Intructions:
Fill a highball glass with ice. Add chartreuse. Top with tonic and garnish with the mint sprig. Simple.
Notes:
Mint, herbs and anise on the nose. The bubbly tonic dries out and tones down the chartreuse, creating a great balance between the sweeter and bitter elements. The mint adds to the nose and also subtly diffuses into the drink as you sip.
History:
It’s Mixology Monday time again. This month’s theme is “Highballs” and comes from Joel Dipippa over at Southern Ash. Here’s what Joel came up with:
“You need three ingredients for a cocktail. Vodka and Mountain Dew is an emergency.” -Peggy Olson, Mad Men, The Summer Man (2010)
Highball – n. 1. a long iced drink consisting of a spirit base with water, soda water, etc -Collins English Dictionary – Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition.
As Ms. Olson so eloquently put it, most cocktails are at least three ingredients with the highball relegated to emergency or last resort status but in those highballs we will seek refuge. The end of the day is sometimes better served by a simple liquor plus mixer combination than an artfully measured Corpse Reviver No. 2 This month, tell us what you’ll do with a liquor and a mixer (with maybe a wee bit of garnish) to ease into the new”
As someone who likes their cocktails on the boozy side, I rarely ever make highballs. Sure I like the occasional gin and tonic, mainly when I’m at a place with a cocktail list that features flavored vodka martinis. Even if I make a highball, it usually has some other stuff in it, like bitters, additional spirits, etc. But to simply make a drink with a spirit, mixer and garnish? Not so often.
This is one my favorite things about MIXOLOGY MONDAY. It forces you to step out of your comfort zone and have fun with it. Making a chartreuse and tonic was the first thing that came to mind. “Genius!” I thought, “This is awesome, especially with a mint garnish.” …Only later did I discover that “my” brilliant concoction was not exactly a new thing.
I also experimented with all kinds of highballs and surprisingly, I started to really enjoy the simplicity and lightness of this style of drink. Campari and tonic, Strega and tonic, pretty much any amaro and tonic, you name it, I liked it. The chartreuse and tonic ended up being a favorite, plus I figured I’m probably not the only one who had never tried it. It’s not original by any means, but damn is it tasty.
