The Order of Chartreuse was more than 500 years old when, in 1605, at a Chartreuse monastery in Vauvert, a small suburb of Paris, the monks there received a gift from the marshal of artillery for King Henri IV.   Francois Hannibal d' Estrees gave them an already ancient manuscript titled "An Elixir of Long Life".
     In the opening years of the 17th century, only a few monks and even fewer apothecaries understood the use of herbs and plants in the treatment of illness.
     The manuscript's recipe was so complex that only bits and pieces of it were understood and used at Vauvert.

     This monk, the one with the original manuscript, was arrested by the Revolutionary forces and sent to prison in Bordeaux. Fortunately, he was not searched and was able to secretly pass the original manuscript to some unknown savior who smuggled it back to the area of La Grande Chartreuse where he was able to get into the hands of a Chartreuse monk who was hiding near the monastery.
     This monk had no idea of how to use the manuscript and, being certain that the Chartreuse Order had been effectively closed down forever by the Revolution, sold the manuscript to a Monsieur Liotard, a pharmacist in Grenoble.
     Even this pharmacist could not understand the complex recipe and, in 1810, when the Emperor Napoleon ordered all secret recipes of medicines to be sent to the Ministry of the Interior, Monsieur Liotard duly followed the law and submitted the manuscript.  It was returned to him marked "Refused".   

     Since 1970, a company named Chartreuse Diffusion has been responsible for the bottling, packaging and marketing of the liqueurs plus a few other products selected by the monks for their high quality.
     Only two monks have been entrusted by the Order with the secret of producing the liqueurs. Only these two know the ingredients. Only these two know how these ingredients are prepared for incorporation into the base of wine alcohol. What little is known is that some 130 herbs, plants, roots, leaves, and other natural bits of vegetation are soaked in alcohol for an unknown length of time, then distilled and mixed with distilled honey and sugar syrup before being put into large oaken casks and placed into the world's longest liqueur cellar for maturation.
     A small portion of the liqueur is selected for special treatment. This bit of liqueur is aged for an extra length of time and, after the chief distiller declares it ready for bottling, it is packaged and marketed as V.E.P. Chartreuse ("Viellissement Exceptionnellement Prolongé").  This special liqueur is packaged in 50 cl and 1 liter bottles which are reproductions of the bottles used in 1840, Each bottle of V.E.P. is individually numbered, is sealed with wax and is presented in its own carefilly-fitted wooden box.