We were in the Castro to check out their night market. Very lively. Secondarily, Andrea wanted to check out this new-ish liquor store called Full Proof. They also were having a sparkling/champagne tasting (two cremants and two Pol Rogers) so that didn’t hurt. Their selection was interesting and varied. We saw the special edition Monkey 47 gin, so we had to get that.

On top of the shelving, they had green and yellow chartreuse (which we already have been enjoying at home), but they had another bottle we didn’t recognize. The owner happened to come into the store, so we were able to ask him about it. The bottle we hadn’t seen before was the Chartreuse Cuvée des Meilleurs Ouvriers de France Sommeliers. He explained how it was blended from select lots and aged longer. That sounded great, so we said we’d buy one of those.

The owner said he’s a salesman and he would be remiss if he didn’t tell us about the third bottle, the Vieillissement Exceptionnellement Prolongé (V.E.P.), that could make for a very interesting vertical. There was a bottle of yellow and green of this sitting behind and above the register area (I guest that’s their top top shelf). This one goes through even more rigorous selection of select yellow chartreuse and then many more additional years in oak casks. The production is very limited and bottles are individually numbered, wax sealed, and placed in a wooden box. Well, with such a good story like that, we were literally sold.

At home for a digestif, we tried the 3 yellows (the “basic” one we had already) and our two new acquisitions. For fun, we also later added the green chartreuse we also had on hand at home. The basic was good as we had come to enjoy. But the second was quite different and very smooth. The last one was also quite smooth and relatively mild, but had an incredibly long finish. The green was bolder flavor and more alcoholic so not as enjoyable for sipping as the yellows, but still great in cocktails. I think we both agreed the middle yellow was our favorite, but maybe the third will grow more on us. All in all, a very fun tasting for us at home.