Chartreuse and Cocktails with Chartreuse

[sweetpea]

is it any good?  I bought it last week for it had such a great color.

Would love some help.

Thanks.

[anil]

is it any good?  I bought it last week for it had such a great color.

Would love some help.

Thanks.

It is Liqueur. made by monks in the French Alps. These are acquired taste.

What color did you buy ? Green ?

[John Whiting]

Green Chartreuse has a very complex herbal bouquet and flavor. While it can be drunk over ice or mixed with other ingredients, to drink it any way other than from a glass which allows you to cradle it and swirl it is to lose some of that complexity.

[Adam_Balic]

Green Chartreuse is best drunk whilst reading Evelen Waugh, otherwise some of the more subtle nuances are lost.

[sweetpea]

Thanks John Whiting.  What other ingredients would you suggest?  And I would have never known about not swirling a drink.  It makes sense.

Adam Balic, who is Evelen Waugh? Would love to know.

[Adam_Balic]

Oh, Evelen Waugh is my mis-spelling. Evelyn Waugh was an English writer, who's reminds me of Chartreuse for some reason (maybe because some of his writing is set in the 1920-30's when drinking the stuff was in vogue). Anyway, his writing is rather good and there are worse ways of spending an evening then drinking Chartreuse and reading Evelyn Waugh. More information is avalible at"

http://www.hertford.ox.ac.uk/alumni/waugh.htm

[John Whiting]

Or may I suggest a wonderful book by Roy Andreis de Groot, _Recipes from the Auberge of the Flowering Hearth_. This is an inn in the heart of the Massif de Chartreuse, where de Groot was sent by his publisher to research an article on the monks and their liqueur. While there he stayed at the Auberge de l'Atre Fleuri, which was run by two old ladies who were superlative cooks. De Groot became so enamored of their cuisine that it totally displaced the liqueur he had set out to document. This book was a favorite of Alice Waters, who cites it as an important early source of her love for French food and culture.

[sweetpea]

Thanks John Whiting.  Wow... I will have to study a lot before I can appreciate this drink.

[oliva]

is it to be consumed as an aperitif or a digestif?

[nightscotsman]

My favorite way to drink Chartreuse is in a cocktail called a Champs Elysees:

1-1/2 oz cognac

1/4 oz green Chartreuse (yellow Chartreuse exists as well, but it's sweeter)

1 oz lemon juice

2 dashes Angostura bitters

combine all ingredients and shake with cracked ice. strain into chilled cocktail glass and garnish with a lemon twist.

This is from the excellent book "Cocktail: the Drinks Bible for the 21st Century" by Paul Harrington and Laura Moorhead.

[helenas]

I stumbled on Chartreuse of swordfish by sheer accident, but liked the idea so much that decided to prepare it right away. My enthusiasm though was curbed when i saw the swordfish price. Still determined to make the dish, I made several circles in the meat department, and ended up with a small free range chicken. I rushed home to consult Jinmyo and Richard Olney. Actually, Olney came to my mind while I was reading the recipe: I remembered the idea of melting a tender lettuce into a braising liquid from his Provence book, as well as using a dough for pan sealing.

My initial plan was to split a chicken and marinade it in some tarragon, garlic and olive oil for some time, and otherwise to follow the original recipe. Jinmyo advised me to quarter a chicken and increase the cooking time. Olney’s “Forty cloves of garlic chicken” recipe provided some other useful ideas.

The dish - fragrant broth, melting meat, potatoes in the perfect doneness, was also visually attractive on the plate.

Edited July 11, 2003 by helenas (log)

[helenas]

Today i tried the original recipe, using the salmon cut, 2 inch thick and one small bunch each of cilantro and parsley. Here is the outcome: two inches cut is a bit thick, 275F oven is a bit low, as the upper layer of greens didn't melt away as in my previous try. The fish was very good and moist, but the broth couln't compete against the chicken version.

