Chartreuse and Cocktails with Chartreuse

[montrachet]

Has anyone had the pleasure of trying the Chartreuse Green VEP? It's about $110 US in the liquor stores. Anyone living in the Seattle area can try it out at Le Pichet near the market. Not available here in Canada unfortunately.

[J_Ozzy]

Has anyone had the pleasure of trying the Chartreuse Green VEP? It's about $110 US in the liquor stores. Anyone living in the Seattle area can try it out at Le Pichet near the market. Not available here in Canada unfortunately.

Au Contraire, mon Frère

The LCBO vintages division has seen it fit to stock it in Ontario at a reasonable price, 69.95 CAD

I've inspected a bottle of it myself at the Rideau St. Store in Ottawa

:edited to remove picture from quote

Edited November 11, 2004 by J_Ozzy (log)

[slkinsey]

Wow. That.s 69.95 CAD for a half liter! Expensive stuff.

[birder53]

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.

←

If you're still working on that bottle of Chartreuse, I've found a few more drinks you might want to try. My parents had a copy of Trader Vic's Bartenders Guide circa 1947 which they picked up somewhere for $0.25. They gave it to me and in spite of all the wonderful cocktail books I got for Christmas, I can't stop going through this one. The names of the drinks are wild and there are a good number of them calling for ingredients which are no longer available. Here are some of the Chartreuse drinks we have been enjoying:

Chartreuse Cocktail

3/4 oz bourbon

1/2 oz chartreuse

1/4 oz French vermouth

Stir with cracked ice; strain into chilled cocktail glass. Serve with maraschino cherry.

Biter Cocktail

1 oz gin

1/2 oz chartreuse

1/2 oz lemon juice

1 dash absinthe

Shake with cracked ice; strain into chilled cocktail glass.

[fatdeko]

While down in New Orleans, Doc had Chris at the Ritz whip up a Widow's Kiss. I'ts my new favorite last-one-of-the-night and right-before-bed cocktail

2 parts Calvados (get a good and sturdy one)

1 part Benedictine

1 part Chartreuse

couple a dashes of Angostura

Haunting and familiar all at the same time.

It's a little like finding out your Grandfather had a mistress.

At his funeral.

And she's kinda, I dunno, cute in a way and you're happy for the horny old goat.

And there's no way I'm telling you about all the Chatreuse me and Chris drank one night.

Only because my memory ain't all that good at that hour.

Myers

[slkinsey]

Excellent. Now I know what I'm having before dinner.

Scotch after dinner of course, what with it being Burns' Night and all.

[fatdeko]

Trader's book is kinda special. It was the first cocktail book I ever bought and the one I cherish the most, despite it's seeming ubiquity on eBay. I was a freshman in college and a couple of us wandered into town for some "Daquiri Factory" and discovered a used book shop around the corner. While they hemmed and/or hawed over Rimbaud and Barthes, I more or less reached at the first book I saw, announcing "I'm getting this!"

I doubt I have anything else from that point in my life, aside from those Judas Priest records I can't explain, but I've always managed to keep that book.

There's something charming, puckish and Damn-I-wanna-buy-that-Rascal-a-beer about the prose and a lot of the preliminary essays are still great lessons for anyone about to get behind the stick.

Lessons, I'm afraid and sorry to say, no longer taught.

Like discretion. And how to answer the phone.

Myers

[birder53]

While down in New Orleans, Doc had Chris at the Ritz whip up a Widow's Kiss.  I'ts my new favorite last-one-of-the-night  and right-before-bed cocktail

2 parts Calvados  (get a good and sturdy one)

1 part Benedictine

1 part Chartreuse

couple a dashes of Angostura

Myers

←

Tried this last night. Very nice. Found another version of the recipe that called for yellow chartreuse, but I haven't found anyplace that carries it in NJ so far. The search is on!

