u/Geo_Jet

3 fresh Basil leaves

2 fl oz Gin (Thresh&Winnow Forét)

1 fl oz Elderflower liqueur (St. Germain)

1⁄2 fl oz Lemon juice (freshly squeezed)

2 dash Grapefruit Bitters

2 dash VÉGÉTAL de la Grande-Chartreuse

2 fl oz Tonic water

Lightly muddle basil (just to bruise) in base of shaker. Add next 4 ingredients and shake with ice. Pour tonic water into the shaker before fine straining into ice-filled glass. Express lemon zest twist over the cocktail and use as garnish.

Not your father’s G&T. The basil brings a fresh sweet and peppery herbal finish and tamps down the St Germain sweetness. I used a Shiso leaf gin to bring more botanicals to the table and a touch of the VdlG-C. Of course lemon and basil are a natural match.

2 fl oz Tequila (Tapatio Añejo)

3 fresh Basil leaves

1⁄2 fl oz Sugar syrup (Liber&Co Classic Gum Syrup)

3⁄4 fl oz Lemon juice (freshly squeezed)

1/4 fl oz Italicus

Top up with Soda water (Topo Chico)

Shake first 5 ingredients with ice and fine strain into ice-filled chilled Collins glass. Top with Topo and gently stir. Garnish with a basil sprig.

Super hot and humid here today with Heat Index in the 110’s. Aircon can’t keep up without overheating/shutting down. I needed a simple-to-make, very refreshing long drink to use up some harvested basil at the same time. This fits the bill very nicely, thank you.

6 fresh Basil leaves

1 1⁄2 fl oz Cachaça

1⁄2 fl oz Yellow Chartreuse

3⁄4 fl oz Lime juice (freshly squeezed)

1⁄2 fl oz Agave syrup (agave nectar)

Shake all ingredients with ice. Fine strain into chilled glass. Garnish with basil leaf boat floated on cocktail.

Another garden harvest of sweet basil to try something new. Kind of like an herbal caipirinha Very refreshing on a day that the heat index hits 115F.

I want to revisit this when my replacement bottle of Leblon arrives. The 51 is OK, but doesn’t have the same fruity presence. The basil sweetness and peppery notes hit late with a nice aftertaste. I’m also thinking of a modifier split with green Chartreuse and Italicus.

½ oz Orgeat Syrup

1 ¾ oz Navy gin (Plymouth)

½ oz Green Chartreuse

½ oz bergamot liqueur (Italicus)

¾ oz lime juice

3 dash VÉGÉTAL de la Grande Chartreuse

4-5 large basil leaves

Muddle basil leaves with orgeat in a cocktail shaker. Add all ingredients and ice and shake hard. Double strain into a chilled highball glass. Garnish with fresh basil and lime wheel.

Very herbal and floral, but deceptively powerful. I added the VÉGÉTAL for a little extra punch. The basil really shines and brings out the botanicals in both the gin and Italicus.

I’m not usually a fan of basil in a cocktail, but our plant in the garden was out of control and in need of harvesting before flowering. My SO approved of pruning it back and this cocktail seemed a lot more interesting than a mere gin basil smash or something similar.

a/k/a Bonaparte’s Manhattan

1 1⁄2 fl oz Straight rye whiskey (Barrel Rye Batch 4; 57.8%)

1⁄2 fl oz. Sweet red Vermouth (Cocchi Storico VdT)

1⁄3 fl oz. Mandarine Napoleon liqueur

1⁄6 fl oz. Amaro (Averna)

2 dash. Black Walnut bitters (Strongwater)

Stir ingredients over ice. Pour into a chilled Coupe. Garnish with a boozy cherry.

Delightful variant with a lot of interplay between the Mandarine liqueur and the dab of Averna. More than I expected. I added Black Walnut bitters because the OG still came off a bit sweet from the vermouth for my taste buds. The bitters puts it back in its place as a supporting actor. Using a spice bomb rye like the Barrel also helps to add interesting interactions from the ingredients with nothing singing solo as it should be.

1 fl oz Mezcal (Ilegal)

1 fl oz Yellow Chartreuse or Strega

1 fl oz Luxardo Maraschino liqueur

1 fl oz Lime juice (freshly squeezed)

3 dash VÉGÉTAL de la Grande-Chartreuse

Top Sparkling Mineral Water (Topo Chico)

Shake first 5 ingredients with ice. Strain into a pre-chilled Collins glass filled with ice. Top off with sparkling mineral water.

Did an a/b so you don’t have to. Surprisingly there was a distinct difference. Strega on the left YC on the right. Visually indistinguishable.

The Strega influence was more subtle and sweeter, the YC was bolder and more minty/herbal.

I then punched up the Strega with a splash and it was improved. In the future I would adjust the recipe to add 1/2 ounce more Strega. I chose the Ilegal Mezcal as a more neutral base liquor to highlight the liqueur differences. The VÉGÉTAL is there to bring some punch to both recipes.

So if curious minds want to know about Chartreuse subs in cocktails, there ya go.

3 fingers tequila (G4 Blanco 108)
Juice of 1/2 lime
Top with sparkling water (Topo Chico)

Pour tequila and lime juice into a chilled Collin’s glass, stir. Fill glass with ice. Pour sparkling water over ice and stir again. Many different ways to make this. First of many today.

