Featured Ingredient: Chartreuse

It seems like I can't drink anywhere without hearing Chartreuse mentioned these days. So I decided to do a little investigating and whip up some Chartreuse-based cocktails. Like Bénédictine and Frangelico, Chartreuse is an herbal liqueur developed hundreds of years ago by monks, in this case the Carthusians.

I chose the following two cocktails based on availability of ingredients. Both were a success; the flavors of the Chartreuse's 130+ herbs  made for a clean but complex flavor that was fun to savor.

The Bijou

• 4 gin
• 3 chartreuse
• 2.5 lillet
• .5 vermouth
• 2 dashes orange bitters

Bijou, which means "jewel" in French, also has the advantage of being fun to say. It is typically made from gin, sweet vermouth, and chartreuse. I used Lillet because I always have it around, and I like the taste. CocktailDB puts the ratio at 3:1:1, but I fine-tuned it a bit to suit my taste.

From iPhone

The Last Word

• 1 gin
• 1 maraschino liqueur
• 1 chartreuse
• 1 lime juice

This is a prohibition-era cocktail; I found the recipe on Cocktail Chronicles. Equal parts all ingredients makes this an easy recipe to remember!

From iPhone