Sipping it with the old school!

Now this is old school. The recipe for the Bijou cocktail first appeared in Harry Johnson’s Bartender’s Manual in 1882! Bijou is also the French word for jewel. Various sources have it named after the colors of the various intoxicants it contains: green Chartreuse for emeralds; gin for diamonds; and sweet vermouth for rubies. Isn't that precious (no pun intended)?

All I know is this was a really nice drink. Kind of the French version of a Negroni with the Chartreuse subbing for Campari. Very balanced, perhaps a bit sweet for some, as is the case with a fair number of Chartreuse drinks. I did see another recipe that added a splash of lemon juice, which I think would be a great counterbalance. All in all, a nice nod to the old classics and absolutely worthy of further exploration!
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Bijou Cocktail

makes one cocktail

ingredients:
1 ounce gin
1 ounce Green Chartreuse
1 ounce sweet vermouth
1 dash orange bitters

method:
Fill cocktail shaker half full with ice. Add ingredients. Stir well (all the recipes I saw called for stirring, not shaking) and strain into a martini glass.