A Drink That Disassociates<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n Shake gin, Chartreuse, and Cointreau with ice, and strain into a chilled glass. Add a splash of lemon juice and a dash of absinthe, and garnish with a lemon twist and sprig of fresh thyme.<\/p>\n Or, to quote their AI directly, "This unique cocktail features a mix of flavors that will take your taste buds on a wild ride. To start, combine 1.5 oz of gin, 0.5 oz of green Chartreuse, and 0.5 oz of Cointreau in a shaker with ice. Shake well and strain into a chilled glass. Next, add a splash of fresh lemon juice and a dash of absinthe for a refreshing and slightly bitter twist. To finish, garnish with a lemon twist and a sprig of fresh thyme for an extra touch of herbaceousness. Sip on this sophisticated cocktail and allow its complex blend of flavors to disassociate your senses and transport you to a state of pure bliss." <\/p>\n Gah. <\/p>\n First of all, why are you shaking the spiritous ingredients, straining them into a glass, and THEN adding lemon juice and absinthe? Are you stirring after you add those? You're not measuring the lemon juice? <\/p>\n The gin, Chartreuse, and Cointreau combo isn't a bad start – after all, the Bijou<\/a>, which combines gin, Chartreuse, and sweet vermouth along with orange bitters, is lovely. Gin and Chartreuse play well together<\/a>, most famously in the Last Word<\/a>, which mixes equal parts gin, Chartreuse, Maraschino, and lime (but is endlessly hackable<\/a>, with lots of interesting variants!)<\/span> <\/p>\n I decided to use this as a jumping-off point and see if I could make something that was more thematically and mixologically appropriate. I struggled a little with the choice of gin – originally I was thinking of using Amalga Distillery<\/a>'s gorgeous Juneauper Gin<\/a> – it's not from Russia, but it is<\/em> from Alaska, which can see Russia from its house<\/a>. But I wound up settling on an ingredient I already had on hand: the very very good Hardshore Gin<\/a> from Portland, ME, which I'd infused with dried orange wheels and orange peels.<\/p>\n Instead of Chartreuse, I went for the pure, uncut, concentrated essence of the stuff: \u00c9lixir V\u00e9g\u00e9tal de la Grande Chartreuse<\/a>, which has been made since 1764 and is a super-high-proof (69% abv \/ 138\u00ba proof) concoction of the herbs in Chartreuse but with just a touch of sugar. You can use it like you'd use an absinthe wash or dash of bitters. It's amazing and is like Chartreuse turned up to 11. (More on Chartreuse TK very soon!)<\/span><\/p>\n I dropped the Cointreau to 1\/4 oz to minimize the sugar, but added two dashes of Regans' Orange Bitters<\/a>. And to add more bittersweet complexity, I added 1\/4 oz. of Suze<\/a>, the gentian liqueur.<\/p>\n To round it out and tame some of the bitter herbs, I added five drops of 20% saline solution<\/a>. After all, as Dessa<\/a> (she's awesome! And has a cocktail book<\/a> coming out soon!)<\/span> pointed out in "551<\/a>", "Met her boyfriend at the bar, said he'd stick to beer \/ Said I could keep the cocktails, Martinis taste like tears<\/a>."<\/p>\n\n
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