Chartreuse: ‘more wonderfully wild than I can describe, or even you can imagine’.
Cocktail recipes courtesy of Saveur. http://www.saveur.com/article/-/Chartreuse-cocktails
The Last Word
The most popular green Chartreuse cocktail. Equal parts gin, chartreuse, maraschino liqueur, and fresh lime juice, this is an old-fashioned cocktail that feels awfully modern. Its equally-portioned ingredients make for easy scaling: mix up a triple or quadruple batch to serve several drinkers at once.
One part gin
One part lime juice
One part green Chartreuse
One part maraschino liqueur
Served without ice or shaken with ice and strained into a cocktail glass.
Swamp Water
The cocktail that brought Chartreuse into modern consciousness in the 1970’s. Still enjoyed in all its varieties including lemon juice, orange juice, rum, Angostura bitters, Batavia Arrack, orange liqueur, pineapple syrup and other ingredients depending on the desired level of sweetness but the basic recipe is the one below.
2 Parts Pineapple Juice
1 Part Green Chartreuse
Lime Juice
Served in a lowball glass with ice cubes.
Photo by KC Taffinder https://www.flickr.com/photos/41538182@N08/
Chartreuse Smash
Developed by Adam Rothstein, beverage director for New York’s Bobo restaurant.
This sweet (but not too sweet) cocktail is a terrific vehicle for Chartreuse; when the staff of Saveur tested it, it converted even the most adamant opponents to the herbal, bright-green liqueur.
10 mint leaves
30 ml (1 oz.) lemon juice, from about 1⁄2 lemon
2 tsp. turbinado sugar
60 ml (2 oz.) green Chartreuse
1 sprig of mint, for garnish
Instructions
Place mint, lemon and sugar in a cocktail shaker and muddle. Add chartreuse and fill with ice. Shake thoroughly, and strain into a glass filled with crushed ice. Garnish with mint sprig.
Champs-Élysées Cocktail
This light cocktail of brandy and the sweet herbal liqueur Chartreuse Jaune will have you feeling like sauntering down the Champs-Élysees in Paris.
30 ml (1 oz.) brandy
15 ml (1⁄2 oz.) yellow Chartreuse
15 ml (1⁄2 oz.) lemon juice
1⁄2 tsp. superfine sugar or simple syrup
1 dash bitters
Strip of lemon zest, for garnish
Shake all ingredients together in an ice-filled cocktail shaker; strain into a well-chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with lemon zest.
Eros Elixir
Thai chile-infused Chartreuse and a pear syrup made with fresh ginger add a spicy, warming kick to a delightfully complex cocktail developed by Zachary Stevens. If you like a slightly less spicy drink, reduce the number of chiles or infuse the liqueur for just a few days.
For the Thai Chile-Infusted Chartreuse (makes 375 ml.)
1 (375-ml.) bottle green Chartreuse
5 fresh Thai chiles
For the Cocktail
60 ml (2 oz.) white whiskey
30 ml (1 oz.) Spiced Pear Syrup
22 ml (3⁄4 oz.) freshly squeezed lime juice
15 ml (1⁄2 oz.) ginger liqueur
15 ml (1⁄2 oz.) Thai chile-infused green Chartreuse
Thai chile, for garnish
Make the chile-infused Chartreuse: Place whole chiles in Chartreuse and let stand for minimum 1 week.
Greenpoint
Michael McIlroy of New York’s Milk & Honey named this aromatic whiskey drink, a variation on a Manhattan, after a Brooklyn neighborhood. This recipe first appeared in our October 2011 issue, along with Rebecca Barry’s article Whiskey Rebellion.
makes 1 cocktail
60 ml (2 oz.) rye whiskey
30 ml (1 oz.) Punt e Mes vermouth
1 tsp. yellow Chartreuse
1 dash Angostura bitters
Mix whiskey, vermouth, Chartreuse, and bitters in a shaker with ice; stir to chill. Strain into champagne coupe.
Watermelon-basil
Exceedingly well-balanced, this juicy cocktail from John Karangis of Union Square Events gets its sweetness from yellow watermelon, herbal freshness from Chartreuse and basil, and an astringent kick from tequila. While red watermelon will work in a pinch, you won’t get the clarity of color unless you spring for the yellow.
10 minutes
Ingredients
15 ml (1⁄2 oz.) fresh lime juice
15 ml (1⁄2 oz.) simple syrup
4 (1-inch) cubes yellow watermelon flesh
4 fresh basil leaves
60 ml (2 oz.) tequila
15ml (1⁄2 oz.) yellow Chartreuse
In a cocktail shaker, combine the lime juice and zest with the syrup, watermelon, and 3 basil leaves. Using a muddler, crush the ingredients and then add the tequila, yellow chartreuse, and ice. Cover and shake vigorously for 15 seconds, and then strain into a collins glass filled with ice. Garnish the cocktail with the remaining basil leaf before serving.
Petit Café
Almost a cross between a White Russian and an Irish coffee, this cocktail, which features potent green Chartreuse, was created by H. Joseph Ehrmann of Elixir in San Francisco for the 2006 Chartreuse Cocktail Competition.
50 ml (1 1⁄2 oz.) coffee liqueur, preferably Galliano Ristretto
30ml/1 oz. green Chartreuse
1⁄4 cup heavy cream, lightly whipped
Pinch Demerara sugar, for garnish
Stir coffee liqueur and Chartreuse in an ice-filled shaker. Strain into a wine glass. Top drink with whipped cream; garnish with a pinch of Demerara sugar.
