Post #696533 by AceExplorer on Thu, Oct 17, 2013 9:33 AM

Substitute for Green Chartreuse? Hmmm... First-hand I can definitely tell you that the only direct substitute I personally know of is the green and yellow liqueurs produced by the Cloister Ettal in the Alps of southern Germany. But Ettal products are darn near impossible to find in the US - their entire annual production is likely consumed by the locals and I don't know if any is ever shipped overseas. However there are several things which you might find interesting and possibly helpful:

1. My personal observation, from travelling around parts of Europe and trying several versions of this stuff, is loosely that many monasteries, abbeys, cloisters, etc. made liqueurs very similar to the popular Green Chartreuse and Yellow Chartreuse from France. It seemed to me as if this sort of flavor blend was extremely popular as a way for these religious orders to earn or supplement income over the last 3 or 4 centuries. I am under the impression that the base recipe may have been traded around, and that it therefore also varied slightly from place-to-place and perhaps even from season-to-season. Somehow the French version became the predominant brand on the global market in the 20th century. But given this history, there are likely many similar liqueurs out there.

2. If you can't find a substitute in the US, then it might help to continue your search by first classifying the green liqueur primarily as "herbal liqueur" and then secondarily by a primary characteristics such as "minty" and also perhaps "sweet." Depending on your personal taste, you will likely find a options and, among them, possibly a very similar substitute.

3. Drive to a neighboring state and pick up a bottle, or mail-order Green Chartreuse. It's in the US, a bit pricey per bottle, and a little goes a long way in any cocktail. But this little list would not be complete if I didn't include these suggestion. Hopefully you live within driving distance of a good liquor store in a neighboring state. Or maybe you have friends in adjacent states where they can ship you a bottle. (I'm assuming you've already done a Google search, and that Pennsylvania does not allow shipments of spirits into the state.)

I hope you find this info helpful. If nothing else it gave me a few minutes to think about and share a few of my experiences with Green and Yellow Chartreuse (and similar liqueurs) over the years. They're generally quite strong herbal liqueurs in a similar way to how Pernod is a very strong flavor.