the “super funky and cool” menu of nearby Pink Room as an example.

“People are trying a lot of new things and moving out of their comfort zones, and I feel like Chartreuse had a large effect on doing that,” he says. Still, Lopez-Cortez has to deal with the rarity of his beloved liqueur like anyone else.

“Do I always find it in Richmond? No. I have to travel, sometimes an hour, hour and a half,” he says.

So, how does Kreckman stack up against the monks?

While he supports local distilleries making new things, Lopez-Cortez prefers using Dolin Génépy le Chamois Liqueur ($34.99) as a Chartreuse alternative; the liqueur is named for the primary Alpine herb used in the original Chartreuse recipe.

Lopez-Cortez is unequivocal in his support for the original green Chartreuse. He recalls an episode of “Parts Unknown” where legendary French chef Paul Bocuse makes lièvre à la royale, a classic French dish of braised wild hare that the lion of Lyon finished with truffles and Chartreuse. Anthony Bourdain said it capped off “the meal of my life.”

“Hearing it, I think decadence or royalty or something like that,” says Lopez-Cortez of Chartreuse’s name. “Isn’t it the one liqueur that has a color named after it? That’s cool as shit.”