Brought to you by avanti-web.comAt the behest of Mark in my ‘Spotlight On: Chartreuse‘ entry, I pulled out my Savoy cocktail book and went to work mixing up the Bijou cocktail as it features two of my favorite ingredients; gin and chartreuse. There are only two basic recipes I’ve found for this (though you’ll find slight variations in garnish and amount of bitters – 1 dash or 2) in my search, the ‘Savoy Cocktail Book’ version which you can find here (with equal portions gin, chartreuse, and vermouth) and another you can find here (with a 3 parts gin to 1 part chartreuse and 1 part vermouth). Now, the first strikes me as being much more likely to retain its balance given the volume of sweet vermouth to offset the gin and Chartreuse. But, being the ever-faithful explorer of libations and other treats, I forged ahead trying both.

Bijou Cocktail ver. 1

Mix well with a spoon in a mixing glass (read: stir), strain into a cocktail glass, add a cherry or an olive (I chose cherry), squeeze a piece of lemon peel on top and serve.

The first thing I always do when trying a new cocktail is inhale it deeply (much to my wife’s amusement, mind you) since, as you know, so much of taste involves olfactory goodness. Well, in this case I get a big ol’ whiff of Chartreuse and nearly only Chartreuse; herbal and bright. Not that that’s a bad thing, but it makes me immediately suspicious of the drink’s balance. The taste of the drink is a very strong and bold front of Chartreuse with only gentle teasings of anything else behind it. The vermouth does bring a sweetness to it, which is welcome, but the gin is almost completely lost and the finish of the drink is almost exclusively of the Chartreuse. A disappointment.

However, as I get further into the drink and it returns closer to room temperature, a pleasant surprise. It actually starts blending and melding much better than after it’s initially poured. Suddenly the sweetness of the Plymouth and vermouth come more to the front and all of the herbals come together more harmoniously. From halfway through on down it’s a much better cocktail, just as allowing wine to breath gives it more complexity and depth. Pretty damned nice there at the end.

Bijou Cocktail ver. 2

  • 1 1/2 oz gin
  • 1/2 oz Chartreuse (green)
  • 1/2 oz sweet vermouth
  • 1 dash orange bitters

Stir in a mixing glass with ice and strain into a cocktail glass. Garnish with a cherry.

Well, one thing’s for sure, the Chartreuse is definitely less prevalent but instead of having the sweetness of the vermouth tamp everything down and act as a catalyst between the gin and Chartreuse it gets lost and you’re left with a very dry and gin-prevalent drink. Again, not a bad thing, but I have a dozen or so other drinks I’ll go to if I want to feature gin so strongly. So, while this version has a more consistent character and stayed true throughout the drink I find it less complex and interesting than the first. Also, if I tried this version again I would up the orange bitters to two dashes and add the touch of lemon twist from the first. Both of those steps, absent in this version, seem to have contributed more than I expected and I felt their absence in this version.

So, for a drink to feature Chartreuse and how it can be used to wonderful effect I still recommend the ‘Last Word‘ cocktail, but the Savoy version of this drink (ver. 1) is a very nice pre-dinner cocktail as it has an herbal and slightly spicy nature that acts as a good and clean palate cleanser. Not quite the jewel the name implies, but not bad either.

Bijou Cocktail ver. 1 Rating: ★★★½☆ (but let it breathe a bit)

Bijou Cocktail ver. 2 Rating: ★★½☆☆

There is a very nice entry on the Bijou at The Spirit World here as well.

03/25/09 Update:

Rachel Maddow featured the Bijou cocktail on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon and rightly calls him out on needing a more manly drink than a Bud Light with Lime1 :

StumbleUpon It!
  1. I would also like to mention that a good stout vermouth like Carpano Antica and a heartier gin than Plymouth greatly improves this drink in ver. 1 – still avoid ver. 2 [↩]

7 Responses to “Last night's dogbite: The Bijou Cocktail”

  1. keith waldbauer says:
    June 21, 2007 at 2:24 pm

    I’ve always loved this drink. It’s also called by 3 other names: Jewel, Emerald and Tailspin. It’s currently on our drink menu as the Tailspin, mostly because I like the name better.

  2. Gabriel says:
    June 21, 2007 at 2:30 pm

    I saw the Tailspin mentioned somewhere recently and didn’t know they were essentially the same drink. Which recipe for the Bijou do you use, the Savoy version or the second?

    I can definitely see how this would find a place on a menu; I think it could be a great starter and/or be a good companion with certain foods given its savory nature.

  3. Mark Parry says:
    June 22, 2007 at 11:16 am

    I think that tonight I’m going to try a ver. 3 with one ounce of sweet vermouth:
    * 1 1/2 oz gin
    * 1/2 oz Chartreuse (green)
    * 1 oz sweet vermouth
    * 2 dashes orange bitters

  4. Gabriel says:
    June 22, 2007 at 11:20 am

    I was thinking about how I might alter that ver. 2 and see how it came out with a little more sweet vermouth and that’s exactly what I thought of too. Let me know how it comes out, I’m very curious if it beats the second and avoids the overwhelming Chartreuse of ver. 1.

  5. Mark Parry says:
    June 25, 2007 at 1:11 pm

    I tried and liked 2.0 oz Gin, 1.5 oz. sweet vermouth and 0.5 oz chartreuse

  6. Ardenstone says:
    June 29, 2007 at 5:52 pm

    You should really give the olive and lemon peel a shot with this drink. I had to convince myself to try it (the olive just made me nervous), but find a delightful combination of tastes.

  7. Of Campari and Orange Bitters » Oh Gosh! says:
    August 1, 2007 at 5:48 pm

    [...] wonderful Chartreuse. Those of you with a keen eye will spot its recipe is somewhat similar to the Bijou, but more on that in a second. At the moment I’m waiting to see if the Tailspin is a Campari [...]

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