“Chartreuse is a kaleidoscopic drink, sweet yet fiery, floral, minty and distinctly aniseedy; it is, said the stuttering Anthony Blanche in Evelyn Waugh’s “Brideshead Revisited,” like swallowing a sp-spectrum.
A green 110-proof Chartreuse and a yellow 80-proof version now furnish every half-decent bar in the world.
But this isn’t a story about Chartreuse; it’s a story about Stellina, an herbal liqueur distilled to a secret recipe by the freres de la Sainte Famille in Belley, France, 59 km north of the Chartreuse distillery. Stellina also comes in potent green or mellow yellow and tastes similar to Chartreuse, but there are two notable differences:
1. Chartreuse is single-distilled, Stellina double-distilled, making the latter a little smoother and softer.
2. Chartreuse is a global success and bar staple, Stellina isn’t.
Call it the Betamax of booze, the Al Gore of liqueurs, the Beyonce’s “Single Ladies” music video of French herbal digestifs: Stellina is the superior runner-up.”
Stellina
The Japan Times, 23 October, 2009
“Chartreuse is a kaleidoscopic drink, sweet yet fiery, floral, minty and distinctly aniseedy; it is, said the stuttering Anthony Blanche in Evelyn Waugh’s “Brideshead Revisited,” like swallowing a sp-spectrum.
A green 110-proof Chartreuse and a yellow 80-proof version now furnish every half-decent bar in the world.
But this isn’t a story about Chartreuse; it’s a story about Stellina, an herbal liqueur distilled to a secret recipe by the freres de la Sainte Famille in Belley, France, 59 km north of the Chartreuse distillery. Stellina also comes in potent green or mellow yellow and tastes similar to Chartreuse, but there are two notable differences:
1. Chartreuse is single-distilled, Stellina double-distilled, making the latter a little smoother and softer.
2. Chartreuse is a global success and bar staple, Stellina isn’t.
Call it the Betamax of booze, the Al Gore of liqueurs, the Beyonce’s “Single Ladies” music video of French herbal digestifs: Stellina is the superior runner-up.”