Research note 028 — 2026-09-04
Pharmacopoeias Write Down Bitterness; Monasteries Don't
Trace the origin of a drink made by dissolving herbs in alcohol, and the name of a monastery comes up almost without fail. Yet the origin story that a distiller or maker tells about itself says almost nothing about bitterness. It was, instead, the official pharmacopoeias and standards that kept writing bitterness down, verbatim, across editions. This note lines up, using only the verbatim text held in the ledger, how the French Codex and the Italian Farmacopea Ufficiale have described bitterness across editions, how EU regulation gives bitterness a legal category while avoiding an Italian colloquial term, and just how silent the origin stories of monastic liqueurs stay about bitterness within that very same body of sources.
On this page (10 sections)
- What this page establishes
- Pharmacopoeias keep writing bitterness down
- But there are places, even within the same pharmacopoeia, that don't
- Standards give bitterness a category — the English text doesn’t say "amaro," the Italian does
- Monasteries tell of origin, not of bitterness
- Exceptions and contrasts — one still made by a monastery, one with no monastery in its origin
- The answer
- An open question
- Frequently asked
- What is not known
What this page establishes
- The pharmacopoeias of France and Italy have been confirmed, verbatim, to have kept writing the word "bitter" into the property descriptions of gentian root and cinchona bark, across editions.
- Within the same French pharmacopoeia, it has also been confirmed that some in-force monographs — such as the current cinchona-bark monograph — never use the word "bitter" even once.
- It has been confirmed that while the English text of the EU regulation does not use the Italian colloquial term "amaro," the same regulation's Italian authentic text uses this very word in the heading of its statutory provision.
- It has been confirmed, by reading through the official sites in full, that the origin stories of monastic liqueurs such as Chartreuse and Bénédictine — even while narrating manuscripts and dates in detail — consistently avoid any word for bitterness.
Pharmacopoeias keep writing bitterness down
Start with the current Pharmacopée française. Among the in-force monographs ANSM publishes, the entry for gentian root for homeopathic preparations writes this in its description of properties.
Scope: Full text of the ANSM public PDF (gentiana-lutea-pph.pdf); in force as of 2026-09-04
Note: Even in the current official French pharmacopoeia, the word "amère" (bitter) is stated explicitly in the description of gentian root's properties.
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ingredient-gentian-root —has_sensory_attribute→ sensation-bitterThe same way of writing it is already there in an edition more than 100 years earlier. The gentian-tincture entry of the 1908 edition of the Codex medicamentarius Gallicus places the same word for bitterness in its description of properties.
Scope: Codex medicamentarius Gallicus, 1908 edition (Internet Archive item codexmedicamenta0000phar), the relevant body-text entry
Note: A direct statement in which the official French pharmacopoeia explicitly gives "amère" (bitter) as a property of the gentian tincture.
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ingredient-gentian-root —has_sensory_attribute→ sensation-bitterAcross the sea, the official Pharmacopoeia of the Kingdom of Italy chooses the same way of writing it. The entry for gentian root in the first edition (1892) states its description of properties as follows.
Scope: Based on the entries GENZIANA and TINTURA DI GENZIANA in the first edition (1892) of the Farmacopea Ufficiale del Regno d'Italia.
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ingredient-gentian-root —has_sensory_attribute→ sensation-bitterThis description does not change across later editions. The gentian and tincture entries of the 2nd edition (1902) and 3rd edition (1909) carry over the exact same wording as the first edition.
Scope: The entries GENZIANA and TINTURA DI GENZIANA in the 2nd (1902) and 3rd (1909) editions of the Farmacopea Ufficiale del Regno d'Italia
Note: The same wording as the first edition (1892) of the same entry (the existing claim (w58h4b) on gentian-root bitterness in the 1892 Farmacopea) — "sapore prima dolciastro, poi amarissimo persistente" and "sapore molto amaro" — is confirmed again in the 1902 and 1909 editions, bearing out the continuity. Because the GENZIANA (root) entry in the 1902 edition was hard to read owing to OCR column misalignment, the verbatim confirmation for this claim rests on the TINTURA DI GENZIANA entry ("sapore molto amaro" in both the 1902 and 1909 editions) and the GENZIANA entry ("sapore prima dolciastro, poi amarissimo persistente" in the 1909 edition).
