Aqua Vitae – Water of Life
The term “water of life” (English) from aquae vitae (Latin) into Gaelic, various spellings: usquebaugh or uisce-bae and
others, reduced over time to the modern variants ‘whisky and ‘scotch.’
Formula from “A Leechbook or Collection of Medicinal Recipes of the Fifteenth Century”
Original Old English Text:
To make Aqua Vite Tak quyte wyne of osay and gyngr and clowes maces greyns canell a littell pep galyngale a littell
sugre Juybibbes beteyne a littell turmentill smalach apm mousere scabiose bugle and violet take and [fo. 86 recto]
grynd hem in a mort the spicery in an op then take and seth hem in a faire vessel in wyne that pai buyle ones than still
hem in A stillatorye and still hem iiij tymes or v vnto tyme it will brenne on a lynnen cloth with out any wemme p of than
take it and do it in a glasse
Translated by Warren R. Dawson in 1934
Paragraph 987: Take white wine of Orsay, and ginger, and cloves, mace, kermes (grains), canell, a little pepper,
galingale, a little sugar, cubebs, betony, a little tormentil, smallage, apium, mouse-ear, scabious, bugle and violet.
Take and grind them (the herbs) in a mortar, the spicery in another, and then take and seethe them in a fair vessel in
wine, till they boil once. Then distill them in a still, and distill them four or five times until it will wet* a linen cloth without
any stain. Then take it and put it in a glass.
*”wet a linen cloth” W. Dawson makes the presumption that the word for burn (brenne) is a mistaken insertion by the
scribe and has substituted the word wet in its place. This may have made sense in 1934, but upon research of similar
wording found in other formula does not make sense to me.
Monastic Aqua Vita Activities
Chartreuse is an herbal liqueur made by the Carthusian Monks near Grenoble, France. According to the tale, the
formula for chartruese was invented by a 16th century alchemist as an attempt to create aqua vitae (the waters of life.)
Aqua vitae was believed to restore youth to the aged, endow animation to the dead, and be a key ingredient in the
creation of the philosophers stone. Though this attempt at its creation seems to fall somewhat short of the legendary
effects, it was promoted as a heal-all tonic by the descendant of the alchemist, and was bequeathed to the Carthusian
Order upon his death.
This formula of 130 herbs has been secret for nearly 400 years. Today, only three brothers of that monastery know
how to make chartreuse.
Charteuse is made in three varieties; yellow chartreuse, green chartreuse, and VEP elixir chartreuse. Yellow
chartreuse is a pale golden color, extremely sweet, and tastes roughly like plum wine with a touch of honey, or perhaps
a delicate version of Benedictine (which is probably related.)
Green chartreuse is fiery; the shade of green actually named for this liquor denotes an intense herbal taste vaguely
reminiscent of absinthe. Also like absinthe, it has an extremely high alcohol content. VEP elixir chartreuse, the rarest
and most expensive kind, sacrifices a small amount of green's intensity for all of the sweetness of the yellow. Only 100
bottles of VEP elixir are produced each year, and it is the variant closest to the original alchemical formula. It is also,
supposedly, the most difficult to create.
Though the precise herbs in chartreuse are not publically known, there is a small quantity of thujone, the active
chemical in wormwood. This considered, it is no surprise that the intoxication caused by chartruese is both stronger
than it's alcohol content (110 proof) would otherwise indicate, and slightly different because of thujone's psychoactive
qualities.
Green chartreuse is particularly loved in the goth scene because of it's efficiency; a very small quantity can maintain a
buzz for most of an evening, and a larger quantity can take the sharp edges off of everything.
Excerpt from The vertuose boke of Distyllacyon of the waters of all manner of Herbes:
(Original Version)
Water of Lauendre
Capituium c.icviis
Lauendulain in latyn. The best parte and tyme of his dystyllacyon is / the flowers and the herbes shopped togyber and
to dystylled in the ende of June.