[slkinsey]

Gary's latest SF Chron article features an interesting cocktail with Chartreuse just in time for St. Patrick's day: The Tipperary. It originally appeared in Hugo R. Ensslin's Recipes for Mixed Drinks as equal parts of Irish Whiskey, sweet vermouth and Green Chartreuse. cocktailDB has a version with slightly less vermouth and Chartreuse, but still a sweet drink.

Here is Gary's version, dried up a bit more for modern tastes:

Tipperary

2 oz : Irish whiskey

1 oz : sweet vermouth

rinse : Green Chartreuse

Coat the inside of a chilled cocktail the glass with Green Chartreuse, discarding excess. Stir whiskey and vermouth with ice and strain into prepared cocktail glass.

Cocktails like this are an interesting demonstration of how even just a touch of Chartreuse can change what is essentially an "Irish Manhattan" into something entirely different.

[phlip]

dig the tippery. gave it my own touch. call it the flippery.

2 oz. rye

half chartruese

half sweet vermouth

dash of orange biters

flame an orange twist

essentially a bijou with rye

also as yet unamed

2 oz. rye or gin

half of green chartruese

half punt a mezz

half sweet vermouth

dash of orange biters

flame an orange twist

the rinse idea seems a waste of good chartruese

[bleudauvergne]

Just to note that I paint my leg of spring lamb with green Chartreuse every 3 hours for a day before putting it on the rotisserie. You only have to use about 3 oz. to do this. I also like a simple Chartreuse and tonic from time to time.

[bpeikes]

I was at a "Save New Orleans" cocktail fundraiser run by Gary Regan a couple of months ago and the bar had Chartreuse VEP on the shelf. We asked the bartender to make us a Sazarac, but using the VEP as a wash instead of Herbsaint. It was incredible.

I'm a big lover of Chartreuse in general, straight or in a cocktail. We've got a couple of bottles on the shelves at our shop, but at the price, we haven't popped one open ourselves, we'll just have a bit when we see places that have it open.

[ctgm]

I find that the Yellow is a lot easier to drink neat than the Green. The Green I like to add to hot chocloate.

The Elixir Vegetal is fantastic stuff but is expensive, even in 10cl bottles but at 71% alc you don't really need too much. The "instructions" to drink are quite similar to Absinthe but it is good neat.

I have a client who buys a lot and recently bought:

Chartreuse Verte (55%)

Chartreuse Jaune (40%)

Chartreuse Liqueur 9e Centenaire (47%)

Chartreuse 1605 (56%)

Elixir Vegetal de la Grande Chartreuse (71%)

Cassis (20%)

Mure Sauvage (21%)

Framboise (21%)

Myrtille (21%)

Gentiane Aperitif des Chartreux (17%)

VEP Verte (54%)

Chartreuse Episcopale (45%)

Genepi des Peres Chartreux (40%)

Genepi Extra Sec des Peres Chartreux (40%)

The 3 most favoured by him are the 1605, Liqueur 9e Centenaire and the Episcopale.

[Nathan]

a heavy green chartreuse cocktail is the Bijou (from the Paris Ritz I believe):

1 part gin

1 part green chartreuse

1 part sweet vermouth

a dash or so of orange bitters (Trader Joe's actually has an acceptable bottle of blood orange bitters for about $5)

another classic, if you have absinthe (or Pernod I guess) is:

the Biter:

2 gin

1 chartreuse

1 lemon juice

dash absinthe.

for someone who doesn't like sours as much as myself, a dash or so of simple syrup will do wonders for either of these.

[Chris Amirault]

I see that no one has mentioned a Last Word.

[Chris Amirault]

I know I'm a little late to this wedding -- or funeral -- but I just got my first bottle of yellow Chartreuse. Decided to start with a Widow's Kiss using Laird's apple brandy instead of calvados.

It really is a remarkable drink; as fatdeko said, it's "haunting and familiar all at the same time." I might say it's sexy and sad at the same time, like the kiss of a depressed lover or, indeed, a widow.