I'm still determined to try it with pork next time.

[birder53]

Finally made the Tantris Sidecar this evening. Wow! There is a lot going on in this drink. Thank you to slkinsey for providing Audrey's recipe. I titled this thread "Chartreuse" because I'm guessing that is the ingredient that puts this drink over the top. It's one of those drinks that makes you stop and think and wonder - what's going on here??? Whatever it is, it's all good, very good. I truly enjoy a traditional Sidecar but this is beyond Sidecars! What a nice way to end a lovely weekend.

Tantris Sidecar

1 oz Courvoisier VS Cognac

1/2 oz Busnel Calvados (or other good quality)

1/2 oz Cointreau

1/2 oz Fresh Lemon Juice

1/2 oz Simple Syrup (1-1)

1/4 oz Pineapple Juice

1/4 oz Green Chartreuse

Garnish:  Lemon Twist

Sugar half the rim on a martini glass.  Measure all ingredients into a mixing glass, add ice, shake well, and strain into martini glass.  Garnish with a big lemon twist.

[Libationgoddess]

Thank you!! I'm so happy that you enjoyed it! Yeah, the chartreuse and the pineapple seem to tie it all together. If anyone is going to the "Taste Of New York" event tomorrow, I will be making a few hundred of them there...Splificator will be shaking away as well; I believe he's making some potent blend of whiskey along with something hot & spicy..

I'm glad that you stated a thread for it; chartreuse is truly magical stuff.

Dave, what the heck was that drink you had me make you the other week when you guys were in.....2 parts gin, 1 part sweet vermouth, and a splash of yellow chartreuse, right? lemon twist? Now that was a real beauty...

Audrey

[birder53]

I'm planning to spend a weekend in NYC just to be able to visit Audrey! I don't want to worry about making my way back to NJ after enjoying the cocktails, and I know I will enjoy them. We'll be sure to make sure Audrey is working before we make our plans.

That was the great thing about drinking at Zig Zag in Seattle, we could walk back to our hotel and not worry about who was in any condition to drive. There isn't anything close enough to home to accomplish that in NJ.

[slkinsey]

Chartreuse really is a great cocktail ingredient. For me, just a hint of Chartreuse adds a certain ambience of far-away places. I'm always interesting in hearing about cocktails with Chartreuse, since I bought a large sized bottle which is apparently a lifetime supply.

Audrey, I was just thinking about that cocktail of Dave's, too. It was a real keeper.

Taste of NY sounds cool. Little rich for my blood at $100-plus, though.

[JAZ]

Must be something in the air, because I too remembered that drink of Dave's the other day when I saw a bottle of yellow Chartreuse. It was tasty, wasn't it?

Another drink with green Chartreuse is Trillium's creation, the Friday After Five (from the It's Friday, it's after five, and I think I'll mix myself. . . thread:

1 ounce gin

1/2 ounce green Chartreuse

3/4 ounce bergamot juice

1 dash Herbsaint, absinthe or Pernod

Shake over ice, pour into chilled glasses and garnish with a bergamot peel twist.

As I mentioned on that thread, I didn't have bergamot oranges or any sour oranges, but used a combination of 1 part each lemon, lime and orange juice, and the drink turned out well.

[Splificator]

Dave, what the heck was that drink you had me make you the other week when you guys were in.....2 parts gin, 1 part sweet vermouth, and a splash of yellow chartreuse, right?  lemon twist?  Now that was a real beauty...

That was a "San Martin," with an accent on the i. It's a South American joint from the '20s, otherwise known (wrongly) as the "Sand Martin" (with no accent). Some recipes call for Green Chartreuse. Not so good. This is one case where you really need the yellow.

A toute a l'heure (off to mix good whiskey with this and that, not omitting Tabasco sauce),

--DW

[slkinsey]

Interesting... On CocktailDB the "Sand Martin" is made with gin, sweet vermouth and green Chartreuse. This (presumably historical) recipe contains more vermouth than your version, making a sweeter drink -- but I find it is often the case that drinks from that era need to be dried up a bit for modern tastes. Having tried it with both green and yellow Chartreuse, I agree that yellow is definitely the way to go.

