We attended a special Chartreuse tasting event at Strong Water which was being held in honor of…read moreChartreuse week and Chartreuse Day 1605 (May 16), the annual celebration of Chartreuse's origins and history. The tasting featured a great lineup of green and yellow Chartreuse paired with small bites. It concluded with a complementary Chartreuse-based cocktail from one of five recipes.
Brand ambassador Taylor guided the event and began by telling us about the unique history of Chartreuse. The tasting started out with a small spoonful of Vegetal Elixir Chartreuse to warm up the palate. This is the base spirit of both green and yellow Chartreuse and clocks in at 138 proof. It was surprisingly not harsh, but immediately kicked my salivary glands into overdrive.
I didn't even know that vintages of Chartreuse was a thing, but Taylor walked us through tasting three different vintages of both yellow and green Chartreuse, and it was surprising how different they were. The lineup concluded with more rare varietals of the green elixir 1605 and yellow cuvee. Great job, thanks Taylor!
Chef Kling presented each small bite which included a crispy Icelandic cod, a roasted beet crostino, and a lamb slider. All of them had a five star list of ingredients and were delicious. Strong Water is known for their excellent cocktails, but their food is also great.
For my cocktail at the end of the event, I had the Bar Flower (Green Chartreuse, Crème de Cacao, Pineapple, Lime). This was so good, with the herbal and chocolate flavors perfectly balanced. It was served with a flaming lime half.
This was such a great event! Chartreuse retails for around $100 a bottle, and the higher-end varieties cost even more. At just $45 per person, this event was an amazing bargain. Strong Water frequently hosts great events, so keep an eye on their social media for upcoming dates.
I really love Chartreuse, so I went back a few days later on the last day of Chartreuse week to try a few of the other limited time cocktails.
I started out with their twist on a Grasshopper (Chartreuse, Crème de Menthe, Chili Liqueur, Crème de Cacao, Cream, Cane, $22). This was a great classic Grasshopper, but the Chartreuse added a herbal complexity, and there is a dash of heat on the finish from the chili liqueur.
Next I had the Flare Gun (Yellow Chartreuse, Overproof Rum, Italian Bitter, Lime, Cane, $20). The yellow Chartreuse definitely comes through, but it's softer and has a light sweetness, unlike the green variety. Even though it contains overproof rum, it is perfectly balanced and not boozy at all. I usually don't like bitter drinks, but the bitterness was at a perfect light level.
I finished off with the Tales from the Black Lagoon which is my favorite drink here, and it's also a favorite of many of the bartenders. All three cocktails were a home run. Chartreuse is an expensive spirit, so those drinks cost a little more than average.
Shout out to Karen, Joey, Edgar, Jordan, and Ying for excellent hospitality, as always.
Strong Water is our favorite place. We can't wait to go back!