chartreuse jaune

The Queen’s Blush

/ Dani DeLuna / Leave a comment

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Y’all, it happened! The temperature dropped below 70°, I went hiking yesterday and now it really feels like autumn!

What better way to celebrate this seasonal change than with a stirred drink? “Wait gurl, you made a stirred drink? WHUT.” Yes, y’all I finally made a stirred drink and it’s even in a pretty coupe!

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Definitely still obsessed with this Raspberry Syrup cause it’s packing a helluva punch. If you haven’t made it yet, head here for the recipe.

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While mentally working on this cocktail, I thought, “Ok gurrrrl, you’ve got that fabulous new bottle of Julius Drover Alambic Brandy from Shinn Estate, that Hamilton 86 Demerara Rum, why not go for something 19th century style?” So I did.

Cast of Characters:

  1. Raspberry Syrup: Since the point of this cocktail was to get a 19th Century vibe going, I looked up a bunch of recipes that used either Grenadine or Raspberry syrup in Martin’s Index of Cocktails.
  2. I bought the fantastic bottle of Julius Drover Alambic Brandy while on holiday in Long Island Wine Country with my smooth girlfriend. Yes, there is a “wine country” out on eastern Long Island, and it’s pretty amazing out there. This brandy is so damn great, it’s basically American Cognac. Nice n dry, with faint hints of wood, a bit of fruitiness (pear, grape, apple), and a tiny bit floral. Really nice stuff.
  3. The Hamilton 86 is big, molasses-y, spicy, and has notes of leather, tobacco, and dark chocolate, along with some fruitiness. There are a lot of historical punch recipes with Cognac or Brandy and Rum together, so I wanted to put these two in a drink.
  4. The Yellow Chartreuse came about when I was thinking about how to tie everything together. I felt like the flowers and honey from Yellow Chartreuse would play nicely with the notes from the Brandy & Rum. Totally did.
  5. Absinthe: I am fully convinced that Raspberry & Absinthe are perfect partners. Together they create such a sublime marriage that I almost can’t separate them anymore.
  6. Regans’ Orange Bitters: I wanted some citrus top notes since I wasn’t going to use any juice.

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Stir ’til you just can’t stand it anymore! (Or really, about 50 rotations.)

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For this Absinthe application, I went with an atomizer. I’m not really into rinsing these days cause I think it’s kind of wasteful. Plus, you can smell the Absinthe more when it’s on top of the drink.

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The Queen’s Blush

  • 1 oz Julius Drover Alambic Brandy (sub dry Cognac)
  • 1 oz Hamilton 86 Demerara Rum
  • 1/4 oz Yellow Chartreuse
  • *3/8 oz Raspberry Syrup
  • 2 dashes Regan’s Orange Bitters
  • Garnish: St. George Absinthe Vert mist

Combine ingredients over ice and stirrrrrrrrr. Strain into chilled coupe, spritz some Absinthe on top and sip!

*I am so serious about this measurement. Really, it needs to be 3/8 of an ounce or something close to 10ml but if you don’t have those measurements, go for a scant 1/2 oz. If you use a full 1/2 oz, the drink becomes too sweet and the Raspberry totally takes over.

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Hope y’all have tons of fun and enjoy this shift into some autumnal cocktails! May all your Raspberry dreams come true! Cheers!

 

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Brigid’s Miracle

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Happy Pi Day everyone! Spring has sprung in North America during this glorious Irish Whiskey Month! All the new green grass and freshly budding leaves have inspired me to create an herbaceous cocktail with Teeling Single Grain Whiskey.

If you wanna join the party, use the hashtag #IrishWhiskeyMonth on Instagram and I’ll repost your photo! The only rule is that you have to include Irish Whiskey in your cocktail.

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Basking in the sunlight, she reached for her stirring glass and copper tools. She poured the ingredients in, added ice, and began to stir. She gazed thoughfully out the window, “Why has that man decided to wear flip-flops? This is New York City. You can’t wear flip-flops on the streets in this town!” 

Suddenly, she remembered that she was stirring a cocktail and stopped the motion of her right hand with a flick of the wrist. She grabbed the julep strainer, poured the cocktail into a coupe, and said to herself, “Gurrrl, it’s ok. He must be from out of town and has no idea that flip-flops are the most dangerous footwear he could have chosen.”

She took a sip and smiled. Her thoughts drifted far away.