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ingredient-gentian-root —has_sensory_attribute→ sensation-bitterIt is not only gentian. The same pharmacopoeia's entry for cinchona bark (china) also places the word for bitterness at the end of the description for both the yellow and red cinchona varieties.
Scope: The CHINA (yellow and red cinchona bark) entry in the 2nd (1902) and 3rd (1909) editions of the Farmacopea Ufficiale
Note: The same statement as the first edition's (1892) CHINA entry, "sapore amaro", is confirmed again in the 1902 and 1909 editions. In the 1909 edition, both the yellow and red cinchona varieties each carry their own "Sapore amaro" entry.
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ingredient-cinchona-extract —has_sensory_attribute→ sensation-bitterFor the French side's cinchona extract too, the 1908 edition of the Codex Gallicus writes even the degree of bitterness into its description of properties.
Scope: Codex medicamentarius Gallicus, 1908 edition (Internet Archive item codexmedicamenta0000phar), the relevant body-text entry
Note: A sequential taste description for the yellow cinchona extract: "sweet at first, then a weak bitterness." The same pharmacopoeia's "EXTRAIT DE QUASSIA" entry uses the stronger expression "saveur très amère" (in translation: "a very bitter taste").
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ingredient-cinchona-extract —has_sensory_attribute→ sensation-bitterBut there are places, even within the same pharmacopoeia, that don't
A pharmacopoeia that writes bitterness into the entry for a raw material may not write it into the entry for a preparation made from that material. The vino chinato (cinchona-infused wine) entry of the 1892 edition of the official Italian pharmacopoeia states only the ratio of cinchona bark to Marsala wine and the number of days of maceration, and never touches on taste.
Scope: The entry in the 1892 edition. This entry contains no explicit statement of taste (bitterness or otherwise).
Note: Connected to the existing ingredient-vino-chinato entity. The fact that this entry does not state bitterness explicitly is recorded in the evidence's finding_paraphrase.
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ingredient-vino-chinato —is_documented_in→ "Listed in the first official Pharmacopoeia of the Kingdom of Italy (1892) as "Vino Chinato (Vinum Chinatum)," prepared by macerating cinchona bark in Marsala wine."This silence does not change across later editions either. The vino chinato entries of the 1902 and 1909 editions carry over the same ratio and wording as the first edition, still with no mention of taste.
Scope: A comparison of the Farmacopea Ufficiale's first edition (1892), 2nd edition (1902), and 3rd edition (1909)
Note: None of the editions' VINO CHINATO entries contain an explicit statement of taste (bitterness or otherwise) — a negative finding, of the same type as the existing claim (w58h4b) on the vino chinato entry documented in the 1892 Farmacopea.
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ingredient-vino-chinato —is_documented_in→ "In the 2nd (1902) and 3rd (1909) editions of the Farmacopea Ufficiale as well, "Vino Chinato (Vinum Chinatum)", prepared by macerating cinchona bark in Marsala wine, continues to be listed with the same ratio (cinchona bark 1 : Marsala wine 30) and method as the first edition (1892)."The same asymmetry repeats in the current Pharmacopée française. The homeopathic monograph for cinchona (china rubra) consists only of a color description and specifications for chromatography and the assay method; in contrast to the gentian monograph within the same pharmacopoeia, no taste word ever appears.
Scope: Full text of the ANSM public PDF (china-rubra-quinquina-rouge-pph.pdf); in force as of 2026-09-04
Note: A source that does not speak of bitterness (a negative finding). It shows that the taste description itself — where the 1908-edition Codex described the cinchona preparation's properties as "faiblement amère" — has been lost from the equivalent current monograph.
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ingredient-cinchona-extract —differs_from→ ingredient-gentian-rootEven an entry whose name contains "amer" (bitter) can, in its verbatim content, say nothing about bitterness. The "Élixir amer de Peyrilhe" entry of the 1884 edition of the Codex medicamentarius gives no independent preparation method, and consists only of a reference to the gentian-tincture entry.
