Tag: chartreuse

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Original Recipe: Ted’s Tequila Cocktail

My friend Ted hit a birthday milestone earlier this year.  I was invited to contribute to the celebration by designing a signature cocktail that the fantastic bar team at Del Mar would serve the guests at his party.  The only guideline I was given was to use tequila.  This turned out to be harder than I thought.  I haven’t worked a lot with tequila outside of making margaritas (though my Desert Orange and Smoked Pearl recipes use mezcal).  And I wanted to live up to the circumstances – an important occasion attended by a lot of people.  The recipe had to be good and have wide appeal.  Needless to say, there was a lot of trial and error before settling on a final recipe.  But I think I succeeded, and now I’m sharing it with you – Ted’s Tequila Cocktail:

Ted's Tequila Cocktail

The concept I had in mind was to make a drink that marked a transition from spring to summer, which seemed both literally and metaphorically apt.  For spring I chose the floral and herbal flavors of St.-Germain and yellow Chartreuse; for summer, pineapple and jalapeño.  I also added a little lemon juice to amp up the tanginess a little and balance against the sweetness of the spring flavors.

It worked!  In fact, this is one of my favorite concoctions to date.  It’s a perfect balance of sweet, tangy and spicy, and very easy to drink.  It went over very well at the birthday party, and it has been a crowd-pleaser in subsequent events, too.  Be prepared to serve multiple rounds if you’re making this one for guests!

A word on spice.  You can modulate how spicy the drink is by being mindful of the number of seeds in the jalapeño pepper.  As I detail in the recipe, this drink should be shaken with one slice of jalapeño pepper and garnished with another slice.  More seeds (in either place, but especially in the shaker) means more spice.  You can minimize the spice by using slices of pepper that contain no seeds.

Here is the recipe:

Ted's Tequila Cocktail recipe
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Ted's Tequila Cocktail

This cocktail celebrates spring with some herbal and floral flavors provided by yellow Chartreuse and St.-Germain, warms you up with a bit of jalapeño, and previews summer with pineapple juice and citrus.
Prep Time5 minutes
Total Time5 minutes
Course: Drinks
Cuisine: Sour
Keyword: Pineapple tequila recipe
Servings: 1 cocktail
Calories: 182kcal
Author: Geoffrey Wyatt

Ingredients

  • 1 oz. tequila I used Espolòn
  • 1/2 oz. yellow Chartreuse
  • 1/2 oz. St.-Germain
  • 1/2 oz. pineapple juice
  • 1/2 oz. freshly squeezed lemon juice
  • 1 pineapple chunk
  • 1 jalapeño

Instructions

  • Combine the tequila, Chartreuse, St.-Germain, juices and a slice of jalapeño pepper in a shaking tin with ice.  Note that more seeds in the jalapeño pepper means more spice.  Shake vigorously.
  • Strain into a rocks glass over ice.
  • Garnish with a chunk of pineapple and a slice of jalapeño pepper.

Enjoy!

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Original Recipe: Decorator’s Drink

I would never suggest that holiday decorating might drive one to drink.  But it is difficult to dispute that decorating can be more fun with a good drink in hand.  Or if that complicates the task of, say, putting up a tree, you might at least be tempted to reward yourself for a job well done after erecting the biggest blue spruce you have ever managed to squeeze into your living room.  For your efforts, I offer you the Decorator’s Drink:

For this cocktail I used Michter’s small batch unblended American whiskey, green Chartreuse, Cherry Heering, freshly squeezed lemon juice, and orange bitters, with a cherry for garnish.  For bonus points I broke out the silver chalice as a nod to the Silver Bells of Christmas.  But any coupe or martini glass will do the trick here.

The whiskey provides that nice, warm base you want on a cold December evening.  And the Chartreuse, Cherry Heering and lemon juice provide a pleasant piney and tangy flavor that tastes like winter break.  So mix yourself one of these, sit back and take a break from decorating or appreciate a job already done.  (And if your thoughts are turning to the gifts for the folks still on your list, check out my recent post with holiday gift suggestions here.)

Decorator's Drink recipe
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Decorator's Drink

Need a cocktail to reward yourself for holiday decorating? Try the Decorator's Drink featuring whiskey and Chartreuse and imbibe the holiday spirit!
Prep Time5 minutes
Total Time5 minutes
Course: Drinks
Cuisine: Sour
Servings: 1 cocktail
Calories: 245kcal
Author: Geoffrey Wyatt

Ingredients

  • 2 oz. whiskey I used Michter's small batch unblended American whiskey
  • 1/2 oz. green Chartreuse
  • 1/4 oz. Cherry Heering
  • 1/4 oz. freshly squeezed lemon juice
  • 1 dash orange bitters I used Fee Brothers
  • cherry

Instructions

  • Combine the whiskey, green Chartreuse, Cherry Heering, lemon juice, and orange bitters with ice in a mixing glass and stir.
  • Strain into a coupe or martini glass.
  • Garnish with a cherry.

Enjoy!

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Original Recipe: The Autumn Breeze

If you read my last post offering cocktail gift ideas for the 2017 holiday season, you know I’m a fan of shrubs and Chartreuse.  This recipe – the Autum Breeze – shows you how to make good use of these things together.

The context for this recipe is my frame of mind when I was dreaming it up:  thinking about the last days of fall and avoiding unpleasant thoughts of winter by imagining myself on a Caribbean vacation.  This daydream inspired island ingredients like pineapple and rum on the one hand and warm autumnal flavors like smoky scotch and spices on the other.  My ingredient list became clear:  rum, scotch, a pineapple-allspice shrub by Shrub District, and yellow Chartreuse.

This is a spirit-heavy cocktail so I decided that stirring rather than shaking was the way to go.  I stirred the ingredients with ice and strained into a couple glass and garnished with a lemon peel.  And here was the result:

Autumn Breeze

This is a sweet drink, with a pleasant complexity provided by the different flavors.  The smokiness of the scotch and the herbal goodness of the Chartreuse come through clearly, offsetting what might have been an overpowering sweetness if the rum and pineapple flavors had been left alone.  It definitely works as a fall sipping drink, but you could easily pour this over crushed ice and swizzle for a fine poolside (or seaside) drink and throw a number of these back quickly.

Here is the recipe:

The Autumn Breeze recipe
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Autumn Breeze

The Autumn Breeze is the perfect cocktail for that fall day when you're daydreaming about a tropical vacation, with rum, scotch, pineapple and Chartreuse.
Prep Time5 minutes
Total Time5 minutes
Course: Drinks
Cuisine: Sour, Tiki
Servings: 1 cocktail
Calories: 175kcal
Author: Geoffrey Wyatt

Ingredients

  • 1 oz. aged rum I used Appleton Estate 12-year
  • 1/2 oz. Laphroaig 10-year
  • 1/2 oz. yellow Chartreuse
  • 1 oz. pineapple-allspice shrub by Shrub District
  • lemon peel

Instructions

  • Combine the rum, Laphroaig, Chartreuse and shrub with ice in a mixing glass and stir.
  • Strain into a coupe.
  • Express lemon peel over the glass and add the peel as garnish.

Enjoy!