[natter]

I just made a nice dessert cocktail with

1 oz Mt. Gay extra old

1/4 oz Green chartreuse

1/4 oz Vallisoletano Xtabentum

stir and strain

squeeze of lime

[Chris Amirault]

A bit late to this party:

Bijou Cocktail

1/3 Plymouth Gin (1 oz Plymouth Gin)

1 dash Orange Bitters (Bitter Truth Orange Bitters)

1/3 Green Chartreuse (1 oz Green Chartreuse)

1/3 Gancia Italian Vermouth (1 oz Carpano Antica Vermouth)

Mix well with a spoon in a large bar glass; strain into a cocktail glass, add a cherry or an olive, squeeze a piece of lemon peel on top and serve.

The Bijou has been on my list of cocktails to try for a while.  It's always exciting to get to a Savoy cocktail I actually want to make!

Tasty; but, a tad on the rich, sweet side for me.  When I make it again, I will probably go with 1/2 Gin, 1/4 Chartreuse, 1/4 Vermouth.

←

Despite Andy's warning to the contrary, I went with Erik's suggestion and made a 2:1:1 version, changed and upped the bitters (1 Regan's, 1 Fee's), but kept all other ingredients as he listed. I can see the possibilities of Boodle's here, but, boy, this is a remarkably great drink.

Edited to fix Andy's name (sorry!) -- CA

Edited January 31, 2008 by chrisamirault (log)

[thirtyoneknots]

A bit late to this party:

Bijou Cocktail

1/3 Plymouth Gin (1 oz Plymouth Gin)

1 dash Orange Bitters (Bitter Truth Orange Bitters)

1/3 Green Chartreuse (1 oz Green Chartreuse)

1/3 Gancia Italian Vermouth (1 oz Carpano Antica Vermouth)

Mix well with a spoon in a large bar glass; strain into a cocktail glass, add a cherry or an olive, squeeze a piece of lemon peel on top and serve.

The Bijou has been on my list of cocktails to try for a while.  It's always exciting to get to a Savoy cocktail I actually want to make!

Tasty; but, a tad on the rich, sweet side for me.  When I make it again, I will probably go with 1/2 Gin, 1/4 Chartreuse, 1/4 Vermouth.

←

Despite Andy's warning to the contrary, I went with Erik's suggestion and made a 2:1:1 version, changed and upped the bitters (1 Regan's, 1 Fee's), but kept all other ingredients as he listed. I can see the possibilities of Boodle's here, but, boy, this is a remarkably great drink.

←

As I mentioned upthread, I like Boodles in those and other rich drinks like Negronis. I should add here, that with a 2:1:1 ration I'm certain that your drink was delightful, but I dont think it's going to be quite like if you had made it equal parts. There's something about a lot of those rich equal parts drinks, Negroni included, that makes them taste different, often drastically different, when they are tweaked, even by as little as half an ounce in any direction. Yeah, it's a bit intense, but I'd recommend revisiting this, especially if you adore Chartreuse like I do.

[Chris Amirault]

I'll be trying the 1:1:1 ratios soon, as I adore Chartreuse, Carpano Antica, gin, and Negronis, too. It was just a bit too late to have a drink that required the use of a knife.

[thirtyoneknots]

I've still never had Carpano Antica (doesn't seem to be distributed in Texas), but if it's even close to as rich as Punt e Mes, you may do better to use something less intense. Good ol' M&R or Cinzano should do the trick.

[Scotttos]

A bit late to this party:

Bijou Cocktail

1/3 Plymouth Gin (1 oz Plymouth Gin)

1 dash Orange Bitters (Bitter Truth Orange Bitters)

1/3 Green Chartreuse (1 oz Green Chartreuse)

1/3 Gancia Italian Vermouth (1 oz Carpano Antica Vermouth)

Mix well with a spoon in a large bar glass; strain into a cocktail glass, add a cherry or an olive, squeeze a piece of lemon peel on top and serve.