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Here are the glorious ingredients for this springiest of spring libations. What posessed me to put these flavors together? Well…

I had one goal: I really wanted to have St. George Absinthe (anise, lemon grass, grassiness, herbaceous glory), Chartreuse Jaune (flowers, honey, flowers, saffron, flowers, etc), and Teeling Single Grain (berries, grains, honey, wonderfulness) hang out in the same glass. The Dolin Dry was for length and for awesomeness. Dolin Dry is always awesome.

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I’ve decided to put some of my St. George Absinthe in a small bottle so I can use it by drops from a pipette. I considered using an Absinthe rinse, but didn’t want to waste any of it and wanted to control how much flavor it contributed to the drink. Accuracy is key when using small amounts of Absinthe.

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I wanted the presentation for this drink to be as simple and inviting as possible and so have chosen to discard the peel. If you’d like to keep the peel in the drink, go for it!

Brigid’s Miracle

  • 1 1/2 oz Teeling Single Grain Irish Whiskey
  • 1/2 oz Dolin Dry
  • 1/4 oz Chartreuse Jaune
  • 15 drops St. George Absinthe Verte (1. 5 dashes)
  • Garnish: Lemon peel expressed and discarded

Combine ingredients over ice and stirrrrrrr (until you gaze out the window and lose yourself in the moment. Remember stirring is Zen.). Strain into chilled coupe. Express Lemon peel and discard.

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The name of this drink is a nod to one of the patron saints of Ireland and a symbol of spring: Brigid of Kildare. May all your cocktails be marvelous and your #IrishWhiskeyMonth be sensational!

Flower Flower & Rose Tea infused Vodka

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Yep, you read that right. I did say the word Vodka. I said it loud and proud because this is the first time I’ve been really excited to use Vodka in a drink. (It’s also the first time I’ve used Saké in a drink but more about that later.)

If you know me IRL, you know I’m always like, “Vodka, what’s the point? Where’s the Gin?” Honestly, what got me even considering using Vodka in this drink is cause my friend Chris at Bearded Lady said that he’d been asked to create a Vodka drink for the spring menu. I took it as a challenge to myself.

The inspiration for Flower Flower was to use as many flower flavoured liqueurs/spirits/bitters in my Home Bar as possible while still creating something drinkable and delicious. This was an EXTREMELY difficult challenge and it took me around five tries and a whole lot of “going back to the drawing board”. There are a lot of small amounts in this drink and there is also the aforementioned Rose Tea infused Vodka.

Rose-Tea-Vodka

If you haven’t tried Tulsi herbal teas from India, you haven’t lived. They are definitely the best bagged herbal teas I’ve ever tasted and I always have the Sweet Rose tea at home. I had thought of putting the Sweet Rose with Gin but after my conversation with Chris, decided this was a good time to use that bottle of Tito’s I keep around for emergencies*.

Rose Tea infused Vodka

  • 4 bags of Tulsi Sweet Rose Tea (or your favourite Rose Tea)
  • 300 ml Tito’s Vodka (I always do infusions in ml, it’s just easier)
  • Fine strainer

Rip those tea bags open and let tea steep loosely in the Vodka for 30 mins. (Cover with plastic wrap or seal ur jar) Fine strain into bottle. Smell the deliciousness, taste the glory.

*The emergencies being when someone asks for something with Vodka and I don’t have to panic.

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Now, remember, I said this took like five times to get right, it wasn’t until I opened the fridge and saw that bottle of Yoshinogawa Winter Warrior Saké that the drink all came together.This sake is dry, floral, fruity, a bit sweet and wonderful. I’m always looking for ways to dry out a drink when using multiple liqueurs and in this case, saké was it.

Flower Flower smells like an English Garden, is dry enough on the tongue for serious cocktail drinkers and is perfect for spring. The colour of the drink actually reminds me of a Rose stem. It also features my new BFF Carpano Dry. Enjoy!

Flower Flower

  • 1 1/2 oz Rose Tea infused Tito’s Vodka
  • 1 oz Yoshinogawa Winter Warrior Junmai Ginjo Saké
  • 1 oz Carpano Dry Vermouth
  • 1 tsp Chartreuse Jaune
  • 1 tsp St-Germain
  • 1 tsp Crème de Violette
  • 1/2 tsp Orange Flower Water
  • 1 dash Bar Keep Lavender Bitters

Garnish: Grapefruit peel rose

Combine ingredients over ice and stir until proper dilution has been achieved. Strain into coupe. Express Grapefruit peel and swirl into a Rose.

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Happy spring to you all!

Thanks to the Baddish Group for the wonderful bottle of Carpano Dry Vermouth!

