Aside from The Last Word, the Bijou is one the most popular cocktails made with Chartreuse, and a good choice for a cocktail to celebrate Bastille Day or World Chartreuse Day.
Bijou Cocktail – Photo © Cocktails & Bars
Bijou means jewel in French and the cocktail was supposedly named after the colours of its three ingredients: gin (diamond), sweet vermouth (ruby), and Green Chartreuse (emerald).
If you’re not too familiar with Chartreuse, you can read all about the French liqueur in this essential guide to Chartreuse.
The original recipe for the cocktail dates back to the late 1800s and features in Harry Johnson’s Bartenders Manual where it calls for equal parts of its three main ingredients. This combination is often too sweet for the modern palate. It pays to dial back the sweet components to give the drink a better balance and highlight the botanicals of the gin along with the marriage of Chartreuse’s herbaceous notes with vermouth.
Bijou Cocktail Recipe
Ingredients
- 45 ml gin
- 15 ml sweet vermouth
- 15 ml Green Chartreuse
- 1 dash of orange bitters
Glassware: cocktail glass
Garnish: lemon twist
Method
In a mixing glass, add all ingredients with ice and stir until chilled. Strain into a cocktail glass and garnish with a lemon twist.
Photo by Cocktails & Bars – © Copyright: All rights reserved.
