Chartreuse M.O.F.
Origin: France / 45% / Price: 40€
MOF is the abbreviation for "Liqueur des Meilleurs Ouvriers de France Sommeliers" and translates as "Liqueur of the best creators among the wine cellars of France". This comes from the fact that in 2007 the Association of the Best Sommeliers of France approached the Carthusians with the request to be allowed to create a masterful liqueur in a joint work with the well-known and experienced distillers of the order.
The monks agreed and an intense collaboration followed. This meeting had a fantastic result in my opinion: the Chartreuse MOF. This jewel in the portfolio of the long-established brand, which should not be missing in any bar, has been christened by many in recent years as the "Queen of Liqueurs". The elegant, spicy body is very balanced and sits between Chartreuse verte and Chartreuse jaune at 45%. I had not expected much at first (that would see me use this instead of the two classics), but now I use it almost always -especially in stirred drinks- rather than the jaune (which is more often used of the two for stirred drinks), the MOF has less of this slightly overboarding honey sweetness, more complexity and yet not the brutality of the verte.
Nose:
Intense and ethereal, full of oils, lots of fresh and also candied ginger, tree roots, ivy, licorice, anise, chamomile, bit of gentian, green tea, almost matcha impressions in between, also a touch of dried fruit towards peach and lime zest, nice pickled mint
Taste:
Great body, very soft, balsamic and yet very intense and aromatic, no alcoholic bite, but also no fear that it could be to weak for bold spirit pairings, nice licorice, lots of ginger and nice menthol and eucalyptus notes, gentian, green tea, dried fruit with apricot, lime zest and lemon zest, oaky impressions and other more exotic woods
Finish:
Green tea, ginger, nice herbal honey, but noticeably less soggy than the jaune and less pungent-herbaceous-biting in the finish than the verte, hint of dried fruit lingers here too, long
