Ingredients
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1/3 of gin
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1/3 of sweet vermouth
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1/3 of Green Chartreuse
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1 drop of Orange bitter
Directions
The Bijou cocktail is a creation of one of the founding fathers of modern mixology, Harry Johnson, Jerry Thomas’ great rival. We can safely say that many of the cocktails we drink today were born or at least have been handed down to us by these two masters.
And the Bijou is one of the oldest cocktails, one of the first to appear in the old Harry’s bible, namely in the “New and Improved Bartender’s Manual: Or How to Mix Drinks of the Present Style”. The original recipe for Bijou dates back to 1890 and good Harry decided to call it that because he had gathered together the three most precious jewels he had.
So let’s see what these jewels are! Here are the ingredients of the Bijou cocktail: gin, sweet vermouth and green Chartreuse, to which a drop of orange bitters is added, all present in equal parts to create a complex, bittersweet symphony, full of flavors that are in a delicate balance. Sweetness, bitter tones, the resinousness of gin and spice in the background. The Bijou cocktail is not a drink that is very easy to read, the taste is very complex and multifaceted, not to mention that the alcohol content is pretty strong. Some offer a lighter recipe with reduced doses of green Chartreuse to make it more modern, so experiment to find the proportions that suit you.
Bijou cocktail ingredients and doses
- 1/3 of gin
- 1/3 of green Chartreuse
- 1/3 of sweet vermouth
- 1 drop of orange bitters
More humane doses
- 4 cl of gin
- 3 cl of sweet vermouth
- 1.5 cl of green Chartreuse
- 1 drop of orange bitters
How to make the Bijou cocktail
It is prepared very simply in the mixing glass with ice, stirring gently to mix the ingredients well. And then pour it into a cup or even better in an old-fashioned glass with a large piece of ice. The dose of green Chartreuse is massive and makes the cocktail very alcoholic, you can also safely reduce the doses.
Other great cocktails to try as an aperitif
Negroni, Mojito, Moscow Mule, Gin & Tonic, Dark and Stormy, Daiquiri, Margarita, Spritz, Hugo, Old Fashioned, Manhattan.
