Category: Gin

Restaurant: SoBou, New Orleans

Creator: Laura Bellucci

Inspiration: “This cocktail was inspired by a psychedelic Ken Nordine jazz poem about chartreuse, which when consumed makes all the animals go wild and all the birds change colors. Chartreuse is a very special liqueur to me because the way it works into this cocktail’s flavor profile is extremely satisfying.”  

Key Ingredients: Fords Gin, Giffard Pamplemousse, Green Chartreuse, lime and tiki bitters, garnished with a lime and grapefruit peel.

Price: $12

What the Judges Said: At first blush, we thought Ms. Bellucci had fallen under some crazy psychedelic spell for combining pamplemousse (a grapefruit-flavored liqueur) with the intensely herbaceous and overpowering Chartreuse. Add to that the tiki bitters, with its clove and allspice flavor notes, and the juniper from the gin, and one can’t help but think there’s a world of hurt in this flavor bomb. And then you taste it and you realize that it does hurt . . . it hurts so good. Thank you, ma’am, may I have another?

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