Today is Chatreuse Day and we are celebrating with two cocktails, Bijou and Jaguar (which will post later today). Two different cocktails with Chartreuse in common. Chartreuse was invented 400 years ago by monks in France and it contains an impressive 130 different herbs.

The Bijou cocktail has been around since 1880 and was first described in Harry Johnson’s “Bartenders Manual or How To Mix Drinks”. Bijou is french for jewel, which describes both this cocktail and also the green Chartreuse in it in a perfect way.

Below are the original proportions.

Bijou

1 oz gin

1 oz green Chartreuse

1 oz sweet vermouth

1 dash of orange bitters

Stir with ice. Garnish with a maraschino cherry and/or a lemon peel.