Hit 90F here today and I spent all afternoon in the hot sun planting my vegetable garden. Not anything like when we used to live in Houston, but the long drink still satisfies.

So here in MI Tapatio 110 (and most other expressions) has been gone from the shelves for the past 2-3 months. Other than randomly finding it somewhere, I’m starting to look for substitutes.

I tried the G4 still strength at 54%, but the agave intensity I was looking for in the T110 just wasn’t there. It’s not bad per se, it just seems like a step down. It’s got its own thing going, but I’m craving that burst from the T110.

Any suggestions for readily available still strength tequila that approximates the T110 flavor profile?

1 1⁄2 oz Canadian blended whisky (CC 18yo Classic High Proof)

1 oz Aromatized wine (Cocchi Americano)

1⁄2 oz Cognac (Ragnaud-Saborin Fontvielle #35)

1 dash Bitters (The Bitter Truth Bogart’s Bitters)

Stir all ingredients with ice. Fine strain into a chilled Nick and Nora glass. No garnish.

The bitters in concert with the high proof (58%) Canadian Club gives it almost a Manhattan vibe, but the Cocchi bitterness and smooth Cognac take it somewhere else. Delicious!

1⁄2 fl oz Green Chartreuse

1⁄2 fl oz Yellow Chartreuse

1⁄2 fl oz Lemon juice (freshly squeezed)

1⁄4 fl oz Classic Gum Syrup

3 dash Chartreuse Élixir Végétal

3 fl oz Brut champagne/sparkling wine

Shake first 5 ingredients with ice. Fine strain into chilled flute glass. TOP with sparkling wine. Garnish with the tip of mint sprig floated on cocktail (optional).

How much more Chartreuse? None more. Official marketing arm for the Carthusian monks declared 5/16 as “Chartreuse Day”. The 1605 refers to the OG recipe for Élixir Végétal. All three commonly available forms of Chartreuse are in this riff on a French 75.

A light-ish cocktail with a lot of herbal/sour/sweet richness going on with fizzy lifting drinks keeping it frosty. My variant is a little more potent than the OG.

https://www.diffordsguide.com/cocktails/recipe/12028/french-1605

Distiller’s Strength The Botanist Gin

Green Chartreuse

Cocchi Storico Vermouth di Torino

Campari

Add equal parts of all ingredients to a mixing glass with ice. Stir until thoroughly chilled. Strain over a cube of block ice in a chilled OF glass. Express an orange twist over the glass and use as garnish.

Not your father’s Negroni. Simple to make, but the GC really adds some interesting counter balance to the Campari. I like the extra heft from the DS The Botanist. Overall it’s kind of fruity, bittersweet and herbal like you’d expect.

Several cocktails share the name Amber Dream. This one is derived from a signature summer cocktail at the Hotel Christopher Saint-Barth. I think Chartreuse Negroni pretty much covers it.

3⁄4 fl oz Navy Strength Gin (Plymouth)

3⁄4 fl oz Sloe Gin (Plymouth)

1⁄2 fl oz Ferrand Dry Curaçao

1⁄2 fl oz Aperol

2 dash Angostura Aromatic Bitters

Stir all ingredients with ice. Strain into ice-filled glass (preferably over a large cube or chunk of block ice). Express orange zest twist over the cocktail and use as garnish.

In spite of the opposing name, this is a very approachable cocktail. Fine as is with the OG recipe as shown, if not a bit on the sweet side for me. To give a more Negroni-esque vibe, I added a splash of Cynar to the finished cocktail.

In the future, I’m going to lean into more bitter elements, but as a less threatening Negroni-esque for sensitive folks, it works quite nicely.

A very nice retrospective on Model S from Hagerty on YT.

https://youtu.be/IwnJzP0TlCk?si=bv9pOrgPgApBMvYP

1 fl oz Espadin Mezcal (Montelobos)

1 fl oz Yellow Chartreuse

1 fl oz Luxardo Maraschino liqueur

1 fl oz Lime juice (freshly squeezed)

3 dash VÉGÉTAL de la Grande-Chartreuse (optional)

Top Sparkling Mineral Water (Topo Chico)

Shake first 5 ingredients with ice. Strain into a pre-chilled Collins glass filled with ice. Top off with sparkling mineral water.

Hard day today with Spring cleaning. I made this cocktail which is my go-to refresher. Tart, effervescent, herbal and bittersweet. I’m using the VdlG-C like a bitters to counterbalance the sweetness from the Yellow and Maraschino. It’s my first time using Topo in this cocktail and it really works, bring that lively carbonation and slight salinity.

3 oz. Plata Tequila (Tequila Ocho)

1.5 oz. Fresh squeezed lime juice

3 oz. Topo Chico

Pour ingredients into a chilled Collins glass filled with ice. Stir to mix and garnish with a lime wheel.

I found another stash of Topo and decided to revisit the Ranch Water recipe. The “Texas” version eschews agave syrup and Cointreau and is an eye watering 2:1 tequila to lime juice. It is super tart and boozy, so using more Topo in a larger glass may be more to your liking. Great hot weather cooler.