Scope: The 1884 edition of the Codex medicamentarius, Part 3 "Pharmacie galénique," the Élixirs / Teintures section
Note: The general-remarks section on "Élixirs" defines elixirs in general as follows: "On donne le nom générique d'Elixirs à des préparations qui résultent du mélange de certains sirops avec des alcoolats. On comprend aussi sous cette dénomination, certaines préparations alcooliques non sucrées." (in translation: "The generic name Elixirs is given to preparations resulting from the mixture of certain syrups with alcoolats. Certain unsweetened alcoholic preparations are also included under this designation.")
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ingredient-elixir-amer-de-peyrilhe —has_composition→ "The 1884 edition of the Codex medicamentarius (the French pharmacopoeia) does not give the entry "Élixir amer de Peyrilhe" an independent preparation method, stating only "(Voyez Teinture de gentiane alcaline.)". The formula of the entry it refers to, "Teinture de gentiane alcaline (Alcoolé de gentiane alcalin, Tinctura Gentianae alcalina)", is: coarse gentian root powder 100 grams, pure crystallized sodium carbonate 30 grams, and 60° alcohol 5000 grams, macerated in a sealed vessel for 10 days with occasional stirring, then pressed and filtered."This entry name itself disappears in later editions. The full text of the 1908 edition of the Codex medicamentarius Gallicus contains not a single word corresponding to "Peyrilhe," and the corresponding tincture is simply named "Teinture de gentiane."
Scope: Codex medicamentarius, 1837 and 1908 editions (confirmed by full-text grep). The 1866 and 1937 editions could not be accessed and have not been checked.
Note: The name "Élixir amer de Peyrilhe", bearing the word "amer", may have been limited to the 1884 edition, indicating that it was abolished or renamed by the time of the 1908 edition. Its treatment in the 1866 and 1937 editions has not been confirmed.
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ingredient-elixir-amer-de-peyrilhe —has_history→ "The entry name "ÉLIXIR AMER DE PEYRYLHE (Voyez TEINTURE DE GENTIANE ALCALINE)", which had been included in the 1884 edition of the Codex, cannot be found anywhere in the full text of the 1908 edition of the Codex medicamentarius Gallicus (there is not a single word containing "Peyr", and the corresponding tincture has simply been renamed "TEINTURE DE GENTIANE"). Nor does the same entry exist in the 1837 edition."Standards give bitterness a category — the English text doesn't say "amaro," the Italian does
Turn now, outside the pharmacopoeias, to a standard: the EU's spirit-drink regulation. The EU's spirit-drink regulation sets out spirits with a predominantly bitter taste as an independent statutory type, and permits the word "bitter" in the labelling of bitter-tasting liqueurs.
Scope: EU. Regulation (EU) 2019/787, Annex I, category 30, (a)-(d).
Note: The word "amaro" itself does not appear in the English statutory text (confirmed by full-text search). The mapping between the category name "amaro" and this EU category is an editorial arrangement on our part, not a legal synonym.
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ingredient-amaro —corresponds_in_eu_law_to→ ""Bitter-tasting spirit drink or bitter" = a spirits product (minimum 15% ABV) with a "predominantly bitter taste," produced by flavouring ethyl alcohol of agricultural origin or a distillate, or both. The term "bitter" is also permitted on the labelling of bitter-tasting liqueurs. (The word amaro itself does not appear in the statutory text; the correspondence drawn here is an editorial mapping, not one made by the law.)"Checking the English text of the old regulation, the situation was the same. Only "amer" and "bitter" are stated explicitly as the statutory alternative names, and the word "amaro," which means "bitter" in Italian, does not appear here either.
Scope: The correspondence between the Italian colloquial term "amaro" and the "bitter" category under EU law. The English-language text of the regulation itself does not use the word "amaro".
Note: This makes explicit, in claims.csv and on the basis of checking the regulation's text, an arrangement already present in the description of the existing ingredient-amaro entry.