The Bijou has been on my list of cocktails to try for a while.  It's always exciting to get to a Savoy cocktail I actually want to make!

Tasty; but, a tad on the rich, sweet side for me.  When I make it again, I will probably go with 1/2 Gin, 1/4 Chartreuse, 1/4 Vermouth.

←

Despite Andy's warning to the contrary, I went with Erik's suggestion and made a 2:1:1 version, changed and upped the bitters (1 Regan's, 1 Fee's), but kept all other ingredients as he listed. I can see the possibilities of Boodle's here, but, boy, this is a remarkably great drink.

Another nice twist is to sub in yellow chartreuse for green, dry vermouth for sweet. At that point it really isn't a bijou anymore but it's a pretty great drink.

When I first made a bjiou I mis-read the recipe and used dry vermouth. I made about a dozen of 'em that way before I went back and realized my mistake. It's obviously totally different without the sweet vermouth, haha, but still mighty tastey.

The green chartreuse comes on a bit strong when using dry vermouth (still delicious) but when you sub in the yellow the thing starts to sing.

I made it with equal parts.

1 oz Gin (plymouth)

1 oz Dry Vermouth (noilly prat)

1 oz Yellow Chartreuse

2 dashes Regan's Orange Bitters

Garnish: Lemon Twist

Stir/Strain

[bostonapothecary]

A bit late to this party:

Bijou Cocktail

1/3 Plymouth Gin (1 oz Plymouth Gin)

1 dash Orange Bitters (Bitter Truth Orange Bitters)

1/3 Green Chartreuse (1 oz Green Chartreuse)

1/3 Gancia Italian Vermouth (1 oz Carpano Antica Vermouth)

Mix well with a spoon in a large bar glass; strain into a cocktail glass, add a cherry or an olive, squeeze a piece of lemon peel on top and serve.

The Bijou has been on my list of cocktails to try for a while.  It's always exciting to get to a Savoy cocktail I actually want to make!

Tasty; but, a tad on the rich, sweet side for me.  When I make it again, I will probably go with 1/2 Gin, 1/4 Chartreuse, 1/4 Vermouth.

←

Despite Andy's warning to the contrary, I went with Erik's suggestion and made a 2:1:1 version, changed and upped the bitters (1 Regan's, 1 Fee's), but kept all other ingredients as he listed. I can see the possibilities of Boodle's here, but, boy, this is a remarkably great drink.

Another nice twist is to sub in yellow chartreuse for green, dry vermouth for sweet. At that point it really isn't a bijou anymore but it's a pretty great drink.

When I first made a bjiou I mis-read the recipe and used dry vermouth. I made about a dozen of 'em that way before I went back and realized my mistake. It's obviously totally different without the sweet vermouth, haha, but still mighty tastey.

The green chartreuse comes on a bit strong when using dry vermouth (still delicious) but when you sub in the yellow the thing starts to sing.

I made it with equal parts.

1 oz Gin (plymouth)

1 oz Dry Vermouth (noilly prat)

1 oz Yellow Chartreuse

2 dashes Regan's Orange Bitters

Garnish: Lemon Twist

Stir/Strain

←

that looks like my style. gonna try that tonight.

[jsmeeker]

Just got back from the liquor store. Picked up a bottle of green Chartreuse. I had a Last Word in San Francisco a few weeks ago, and I wanted to make them at home. I'll start with that and then try some of the others listed in this thread.

[tikibars]

Wanna pipe in that I love all of the various vintage Trader Vic's books; he did a few of 'em.

But back to Chartreuse -

Violet Hour in Chicago does a killer drink called Poor Liza with Chartreuse and pear brandy.

Absolutely amazing.

I caught Toby in a good mood one day, and he made me a Liza with the VEP Chartreuse (that's the $100/bottle stuff), and it was transcendant.

I have been trying to reverse engineer the Liza, and I think I am pretty close, but there is something about drinking them at VH...