A. The same water is good agaynste the dasynge in the hede / the hede enoynete with the same / and let drye
agayne by; hym selfe / ans at euery nyght dronke an ounce.viii.oz.viiii.dayes contynuynge
B. The same water bsed in the maner afore sayde is very good agaynste the crampe
C. The same water bsed also in the forsayde maner is good agaynste the colde paralysis
D. The same water is good agaynste euyll seyenesses / agaynste the palsey / and for the slepynge members /
twyse or thryse in a daye dronke of the same water / at eche tyme an ounce / two or thre wekes contynuynge / and
euery daye the members rubbed therwith & let drye by hym selfe
E. The same water dronke and bsed in the foresaid maner is good against the tremlynge of the members and
handes
F. An ounce or an ounced ans a halfe dronke of the same water is good for them whose tongue is become blacke
and can not well remeue
G. The same water / is good for members whiche be lame euery tyme therwith rubbed / and let drye by hymselfe
agayne / by camse yf any thynge sholde brynge agayne the lame members to theyre might / it shoulde be done with
the same water
J. The same water is good for the that be fralie with the palsey / dronke of the same an ounce and a halfe / than
he getter agayne his speche,
K. The same water is good agynste the eating cortosynge in the mouthe whan it is often washed therewith
L. A nutte shelle full of the same water myxced with other water wherof is made dowgh / so what brede is bake of
the same dowgh shal nat ware molde
M. The same water is good for them that haue great payne in the hede coming fo colde / the hed well rubbed with
the same and let drye agayne by hym selfe / it wyll helpe surely
(my translation of the same text)
Water of Lavender
Capituium (reading, biblical usage generally) c.icviis (198)
Lavendula in Latin. The best part and time of his distillation is / the flowers and the herbs chopped together and to
distilled in the end of June.
A. The same water is good against the dizzying in the head / the head anointed with the same / and let dry again
by himself / and at every night drink an ounce [8 to 9] days continuous
B. The same water used in the manner afore said is very good against the cramp
C. The same water used also in the afore said manner is good against the cold paralysis
D. The same water is good against evil sayings / against the palsy / and for the sleeping members / twice or thrice
in a day drink of the same water / at each time an ounce / two or three weeks continuous / and every day the members
rubbed therewith & let dry by him self
E. The same water drank and used in the foresaid manner is good against the trembling of the members and
hands
F. An ounce or an ounce and a half drank of the same water is good for them whose tongue is become black and
can not well remove
G. The same water / is good for members which be lame every time therewith rubbed / and let dry by himself again
/ because if any thing should bring again the lame members to their might / it should be done with the same water
J. The same water is good for the that be frail with the palsy / drink of the same an ounce and a half / than he
getter again his speech,
K. The same water is good against the eating cortosynge [Bottom Rot, Pink Disease] in the mouth when it is often
washed therewith
L. A nut shell full of the same water mixed with other water where of is made dough / so what bread is baked of the
same dough shall not grow mold
M. The same water is good for them that have great pain in the head coming of cold / the head well rubbed with the
same and let dry again by him self / it will help surely
The term “water of life” (English) from aquae vitae (Latin) into Gaelic, various spellings: usquebaugh or uisce-bae and
others, reduced over time to the modern variants ‘whisky and ‘scotch.’
Formula from “A Leechbook or Collection of Medicinal Recipes of the Fifteenth Century”
Original Old English Text:
To make Aqua Vite Tak quyte wyne of osay and gyngr and clowes maces greyns canell a littell pep galyngale a littell
sugre Juybibbes beteyne a littell turmentill smalach apm mousere scabiose bugle and violet take and [fo. 86 recto]
grynd hem in a mort the spicery in an op then take and seth hem in a faire vessel in wyne that pai buyle ones than still
hem in A stillatorye and still hem iiij tymes or v vnto tyme it will brenne on a lynnen cloth with out any wemme p of than
take it and do it in a glasse
Translated by Warren R. Dawson in 1934
Paragraph 987: Take white wine of Orsay, and ginger, and cloves, mace, kermes (grains), canell, a little pepper,
galingale, a little sugar, cubebs, betony, a little tormentil, smallage, apium, mouse-ear, scabious, bugle and violet.
Take and grind them (the herbs) in a mortar, the spicery in another, and then take and seethe them in a fair vessel in
wine, till they boil once. Then distill them in a still, and distill them four or five times until it will wet* a linen cloth without
any stain. Then take it and put it in a glass.
*”wet a linen cloth” W. Dawson makes the presumption that the word for burn (brenne) is a mistaken insertion by the
scribe and has substituted the word wet in its place. This may have made sense in 1934, but upon research of similar
wording found in other formula does not make sense to me.
Monastic Aqua Vita Activities
Chartreuse is an herbal liqueur made by the Carthusian Monks near Grenoble, France. According to the tale, the
formula for chartruese was invented by a 16th century alchemist as an attempt to create aqua vitae (the waters of life.)
Aqua vitae was believed to restore youth to the aged, endow animation to the dead, and be a key ingredient in the
creation of the philosophers stone. Though this attempt at its creation seems to fall somewhat short of the legendary
effects, it was promoted as a heal-all tonic by the descendant of the alchemist, and was bequeathed to the Carthusian
Order upon his death.
This formula of 130 herbs has been secret for nearly 400 years. Today, only three brothers of that monastery know
how to make chartreuse.