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ingredient-amaro —is_classified_by→ concept-eu-bitter-spirit-categoryThat, however, is the story of the English version. Reading the Italian authentic text of the same regulation, the heading of the thirtieth category itself reads "gusto amaro o bitter," and "amaro" is there in the statutory text as a legal designation from the start.
Scope: The Italian authentic text of EU Regulation 2019/787, Annex I, category 30, and of the old Regulation 110/2008, Annex II, category 30
Note: Whereas the word "amaro" does not appear in the English text, the authentic Italian text explicitly gives "amaro" as a legal alternative name. This answers the previously unconfirmed point of whether "amaro" is used as a legal name in the Italian version of the regulation.
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concept-eu-bitter-spirit-category —is_defined_as→ "The heading of the Italian authentic text of the current Regulation (EU) 2019/787, Annex I, category 30, is "Bevanda spiritosa di gusto amaro o bitter", and (a) defines it: "La bevanda spiritosa di gusto amaro o bitter è una bevanda spiritosa dal gusto prevalentemente amaro" (a spirit drink with a predominantly bitter taste), while (c) permits placing it on the market using the "dicitura «amaro» o «bitter»" (the labelling "amaro" or "bitter"). The old Regulation (EC) No 110/2008, Annex II, category 30, carries the same heading and defining wording (differing only in that the subject is plural, "Le bevande spiritose...sono") and a provision equivalent to (c)."The current regulation, moreover, adds a point absent from the old regulation, extending the word "amaro" so that it can also be used to describe liqueurs. Whether a standard avoids the word for bitterness depends on which language version you open.
Scope: A comparison of EU Regulation 2019/787, Annex I, category 30(d), with the old Regulation 110/2008, Article 5(3), and Annex II, category 32
Note: A change in the statutory text between 2008 and 2019, in that the scope of application of the word "amaro" was explicitly extended from the bitter-spirits category to liqueurs (liquori di gusto amaro) as well. We record this as the history by which "amaro", colloquially used in the Italian-speaking world (as a liqueur type), was explicitly connected into the framework of EU law.
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concept-eu-bitter-spirit-category —differs_from→ "The current Regulation (EU) 2019/787, Annex I, category 30, adds a point (d) not present in the old Regulation 110/2008, providing: "In deroga alla lettera c), il termine «amaro» o «bitter» può essere utilizzato nella descrizione, nella presentazione e nell'etichettatura di liquori di gusto amaro" (in translation: "By way of derogation from point (c), the term «amaro» or «bitter» may be used in the description, presentation and labelling of bitter-tasting liqueurs" — permitting, as an exception, the use of the words "amaro"/"bitter" for the description, presentation, and labelling of bitter-tasting liqueurs even when they do not meet category 30's requirements). The corresponding provision of the old Regulation 110/2008 (Article 5(3)) only reserves the use of the words "amaro"/"bitter" for products in general "not covered by this Regulation," with no mention of liqueurs (category 32)."Look at the same word from the side of an Italian dictionary, and the treatment reverses. The Treccani vocabulary dictionary defines the very sense of the word "amaro" by building in an explanation that it is obtained from bitter plant materials.
Scope: Treccani vocabulary dictionary, entry "amaro," sense 2.b.
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ingredient-amaro —is_defined_in_dictionary_as→ "The Treccani vocabulary dictionary defines amaro (also called bitter) as a beverage obtained from various bitter botanical materials, used as an aperitivo for its eupeptic properties (which the dictionary describes as aiding digestion), or, when higher in alcohol content, as a digestivo."A different sense in the same dictionary positions "amaro," as a taste, as one of the four basic tastes alongside sweet, salty, and sour. While the statutory text of the standard avoids this word, the dictionary places it at the center of taste vocabulary.
