It Must Not End!!
My last post regarding Verte Chaud got me thinking. Why must I wait until the thermometer drops so that I can enjoy the loveliness that is chocolate and green Chartreuse?? Who is to say that I can’t enjoy that silky combination in the spring, or, dare I say it, summer? Well not me, (or anyone that weighs less than me, dammit!) and so I’ve created a drink that will allow me to enjoy chocolate and Chartreuse all year long without even a sideways glance from most discerning cocktail drinker. (A mojito and white shoes after Labor Day?!?! Oh my!)
Now before I get into the details of the recipe, let me say that I’ve always liked creating drinks with ingredients that most others would write off as pedestrian, childish, simplistic or too sweet. Robert Hess has a perfect example of this challenge with his Mahogany. How many proper, adult cocktails can we think of with Jagermeister?!?
Another liqueur that has an overly sweet, simplistic stigma is crème de cacao. A search in Cocktaildb will yield 151 results, but when we remove cream as an ingredient, and further rule out recipes that are missing a base (leaving you with Pousse Cafés and other sticky messes) there’s not a lot left. Sure you have the odd La Floridita but by and large, it becomes quite easy to see why we’ve relegated that dusty bottle of crème de cacao to Alexanders and Chocolate Martinis (shudder).
Well, I think that my quest to drink Verte Chauds all year round, has given my sticky old bottle of crème de cacao new legs. With this one fateful recipe, I’ll be able to enjoy the joys of winter warmth all year round, and so I now offer the recipe to you, so that one day we may end up at the same bar and knowingly order this unseasonal libation without anyone being the wiser. It is now up to you to spread the word, so that the bartender in question will know what the hell you’re talking about when we ask for a:
GREEN GLACIER
2 oz brandy (I used Remy VS)
¾ oz green Chartreuse
¼ oz crème de cacao (use white, not dark)
2 dashes Angostura bitters
stir, strain and smirk
This is just silky goodness. I challenge anyone who enjoys Chartreuse to say a negative thing about this cocktail after they’ve tried it (even the Opinionated Alchemist).
Picture and drink by:
Jamie Boudreau
www.vesselseattle.com
.
SpiritsAndCocktails.com 
What a coincidence – I just got one bottle of Remy Martin Grand Cru of the supplier. I will try it and let you know!
I learned to love crème de cacao again with the 20th century cocktail from Vintage Spirits and Forgotten Cocktails. I love that it’s a drink involving crème de cacao that’s still well-balanced, and not syrupy sweet, or attempting to recreate the flavor of a Marie Calendar’s French Silk pie. I’m even trying some homemade stuff using Scharffenberger chocolate.
I’ll have to try the Green Glacier, though my Chartreuse stash is growing low. It’s just damned good stuff.
I see the sugar as an enabler for mixing – I love the sweet because it gives me wiggle room for other ingredients (obviously the sour, but other as well). It’s blunt effect – the way it buffers the sharp flavours (at least in my mind) acts as a filter to help you taste other aspects of your ingredients you would otherwise miss due to the noise of the bits of the flavor you’re filtering out (if that makes any sense). I’d put chartreuse on my breakfast cereal if my wallet allowed.
Jamie,
Quite tasty! Though I think it would be improved by a non-shit brand of creme de cacao (which is nearly impossible to find in PA).
Will this be your MxMo brandy entry?
Hallelujah, another Chartreuse lover. I was introduced to it thanks to Robert Hess and his last word and now I can’t get enough of the stuff. As from Creme de cacao, are their better brands? Or is it all the same?
Owen:
I haven’t found an outstanding creme de cacao….yet.
First let me say that I have found a love for the “Green Cat” and that I am a huge fan of you, Jamie. Both with your professional poise (displayed on the Small Screen Network episodes) and of your creativity. Second I look forward to trying this drink but I NEED more Chartruese. Third, another chocolaty cocktail I’ve found is “my” Bour-bon-bon a little sweet but good for the end of the night. It’s a Bourbon based Chocolate “manhatten”; Bourbon, dark Cocoa, Licor 43, just a splash of amaretto(or other nut flavoring) and cream (optional).
Give it a try and see what you think.
TheQ out
PS Why white cacoa over dark? Is it lighter or is it a color issue? Can I use dark?
theQ:
the reason that I use white over dark, is that they taste the same, but the white doesn’t add color, therefore I only carry one kind. The drink will work with both, but just look different.
[…] was my favorite of the trials. This drink was at least partly inspired by Jamie Boudreau’s use of cacao next to green Chartreuse. Mahogany […]
Next Big Thing: Vermouth Cocktails! « Iceland Spar said this on January 27, 2008 at 1:00 pm |
I’ve been enjoying the Chartreuse and hot chocolate combination all winter–even if the winters aren’t terribly cold here in South Carolina. I just came across a film Chartreuse lovers might find interesting: Into Great Silence. It’s a documentary about the Carthusian monks at the Grande Chartreuse. The main film is fascinating, but for the alcohol lovers, there’s a 2-disc set which has a long “extra” about the making of the liqueur. At least now I feel like I’m doing a good cause by drinking so much of the stuff!
This really is a fantastic cocktail. It really lets the Chartreuse shine.
I was so happy to find a bottle of Marie Brizzard crème de cacao at WSLCB #101 that I didn’t notice until I got home that it was brown. No matter, even with my cacao drinks looking murky, it’s got to be better than DeKuyper’s.
I wonder if the brand name chocolate liqueurs would be a worthwhile experimental replacement for crème de cacao?
Thanks again for this recipe, definitely going to be enjoying this in the future!
[…] house creme de cacao at Teardrop Lounge in Portland a while back, Jamie Boudreau has a brandy-based Green Glacier that’s pretty damn good, and I’ve heard rumblings of goings on in San Francisco — […]
The Cocktail Chronicles » 30/30, #17: Theobroma said this on May 3, 2009 at 10:23 pm |
[…] couple of years ago, this is the question Jamie Boudreau tackled, and the result was this: the Green Glacier. Taking the Chartreuse / chocolate combo to heart, Jamie placed these ingredients on a rich base of […]
The Cocktail Chronicles » 60/30, #12-16: Four drinks with Chartreuse and chocolate said this on November 30, 2010 at 12:20 am |