Without any equivocation Chartreuse is my favorite liqueur. And by "favorite liqueur" I mean it is my FAVORITE liqueur. I have have evangelized this liqueur to every single one of my friends and without exception once they taste it they consider me completely insane. Now, I don't blame them (too much), Chartreuse has a very (an I mean VERY) intense flavor unlike anything else any one has ever tasted. People who've never tried it ask me what it tastes like and I', at a loss nothing else tastes like Chartreuse. For instance here's The Spirit Journal's attempt to describe the flavors:
"cloves, angelica*, fennel, citrus, thyme, rosemary, hyssop**, cinnamon, mace, pine....."
As you can see there's a lot going on. And though we are a small percentage of the population, Those of us who love Chartreuse are not alone both "The Spirit Journal" and The Wine Enthusiast" gave Chartreuse perfect scores in their reviews. Oh and by the way, the color is named after their color of the liqueur not the other way around.
*No, I don't know what angelica is.
**No, I don't know what hyssop is either.
Since you mention trying to describe flavors ... a friend of mine was visiting a vineyard in CT last weekend - Chamard Vineyards and their 2006 Cabernet Franc was described as having "Aromas of smoked bacon, dried black fruit, dark chocolate and cinnamon spice." Smoked Bacon? I know everything is better with bacon, but wine? And dried BLACK fruit? I mean ... ick. I think I'll stick to beer.
ReplyDeleteOh thats nothing. My second favorite flavor term use by wine nerds is "earthy" by which they mean "dirt". My favorite flavor term is usually used for a very intense Burgundy--"barnyard" and by that they mean "manure". Really. The kicker is they mean as a good thing. Now, as fan of French wines I can see their point. But, honestly a little manure flavor in my wine is about all I can handle.
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