Scope: Treccani Vocabolario online, headword amaro, sense 1.a
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concept-word-amaro-it —is_defined_in_dictionary_as→ "『Di sapore che costituisce (col dolce, il salato, l'acido) una delle quattro sensazioni gustative fondamentali; viene avvertito quando sono eccitati chimicamente particolari recettori nervosi disposti alla base della lingua』 (in translation: "A taste that constitutes, together with sweet, salty, and sour, one of the four basic taste sensations; it is perceived when particular nerve receptors located at the base of the tongue are chemically excited.")"Monasteries tell of origin, not of bitterness
While pharmacopoeias and standards keep writing bitterness down verbatim, the origin stories that the distillers and makers of monastic liqueurs tell about themselves barely mention bitterness at all. Every account below is a story told by a distiller's or maker's official site, not a record that has undergone verification as a historical source. The official site of Chartreuse's distiller tells, as its origin, the story that in 1605 Marshal François Hannibal d'Estrées entrusted a manuscript recording a secret recipe of 130 kinds of plants to Carthusian monks.
Scope: The origin account on the Chartreuse Diffusion official website (a description on the distiller's history page, not the historical manuscript itself)
Note: The official site itself states explicitly that the manuscript's origin is "mystérieux" (of unknown origin), and in this line the verifier has not confirmed the actual existence or content of the manuscript original. We place it in the top priority tier as an official monastic-order source, but capped claim_status at contextual because it is a corporate company's own site.
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ingredient-chartreuse —has_historical_origin_narrative→ "The official website tells how, in 1605, Marshal François Hannibal d'Estrées entrusted a manuscript of "unknown origin," recording a secret recipe made of 130 kinds of plants, flowers, roots, fruits, and barks, to Carthusian monks in Paris, and that this manuscript recorded the composition of an "élixir de longue vie" (elixir of long life)."The same site continues the account, stating that in 1737 the manuscript was moved to the Grande Chartreuse monastery, and that the monks set to work realizing the formula.
Scope: The same site's account: it states that in 1737 the manuscript was moved to the Grande Chartreuse monastery, where Brothers André and Bruno set to work realizing it.
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ingredient-chartreuse —is_prepared_by→ culture-carthusian-orderAnd it tells how, in 1764, the final product called the "vegetal elixir of the Grande Chartreuse" was fixed, and how, in 1840, "Chartreuse Verte," based on the same plant composition, and "Chartreuse Jaune," a new formulation, were born. Reading through the full text of this origin story, the words for bitterness, "amer" and "amertume," never appear even once.
Scope: Chartreuse Diffusion's official website, "Histoire des distilleries de la Chartreuse"
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ingredient-chartreuse —has_history→ "The official site states that in 1764 a final product called the "élixir végétal de la Grande Chartreuse" (vegetal elixir of the Grande Chartreuse) was fixed, and that the recipe has not changed since. It further states that in 1840, building on the same plant composition, "Chartreuse Verte" was made, and that Brother Bruno Jacquet completed a new yellow formulation devised by Brother Colomban, from which "Chartreuse Jaune" was born."Turn to the official site of the monastic order itself, and nothing changes. The Carthusian Order's official site names income from producing Chartreuse as one source of funds by which financially better-off monasteries support poorer ones, but neither a word for bitterness nor the story of the 1605 manuscript appears anywhere in the full text of the page.
Scope: The chartreux.org "Présentation rapide" page (the Carthusian Order's own official website; content as posted as of September 2026)
Note: A primary source (the monastic order's own official website). This page does not touch at all on the liqueur's preparation method or origin story (such as the 1605 manuscript), mentioning it only in its economic role.
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culture-carthusian-order —has_cultural_role_of→ ingredient-chartreuseBénédictine's official site tells the same type of origin story. It is a story in which, in 1510, the Benedictine monk of Fécamp Abbey, Dom Bernardo Vincelli, devised an elixir made of plants and spices, and François I tasted it on his visit in 1534. The verbs are all written in the conditional, and settled statement is avoided throughout. No word for bitterness appears in the body of this origin account either.
Scope: The origin account on Bénédictine's official website, "L'héritage Bénédictine"
Note: The official site itself uses the conditional "aurait élaboré" (a nuance of hearsay/supposition), and does not state it as settled fact. A record confirming Dom Bernardo Vincelli's actual existence has not been found in this collection (not yet attempted; see below).
