First and foremost, I want to wish everyone a Happy Buttfumbleversary to those who celebrate.

I don’t know what is the best part about that whose sequence. Is it the fumble itself? Is it that it is the second touchdown in a matter of seconds after the Patriots had a 1 play 80 yard TD drive previously? Or is it the knowledge that on the ensuing kickoff, the Jets would fumble again for another Patriots touchdown, their 3rd in 52 seconds.

Anyway, remember last week when I mentioned all that stuff about feeling guilty about not using the cocktail books? Well, Out the window this week. I came across the Hedge Maze from Stoa, in San Francisco, one of the Best New Bars of 2024 apparently, so I thought it was worth giving it a shot. Especially since it gives me a good excuse to break out my green Chartreuse.

1.5 oz. gin, preferably St. George Spirits Terroir Gin ( I used my Batson River gin I featured last week)
.5 oz. blanc vermouth, preferably Dolin (Lilet Blanc in my case)
.25 oz. green Chartreuse

Combine all ingredients in a mixing glass with ice and stir until chilled and diluted. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass.

It’s got a nice aroma to it. The chartreuse and the gin combine their strengths to give a floral, herbal, and somewhat earthy scent. It’s very pleasant.

The flavor is…interesting. It’s strong, that’s for sure. The gin leads the way, meaning it’s juniper and herbal up front. However, the chartreuse comes in almost immediately. It doesn’t take over, but rather acts as a complimentary ingredient. Much like it does for the smell, the chartreuse adds a floral, herby taste underneath the gin. I think it does diminish the intensity of the gin, while bringing its own strong flavors to the table, adding to the perceived strength on the palate when you take a sip.

Underneath all of that is a little bit of sweetness on the finish from the Lilet. I know the recipe calls for blanc vermouth but I had Lilet on hand so thats what I used. Lilet isn’t as sweet as a regular blanc vermouth is, so the sweetness at the end I would imagine is slightly diminished, which also leads to the gin and the chartreuse to be more pronounced. Of which, I don’t think this is a bad thing. I like the flavor intensity that is going on here. Not that I worry that a regular blanc vermouth would add too much sweetness (of which is a very miniscule amount given the other ingredients at play here) but I’ve tasted this one and damnit if I don’t enjoy it.

The more I have of this, the more I like it. I don’t know if I’ll promote this to a drink that is more in rotation since my bottle of chartreuse is probably worth its weight in gold right now. But as a quick way to mix up the rotation, I could certainly do a lot worse that this one.

(Banner image courtesy Matthew Tetrault Photography)