Expert: Paul Wagner - 8/18/2007

Question
I have a bottle of Green Chartreuse liqueur from 1972. I'm not a great connoisseur of liqueur and have been pondering for a while whether to drink this bottle or sell it if it has any significant value. I presume that this bottle is still drinkable? What is your opinion of the value as opposed to me drinking it?

Answer
HI Michael

Chartreuse is very high in alcohol--and the alcohol pretty much preserves the character of the liquid.  So this bottle should be fine to drink.  But the alcohol also means that it won't "improve" with age--it just stays more or less pickled!

I would guess that you might get a bottle collector to pay a bit more than current value for this bottle, but you would be lucky to get $100 for it.  I would open it on a special occasion with friends or family.  Do you know the history of CHartreuse?  It was originally invented by Carthusian monks ( thus the name) and the color of that drink actually gave us the world for the color chartreuse...

Paul Wagner