Bijou

Ingredients

Glass: Cocktail

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Instructions

Combine the ingredients in a mixing glass filled with ice and stir until the drink is sufficiently chilled. Strain the drink into the chilled Cocktail glass.

Notes

A bijou is a mixed alcoholic drink composed of gin, vermouth, and chartreuse. This cocktail was invented by Harry Johnson, "the father of professional bartending", who called it bijou because it combined the colors of three jewels: gin for diamond, vermouth for ruby, and chartreuse for emerald. An original-style bijou is made stirred with ice as Johnson's 1900 New and Improved Bartender Manual states "mix well with a spoon and serve." This recipe is also one of the oldest in the manual, dating back to the 1890s.

The bijou was popular for several decades. Unlike the Manhattan and the Martini, however, the bijou disappeared after Prohibition. It was rediscovered by "the King of Cocktails" Dale DeGroff in the 1980s, when he stumbled upon the recipe in Johnson's book. While the original cocktail had equal parts of the three ingredients, DeGroff tripled the ratio of gin to vermouth and chartreuse to soften the taste profile. Eventually, his recipe became the standard.

See more four ingredient cocktails.

Bijou origin story

Created by: Harry Johnson
Country: United States
Decade: 1890s

First appearance in New and Improved Bartender Manual by Harry Johnson

Cocktails similar to Bijou

Adonis
- Dry sherry
- Green Chartreuse
- Gin

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Nutrition Facts

	Calories	Total Fat	Sodium	Carbs	Sugars	Protein
Gin	77.3	0	1.1	0	0	0
Green Chartreuse	?	?	?	?	?	?
Sweet vermouth	47.0	0	2.7	4.0	2.3	0.1
Orange Bitters	?	?	?	?	?	?
Total	124.3	0	3.8	4.0	2.3	0.1

About the ingredients

Gin: Gin is a distilled alcoholic drink that derives its predominant flavour from juniper berries (Juniperus communis). Gin originated as a medicinal liquor made by monks and alchemists across Europe, particularly in southern France, Flanders and the Netherlands, to provide aqua vita from distillates of grapes and grains. It then became an object of commerce in the spirits industry. Gin emerged in England after the introduction of jenever, a Dutch and Belgian liquor that was originally a medicine. Although this development had been taking place since the early 17th century, gin became widespread after the William of Orange–led 1688 Glorious Revolution and subsequent import restrictions on French brandy.
Vermouth: Vermouth is an aromatized fortified wine, flavoured with various botanicals (roots, barks, flowers, seeds, herbs, and spices) and sometimes colored. The modern versions of the beverage were first produced in the mid to late 18th century in Turin, Italy. While vermouth was traditionally used for medicinal purposes, it was later served as an apéritif, with fashionable cafés in Turin serving it to guests around the clock. In the late 19th century, it became popular with bartenders as a key ingredient for cocktails, such as the martini, the Manhattan, the Rob Roy, and the Negroni. In addition to being consumed as an apéritif or cocktail ingredient, vermouth is sometimes used as an alternative to white wine in cooking. Historically, there have been two main types of vermouth: sweet and dry. Responding to demand and competition, vermouth manufacturers have created additional styles, including extra-dry white, sweet white (blanc or bianco), red (rosso), amber (ambre), and rosé. Vermouth is produced by starting with a base of neutral grape wine or unfermented wine must. Each manufacturer adds additional alcohol and a proprietary mixture of dry ingredients, consisting of aromatic herbs, roots, and barks, to the base wine, base wine plus spirit, or spirit only – which may be redistilled before adding to the wine or unfermented wine must. After the wine is aromatized and fortified, the vermouth is sweetened with either cane sugar or caramelized sugar, depending on the style. Italian and French companies produce most of the vermouth consumed throughout the world.
Orange Bitters: Orange bitters is a form of bitters, a cocktail flavoring made from such ingredients as the peels of Seville oranges, cardamom, caraway seed, coriander, anise, and burnt sugar in an alcohol base. Orange bitters, which are not to be confused with the standard Angostura aromatic bitters, are currently enjoying a resurgence among cocktail enthusiasts. It is to be noted that the well-known House of Angostura is one of the producers of orange bitters.
Chartreuse: Chartreuse is a French herbal liqueur available in green and yellow versions that differ in taste and alcohol content. The liqueur has been made by the Carthusian monks since 1737 according to the instructions set out in a manuscript given to them by François Annibal d'Estrées in 1605. It was named after the monks' Grande Chartreuse monastery, located in the Chartreuse Mountains north of Grenoble. Today the liqueur is produced in their distillery in nearby Aiguenoire. It is composed of distilled alcohol aged with 130 herbs, plants and flowers. According to tradition, a marshal of artillery to French king Henry IV, François Hannibal d'Estrées, presented the Carthusian monks at Vauvert, near Paris, with an alchemical manuscript that contained a recipe for an "elixir of long life" in 1605. The recipe eventually reached the religious order's headquarters at the Grande Chartreuse monastery, north of Grenoble. The formula is said to include 130 herbs, plants and flowers and secret ingredients combined in a wine alcohol base. The recipe was further enhanced in 1737 by Brother Gérome Maubec. The beverage soon became popular, and in 1764 the monks adapted the elixir recipe to make what is now called the "Elixir Végétal de la Grande Chartreuse".