Charteuse is made in three varieties; yellow chartreuse, green chartreuse, and VEP elixir chartreuse. Yellow
chartreuse is a pale golden color, extremely sweet, and tastes roughly like plum wine with a touch of honey, or perhaps
a delicate version of Benedictine (which is probably related.)
Green chartreuse is fiery; the shade of green actually named for this liquor denotes an intense herbal taste vaguely
reminiscent of absinthe. Also like absinthe, it has an extremely high alcohol content. VEP elixir chartreuse, the rarest
and most expensive kind, sacrifices a small amount of green's intensity for all of the sweetness of the yellow. Only 100
bottles of VEP elixir are produced each year, and it is the variant closest to the original alchemical formula. It is also,
supposedly, the most difficult to create.
Though the precise herbs in chartreuse are not publically known, there is a small quantity of thujone, the active
chemical in wormwood. This considered, it is no surprise that the intoxication caused by chartruese is both stronger
than it's alcohol content (110 proof) would otherwise indicate, and slightly different because of thujone's psychoactive
qualities.
Green chartreuse is particularly loved in the goth scene because of it's efficiency; a very small quantity can maintain a
buzz for most of an evening, and a larger quantity can take the sharp edges off of everything.
Excerpt from The vertuose boke of Distyllacyon of the waters of all manner of Herbes:
(Original Version)
Water of Lauendre
Capituium c.icviis
Lauendulain in latyn. The best parte and tyme of his dystyllacyon is / the flowers and the herbes shopped togyber and
to dystylled in the ende of June.
A. The same water is good agaynste the dasynge in the hede / the hede enoynete with the same / and let drye
agayne by; hym selfe / ans at euery nyght dronke an ounce.viii.oz.viiii.dayes contynuynge
B. The same water bsed in the maner afore sayde is very good agaynste the crampe
C. The same water bsed also in the forsayde maner is good agaynste the colde paralysis
D. The same water is good agaynste euyll seyenesses / agaynste the palsey / and for the slepynge members /
twyse or thryse in a daye dronke of the same water / at eche tyme an ounce / two or thre wekes contynuynge / and
euery daye the members rubbed therwith & let drye by hym selfe
E. The same water dronke and bsed in the foresaid maner is good against the tremlynge of the members and
handes
F. An ounce or an ounced ans a halfe dronke of the same water is good for them whose tongue is become blacke
and can not well remeue
G. The same water / is good for members whiche be lame euery tyme therwith rubbed / and let drye by hymselfe
agayne / by camse yf any thynge sholde brynge agayne the lame members to theyre might / it shoulde be done with
the same water
J. The same water is good for the that be fralie with the palsey / dronke of the same an ounce and a halfe / than
he getter agayne his speche,
K. The same water is good agynste the eating cortosynge in the mouthe whan it is often washed therewith
L. A nutte shelle full of the same water myxced with other water wherof is made dowgh / so what brede is bake of
the same dowgh shal nat ware molde
M. The same water is good for them that haue great payne in the hede coming fo colde / the hed well rubbed with
the same and let drye agayne by hym selfe / it wyll helpe surely
(my translation of the same text)
Water of Lavender
Capituium (reading, biblical usage generally) c.icviis (198)
Lavendula in Latin. The best part and time of his distillation is / the flowers and the herbs chopped together and to
distilled in the end of June.
A. The same water is good against the dizzying in the head / the head anointed with the same / and let dry again
by himself / and at every night drink an ounce [8 to 9] days continuous
B. The same water used in the manner afore said is very good against the cramp
C. The same water used also in the afore said manner is good against the cold paralysis
D. The same water is good against evil sayings / against the palsy / and for the sleeping members / twice or thrice
in a day drink of the same water / at each time an ounce / two or three weeks continuous / and every day the members
rubbed therewith & let dry by him self
E. The same water drank and used in the foresaid manner is good against the trembling of the members and
hands
F. An ounce or an ounce and a half drank of the same water is good for them whose tongue is become black and
can not well remove
G. The same water / is good for members which be lame every time therewith rubbed / and let dry by himself again
/ because if any thing should bring again the lame members to their might / it should be done with the same water
J. The same water is good for the that be frail with the palsy / drink of the same an ounce and a half / than he
getter again his speech,
K. The same water is good against the eating cortosynge [Bottom Rot, Pink Disease] in the mouth when it is often
washed therewith
L. A nut shell full of the same water mixed with other water where of is made dough / so what bread is baked of the
same dough shall not grow mold
M. The same water is good for them that have great pain in the head coming of cold / the head well rubbed with the
same and let dry again by him self / it will help surely
Aquae Vitae - The Water of Life