Stangely, the "San Martin" on CocktailDB contains equal parts gin, dry vermouth and sweet vermouth with a splash of anisette and a dash of aromatic bitters. Totally different drink.

[birder53]

How does the green chartreuse differ from the yellow? I'm running out of storage space for all this liquor and need to be selective!

[Splificator]

Interesting... On CocktailDB the "Sand Martin" is made with gin, sweet vermouth and green Chartreuse.  This (presumably historical) recipe contains more vermouth than your version, making a sweeter drink -- but I find it is often the case that drinks from that era need to be dried up a bit for modern tastes.  Having tried it with both green and yellow Chartreuse, I agree that yellow is definitely the way to go.

Stangely, the "San Martin" on CocktailDB contains equal parts gin, dry vermouth and sweet vermouth with a splash of anisette and a dash of aromatic bitters.  Totally different drink.

←

The CocktailDB recipe is presumably the one from the Savoy book. The one I use comes from Robert Vermiere's Cocktails: How to Mix Them, from 1922. And indeed it does call for more vermouth, with a 50-50 ratio (and Yellow Chartreuse). I usually resolve these into 2-1, which in this case I think makes a better drink. Not always, though--I've been drinking a lot of 50-50 Dry Martinis lately (I guess you could call this a Wet/Dry Martini, or an Amphibious Martini), with a great deal of pleasure. You have to use Noilly Prat, though, and the choice of gin is important.

As for Yellor Chartreuse v Green: the Yellow is lower-proof, sweeter and uses different herbs. It's no as overpowering as the Green, but it's almost as odd. You can buy it in small bottles, if that helps.

[birder53]

The CocktailDB recipe is presumably the one from the Savoy book. The one I use comes from Robert Vermiere's Cocktails: How to Mix Them, from 1922. And indeed it does call for more vermouth, with a 50-50 ratio (and Yellow Chartreuse). I usually resolve these into 2-1, which in this case I think makes a better drink. Not always, though--I've been drinking a lot of 50-50 Dry Martinis lately (I guess you could call this a Wet/Dry Martini, or an Amphibious Martini), with a great deal of pleasure. You have to use Noilly Prat, though, and the choice of gin is important.

←

Thanks for the info on the Yellow Chartreuse. Now - you state that the choice of gin is important for the San Martin. I have the Noilly Prat, which gin do you like? Plymouth?

[slkinsey]

. . . I've been drinking a lot of 50-50 Dry Martinis lately (I guess you could call this a Wet/Dry Martini, or an Amphibious Martini), with a great deal of pleasure. You have to use Noilly Prat, though, and the choice of gin is important.

←

Thanks for the info on the Yellow Chartreuse. Now - you state that the choice of gin is important for the San Martin. I have the Noilly Prat, which gin do you like? Plymouth?

←

I believe he's saying that the choice of gin is particularly important when you're making 1:1 gin:vermouth martinis.

[DrinkBoy]

The CocktailDB recipe is presumably the one from the Savoy book....

Perhaps not really here nor there, but I think both of the recipes (San Martin, Sand Martin) are actually from Jones, who perhaps got them from Savoy.

-Robert

[Splificator]

Thanks for the info on the Yellow Chartreuse.  Now - you state that the choice of gin is important for the San Martin.  I have the Noilly Prat, which gin do you like?  Plymouth?

A) You're very welcome, and B) I was indeed, in my muddled way, referring to the Wet/Dry Martini: although the choice of gin is always important, I find it somewhat less so when one is adding red vermouth than when one is adding white. For the record, I generally like Tanqueray or Plymouth in my San Martins, although Beefeater does no harm.

--DW

P.S. to DrinkBoy: ah. Thanks.