Apple Daisy
Today’s mixologists, with their muttonchops and handlebars, have a historical influence: the Victorian male. These guys took their mustaches seriously, so much so that in mid-1800s England, a special teacup was designed for them. Its porcelain lip incorporated a bat-shaped guard that cradled the mustache, preventing it from getting wet. NYC’s Dead Rabbit fills these vintage cups with “daisies”—sweet-sour drinks that were popular in the 1870s. This recipe first appeared in SAVEUR DRINK Issue #1 with the story “Lip Service.”
50 ml (1 1⁄2 oz.) applejack
22 ml (3⁄4 oz.) fresh lemon juice
22 ml (3⁄4 oz.) green Chartreuse
15m l (1⁄2 oz.) lemon sherbet
3 dashes The Dead Rabbit Orinoco bitters
50 ml (1 1⁄2 oz.) dry cider, such as Crispin Brut
Freshly grated nutmeg, for garnish
Combine applejack, lemon juice, Chartreuse, sherbet, and bitters in an ice-filled cocktail shaker. Shake and strain into mustache cup or cocktail glass filled with ice. Top with cider and garnish with nutmeg.
Aide Memoir
A play on aide-mémoire, a French word that means a memory aid or mnemonic device, this cocktail from Bea in New York City is the perfect balance of sweet and bitter. A prosecco float gives it a celebratory air.
50 ml (1 1⁄2 oz.) sweet vermouth, such as Carpano Antica
15 ml (1⁄2 oz.) yellow Chartreuse
Dash of orange bitters
Prosecco, to top
Orange twist, for garnish
Combine vermouth, Chartreuse, and bitters in a cocktail shaker filled with ice; shake vigorously and strain into a coupe glass. Top with prosecco and garnish with orange twist.
Carthusian Sazerac
This variation on a Sazerac from Spice Kitchen and Bar in Cleveland gets a boost from the complex, herbal flavor of Chartreuse and a bright dash of lemon bitters.
80 ml (2 1⁄2 oz.) rye whiskey
7 ml (1⁄4 oz.) green Chartreuse
1⁄2 tsp. simple syrup
Absinthe rinse
2 dashes lemon bitters
Lemon twist, for garnish
Stir rye, Chartreuse, and syrup over ice in a cocktail mixing glass. Add a splash of absinthe into a coupe glass, and swirl to coat the inside of the glass before discarding the absinthe. Strain rye mixture into glass; top with bitters and garnish with a lemon twist.
Swizzling the Night Away
At Miami Beach’s Social Club, bartender Chad Phillips melds fresh-market and classic cocktail approaches for this drink of rum, bitters, and ripe Florida grapefruit. This recipe first appeared in our March 2014 issue with the story Winter’s Brightest Jewel.
30ml (1 oz.) rum
22 ml (3⁄4 oz.) chartreuse
15 ml (1⁄2 oz.) fresh grapefruit juice
15 ml (1⁄2 oz.) sweet vermouth
7 ml (1⁄4 oz.) Malibu rum
3 dashes Angostura bitters
Fill a rocks glass with ice. Stir in rum, chartreuse, grapefruit juice, vermouth, and Malibu rum. Top with bitters; garnish with a grapefruit twist.
If you Like Pina Colada Cocktail
Leo Robitschek of Eleven Madison Park crafted this cocktail in honor of our 21st birthday, inspired by SAVEUR’s global influence. ‘While your average 21-year-old is spending their birthday getting a little too familiar with Jagermeister and Miller High-Life—not that there’s anything wrong with that—SAVEUR has already been around the world,’ he says.
‘She’s sampled the best, and is hungry for more. Here, a perfect blend of some lesser-seen players: spicy rye, robust and savory-spiced velvet falernum, ancient and unapologetically vegetal Green Chartreuse, and Linie aquavit, a spirit that, amazingly enough, has actually sailed around the world, aging in oak sherry casks to the rhythm of the rolling waves. Coconut, lime, and pineapple tie the package together; a somewhat more civilized yet totally delicious way to celebrate one’s twenty-first year.’
22 ml (3⁄4 oz.) pineapple juice
15 ml (1⁄2 oz.) coconut syrup
15 ml (1⁄2 oz.) fresh lime juice
15 ml (1⁄2 oz.) Green Chartreuse
15 ml (1⁄2 oz.) Linie aquavit
15 ml (1⁄2 oz.) rye, preferably Michter’s
7 ml (1⁄4 oz.) Velvet Falernum
3 dashes Angostura bitters
Pineapple fronds, to garnish
Combine pineapple juice, syrup, lime juice, chartreuse, aquavit, rye, and velvet falernum in a hurricane glass filled with crushed ice and stir. Top with bitters and garnish with pineapple fronds.
Eureka Punch
Martin Cate of Smuggler’s Cove in San Francisco combines Chartreuse and ginger ale in this refreshing tropical drink. This recipe first appeared in SAVEUR Issue #140, along with Jeff Berry’s story Endless Summer.
60 ml (2 oz.) Caribbean-style amber rum, such as Cruzan Single Barrel
30 ml (1 oz.) fresh lemon juice
22 ml (3⁄4 oz.) yellow Chartreuse
1 tbsp. honey mixed with 1 tbsp. water
1 dash Angostura bitters
2 oz. ginger ale
1 lemon wedge, to garnish
1 sprig mint, to garnish
Combine rum, juice, Chartreuse, honey mixture, and bitters in a cocktail shaker and fill with ice. Shake until chilled. Strain into a collins glass filled with ice cubes and top with ginger ale. Garnish with lemon and mint.
Thanks to Saveur for providing all of the above recipes except for Swamp Water.
