An Elixir From the French Alps, Frozen in Time

An Elixir From the French Alps, Frozen in Time

The Pouring Ribbons bar in Manhattan has an enviable collection of Chartreuse bottles.Credit...Colin Clark for The New York TimesThe Great ReadAn Elixir From the French Alps, Frozen in TimeOnly two monks know the full recipe for Chartreuse, and even in the pandemic they stuck to their Middle Ages motto: “The cross is steady while the world turns.”The Pouring Ribbons bar in Manhattan has an enviable collection of Chartreuse bottles.Credit...Colin Clark for The New York TimesBy Marion RenaultDec. 17, 2020, 9:00 a.m. ETGRENOBLE, France — When the world went into lockdowns this year, the monks of Chartreuse simply added another tick to their 900-year record of self-imposed isolation.The Chartreux, also known as Carthusians, embrace a deeply ascetic existence in the western French Alps, observing customs that have barely changed since their order, one of Christianity's oldest, was founded. They pass the days alone, praying for humanity and listening for God in the silence that surrounds them.Frugal meals of bread, cheese, eggs, fruits, vegetables, nuts and fish arrive through a cubby in their individual cells. With few exceptions, the monks do not enter one another's quarters, and they rarely interact — save for midnight and daytime church services, where no musical instruments