Seafarer’s Sour

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Ahhhh, the sea. Nothing like months and months of being at sea to really make you miss dry land eh? Ay, nothin’ like it. Well, here’s a sour for a Seafarer with one wary eye on the sea and the other which yearns for spices, flowers and dry land.

Seafarer’s Sour

  • 1 1/2 oz Smith & Cross Navy Strength Jamaica Rum
  • 1/2 oz Chartreuse Jaune
  • 3/4 oz Lemon Juice
  • 1/2 oz Demerara Syrup
  • 2 droppers Elemakule Tiki Bitters
  • Garnish: Cinnamon Stick

Combine ingredients over ice and shake until ingredients have combined. Double Strain into rocks glass over ice. Garnish with Cinnamon Stick.

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My Infamy

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This is one of those slow sippers which happened after a night of tinkering in my kitchen, aka My Home Bar. The inspiration for this drink was to combine Chartreuse Jaune and Branca Menta in a delightful and not overpowering way. Both liqueurs have Saffron notes and I wanted to put the Minty Herbaceousness of the Branca with the Floral Herbaceousness of the Chartreuse. Very nice, it’s a very nice combo. I decided Rittenhouse was the right base spirit and then dried it out with Dolin Dry.

My Infamy

  • 2 oz Rittenhouse Rye
  • 1/2 oz Dolin Dry Vermouth
  • 1/2 oz Chartreuse Jaune
  • 1/4 oz Branca Menta
  • No garnish

Combine ingredients and stir over ice until proper dilution has been achieved. Strain into coupe. Sip slowly with a good book.

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It’s hard for me to do this, but sometimes a drink just doesn’t need a garnish. Like, if your hair is amazing, why wear a hat?

Thanks again to the Baddish Group for the fresh and fabulous bottle of Branca Menta. 

Happy 2015 from Myself and the Cat

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Me n Moopsy

Happy prrrrrrty prrrrrty fun times to you all from me n’ Kuti. I’ve had loads of fun writing this Home Bar Girl blog and I hope you’ve had fun too! Have a sensational NYE y’all!

Tonight I will most likely be drinking one or more of the following:

  1. A French 75
  2. Fashionably Late – 1/4 oz St-G, 1/2 oz Chartreuse Jaune, 1 dash Celery bitters, top with dry Prosecco and Lemon peel
  3.  Yamazaki 12 Year on a rock
  4.  A glass of Champagne/Prosecco with a Lemon peel
  5.  Punch

Cheers to you and yours!

Brunch Bonanza: Jaune Jaune Fizz

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Welcome to Brunch Bonanza. The segment where we talk about brunch cocktails!

Now here’s a fizz I can really get behind, in front of, underneath…AHEM. In the Brunch tradition of having a Fizz with a Whole Egg, here’s a floral, citrusy, honey filled wonderland. The *French word for yellow is “jaune” and so the Jaune Jaune Fizz has two yellow ingredients in it: Chartreuse Jaune and Lemon Juice. To this add Gin, a Whole Egg, Honey Syrup and well, I’m over the La Lune! Let’s have at least two of these at Brunch, mmmk?

Jaune Jaune Fizz

  • 1 oz London Dry Gin (Mayfair used here)
  • 3/4 oz Chartreuse Jaune
  • 3/4 oz Lemon Juice
  • 1/2 oz Honey Syrup
  • 2 dashes of Orange Bitters
  • Whole Egg
  • Soda
  • Lemon Peel

In tin combine Gin, Chartreuse, Lemon Juice, Honey Syrup, Bitters and Whole Egg. Dry Shake until your arms are about to fall off. Add ice and shake again for at least 20 seconds. Add around 1 oz Soda to Collins glass, then double strain contents of tin into glass. Add ice to glass and top with soda. Express Lemon Peel and garnish. Cheers.

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Lusciousness in a glass. Can’t stop the FIZZ.

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WOOOOOO.   

*If you’ve noticed, I absolutely love French liqueur and aperitif flavours. Love them, love them, love them forever.

French Ambassador

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French Ambassador

I will find any excuse I can to make a Gin cocktail like this. Give me Gin, Chartreuse, Pernod and Lemon juice all year long!

French Ambassador

  • 2 oz Mayfair London Dry Gin
  • 3/4 oz Chartreuse Jaune
  • 3/4 oz Lemon Juice
  • 3/4 oz Honey Syrup
  • Pernod Pastis rinse
  • Lemon peel

Rinse rocks glass with Pernod Pastis and chill glass. Combine Gin, Chartreuse Jaune, Lemon Juice and Honey Syrup in tin with cracked ice. Shake and strain into glass over one big rock. Express Lemon peel and use as garnish.