Chartreuse

The Chartreuse tasting was more of a sample-drinks-that-have-Chartreuse-in-them than a proper, structured tasting event (you know sniff, swill, and spit out before pronouncing that the beverage tasted like “flowers,” “cardamom,” “Easter,” “citrus,” “pink,” or whatever other word popped into your mind).  This was a far superior way to sample Chartreuse.  Since it pretty much only comes in yellow or green, the tasting would have ended rather abruptly without having had much to drink.  More importantly, the fine ladies of LUPEC New York (what an awesome organizaton) were providing a range of cocktails that used Chartreuse, and they were mixing the drinks with great precision.  I divined a few critical takeaways from the event:

1. Use aromatic ingredients
2. Sage is a great garnish
3. Cloves are a BRILLIANT garnish

One of the drinks used sage as a garnish, which was pretty (hence point 2), but the real value was in the bowl of fresh sage sitting on the bar.  As I approached the bar I smelled the sage.  I asked what drinks were on offer.  When I was told one of them contained sage, my mind lit up with joy and excitement, I promptly said, “Oh, the sage one, definitely.”  Sipping my enjoyable, but probably not exactly favorite drink, I thought, “why did I want this one so much?”  Answer: the olfactory sage had primed my brain to want sage!  I’m not trying to trick people into drinking my creations, but this kind of tactic could help less adventurous guests try new cocktails.

All that said, my favorite was actually a classic: the Champs Elysee (a happy memory in its own right, as the setting of my honeymoon).

Ingredients

1 Cognac

1/2 Yellow Chartreuse

1 lemon juice

1 sugar cube

dash bitters

Combine the ingredients and shake.