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ingredient-benedictine-liqueur —has_historical_origin_narrative→ "The official site writes, using its own conditional phrasing ('aurait élaboré'), that in 1510 the Benedictine monk of Fécamp Abbey, Dom Bernardo Vincelli, would have devised an elixir made of plants and spices, and that François I would have tasted it on his visit in 1534."This origin story continues with a timeline — the monastery's closure and the monks' dispersal in 1792, the death of the last monk in 1848, Alexandre Le Grand's rediscovery of the manuscript in 1863, and the trademark filing in 1864 — but here too there is no mention of bitterness.
Scope: The chronology on Bénédictine's official website, "L'héritage Bénédictine"
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ingredient-benedictine-liqueur —has_history→ "The official site states that in the Revolution of 1792, Fécamp Abbey was closed and the monks dispersed, but that the last monk, Dom Louis-Ambroise Blandin, who died in 1848, passed on the manuscript of the formula. It states that in 1863 Alexandre Le Grand rediscovered this manuscript, and after numerous trials, recreated Dom Bernardo Vincelli's elixir, and that in 1864 he filed the trademark and brought the product to market."Averna's origin story has the same shape. Officially, the anecdote told is that Frà Girolamo, a monk of the Santo Spirito monastery in Caltanissetta, gave the recipe to the merchant Salvatore Averna in 1868.
Scope: Based on the account on the corporate-history page of Averna's official website (amaroaverna.com). Note that this is the company's own history, not an academic source that has undergone historical verification.
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ingredient-amaro-averna —has_historical_origin_narrative→ "Officially, the brand has an origin story in which Frà Girolamo, a monk of the Santo Spirito monastery in Caltanissetta, gave the recipe, in 1868, to the merchant Salvatore Averna, as a token of thanks for his devotion to the local community."Exceptions and contrasts — one still made by a monastery, one with no monastery in its origin
This asymmetry also has contrasting examples at both ends. The Benedictine monastery of Montevergine states on its official site — not as an origin story, but as a present fact — that it still actually operates a liqueur workshop and produces and bottles "Amaro Benedettino."
Scope: The history page and product page of the official website (santuariodimontevergine.it), as of 2026
Note: A statement on the monastery's own official website that it is produced by the liqueur workshop (Fabbrica di Liquori) attached to the Benedictine abbey of Montevergine (Abbazia Benedettina del Loreto di Montevergine). Corroboration from third-party sources has not been confirmed.
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ingredient-amaro-benedettino —is_prepared_by→ culture-abbazia-di-montevergineBut the same product page's flavor description uses the words "a strong, full-bodied flavor," and the word for bitterness appears only within the product name itself, "l'amaro Benedettino." Even for this one bottle still made by a monastery, the flavor description does not choose a word for bitterness.
Scope: The product page of the official website (santuariodimontevergine.it)
Note: The product name itself is "l'amaro Benedettino", and the maker itself presents the product using the word "amaro". There is no direct sensory description (a taste evaluation stating "bitter" as such) in the body of the page; the judgment rests on the use of "amaro" as a product-category name.
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ingredient-amaro-benedettino —has_sensory_attribute→ sensation-bitterConversely, there is also a bottle with no monastery in its origin. Strega's official page's origin account makes no mention of any monk or monastery, and centers on a theatrical framing tied to local witch legends; the word "bitter" does not appear in the description text for the product itself. In the description text for the sister product "Amaro Strega," posted on the same page, however, the word "bitter" appears 2 times.
Scope: Based on the range checked in the text of the official strega.it page (English version). A record that this does not fall under a "monastic" origin story.
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ingredient-liquore-strega —is_presented_as→ "The official page's origin account makes no mention of any monastic order or monk, and centers instead on a brand narrative tied to the local legend of witches (streghe di Benevento)."The answer
Whether a pharmacopoeia writes bitterness down wavers by whether the entry is for a raw material or a preparation, and by edition — but even while it wavers, bitterness keeps reappearing, verbatim, within pharmacopoeias. The EU's standard gives bitterness a category, while its own statutory text avoids the Italian everyday word "amaro." And the origin stories of monastic liqueurs, even while narrating manuscripts, dates, and names in detail, consistently avoid the single word for bitterness. What seems to divide writing it from not writing it is not the greater or lesser authority of the document, but a difference in whom the document is trying to guarantee what for.
