In addition to giving the drink its namesake color and an intriguingly complex flavor, the Chartreuse adds an impressive power boost: it’s packed with herbs and 110 proof. French monks invented this liqueur a couple of hundred years ago and have kept the recipe a secret.
It’s one of those concoctions that gets a lot of PR mileage out of playing up its closely guarded mystery; supposedly only two living souls know the exact mixture and proportions of the 100-plus ingredients. Whatever’s in it, it enlivens a cocktail nicely; ask O Bar’s bartender Mike Rahill
to make you a Bijou, and savor it yourself.
► The Bijou
• 1/3 Gin
• 1/3 Chartreuse
• 1/3 Dolan’s Sweet Vermouth
• A dash of orange bitters
