1605 François Hannibal d'Estrées, presented the recipe for an 'Elixir of Life' to the Carthusian monks. Using over 130 different herbs & spices, the recipe was so complex that it took the monks well over a century to figure it out - production was not begun at the monastery until 1737. This special edition Chartreuse was created in 2005, 400 years later, and is a recreation of the original recipe bottled at the slightly lower strength of 56%