An open question
Whether the Italian text of the EU's spirit-drink regulation actually uses the word "amaro" has not been confirmed within the scope of this ledger. Nor, for the French Codex, has it been confirmed when the "Élixir amer de Peyrilhe" entry was deleted or renamed, between the 1866 and 1937 editions. Why the origin stories of monastic liqueurs so uniformly avoid bitterness — whether this has to do with the writer being the distiller or maker itself, or whether the word for bitterness simply does not sit well within the narrative form of an origin story — cannot be answered within the range of material we could confirm here. This question is kept in the hypothesis box, and this note will be updated once the next primary source is found.
Frequently asked
Why are Chartreuse and Bénédictine spoken of in connection with monasteries?
For both brands, the distiller's official site tells, as an origin story, of a connection to a monastery. Chartreuse's story has it that in 1605 Marshal François Hannibal d'Estrées entrusted a manuscript to Carthusian monks, and that in 1737 the manuscript was moved to the Grande Chartreuse monastery. Bénédictine's story has it that in 1510 the monk of Fécamp Abbey, Dom Bernardo Vincelli, devised an elixir, and it is written in the conditional, which does not state things as settled. Both stories are accounts told by the distiller or maker itself, and corroboration from the monastery's side or from third-party sources has not been confirmed.
Does the word "amaro" appear in EU law?
Whether it appears depends on which language version you read. The English text of the EU's spirit-drink regulation names only "amer" and "bitter" as the statutory alternative names, and the word "amaro" does not appear. Yet in the same regulation's Italian authentic text, the heading of the provision itself reads "gusto amaro o bitter," and "amaro" is there in the text. The current regulation adds a point absent from the old regulation, further widening the range in which the word "amaro" can be used to describe liqueurs.
How are gentian root and cinchona bark recorded in pharmacopoeias?
France's in-force monograph uses, in its description of gentian root's properties, the verbatim expression "a characteristic odor, a strong and persistent bitter taste." The 1908 edition of the Codex also describes the gentian tincture as a liquid of "a bitter and persistent taste." Italy's official pharmacopoeia, from its first edition through its third, has recorded "a very bitter, persistent taste" in the gentian and cinchona-bark entries, using the same wording throughout. On the other hand, some in-force monographs — such as the current Pharmacopée française's cinchona-bark monograph — never use a word for bitterness in their description of properties at all.
What is not known
- How far the Italian text of the EU's spirit-drink regulation actually uses the word "amaro" beyond the provisions we could confirm this time has not been checked.
- When the "Élixir amer de Peyrilhe" entry was deleted or renamed in the French Codex has not yet been confirmed, because the 1866 and 1937 editions could not be reached.
- Why the origin stories of monastic liqueurs so uniformly avoid bitterness — whether it is due to the nature of the writer or to the narrative form — does not yet have an answer within the scope of this ledger.
- How the relationship between origin stories and the word for bitterness plays out for monastic liqueurs outside the Carthusian and Benedictine orders has not been examined in this ledger.
Related entries:gentian root ／Cinchona succirubra (bark extract) ／Chartreuse (liqueur) ／Ordre des Chartreux (Carthusian order) ／Bénédictine (liqueur) ／Amaro Benedettino (Montevergine)
Related topic hub: The Words for Bitterness
Related research notes: How Bitterness Gets Institutionalized ／Standards Officially Recognize Bitterness, and the Shelf Chooses It ／A Map of "Bitter"
Source ledger: Source ledger
How to cite this page
Aoki, M. (NIGAMI LAB) (2026). Pharmacopoeias Write Bitterness Down. https://nigamilab.com/en/notes/pharmacopoeia-and-monastery/
Each claim card has a stable anchor (#clm-…). The dataset is CC BY 4.0; see the data page. Dataset DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.22739101