Do affordable alternatives to Green and Yellow Chartreuse exist?
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- čas přidán 19. 06. 2024
- It’s me, Chris, I’m back with a new series called Bar Hacks. In this series, we’re going to be looking at innovative tips and tricks behind the bar that will help you save money and time.
The first to be bar hacked is Chartreuse. Made in France by Carthusian Monks, this liqueur is one of my absolute favorites.
As a darling of the beverage industry, Green (and Yellow) Chartreuse are used in a wide variety of cocktails, in addition to being sipped on neat as a digestif.
At $55-60 for Chartreuse, the goal was to find an affordable substitute for both Green and Yellow Chartreuse that doesn’t compromise on taste or quality. Coming in at roughly half the cost is Dolin’s Génépy Des Alpes for Green Chartreuse, and the Italian Strega for Yellow Chartreuse.
I go over the history of each liqueur, do a tasting analysis, compare each in a cocktail, and then give you my thoughts and recommendations.
If you have anything else you’d like me to hack, drop a line in the comments!
Sections:
0:00 Intro
0:44 Understanding Green Chartreuse
2:27 Alternative to Green Chartreuse
3:32 Tasting Notes on Green Chartreuse
4:36 Tasting Notes on Génépy Des Alpes
5:48 Understanding Yellow Chartreuse
6:38 Alternative to Yellow Chartreuse
7:35 Tasting Notes on Yellow Chartreuse
7:56 Tasting Notes on Strega
8:40 Building Green Chartreuse Cocktails
9:06 Taste-off: Green Chartreuse Cocktails
9:35 Building Yellow Chartreuse Cocktails
9:58 Taste-off: Yellow Chartreuse Cocktails
10:57 FINAL THOUGHTS
11:27 Outro
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It’s becoming the fucking concert ticket of cocktail mixing.
🤟
If I'm not mistaken, I think the 130 herbs and spices in both the Green & Yellow Chartreuse isn't a coincidence. I think they state that both use the same exact ingredients, but just in different ratios.
Ah, that's very interesting and makes a lot of sense. Thanks for sharing!
Chartreuse is my favorite but sadly it’s nearly impossible for me to find right now! Thank you for this.
Bummer!!
A hack I learned from a friend since it's been hard to find here is to buy a bottle of Chartreuse Vegetal and add a dash (or 4) to Genepy. It tastes a lot closer to the real thing.
Strega has long been a favorite of mine; I discovered it while working at a liquor store 20 years ago, and it was unlike anything I'd had before. A former roommate described it as, "You know that old lady next to you on the subway that's wearing too much perfume? This tastes like licking her." 😆 I only discovered Green Chartreuse this past year when a coworker recommended I try it. He compared it to Strega, and when I gave him the above description he said, "Chartreuse is like that, but the old lady is a lumberjack." 😅 Anyway, I've tried Green and Yellow both now, and love them; I still love Strega. I'll have to try Génépy Des Alpes if I can find it near me! The Last Word is currently my favorite cocktail (I just finally got Marashino Liquor at Christmas) - but I've never tried the Alaskan. I'm about to right now! Do you have any suggestions on variations in orange bitters?
That's a pretty hilarious and creative description for both Strega and Green Chartreuse. They do pack a punch when it comes to the aroma and spice, but that's what makes them so good! Yes, it's worth trying Dolin's Génépy Des Alpes. We're going to try Boomsma Cloosterbitter as a number of people have brought that up as well. What do you mean by variations on orange bitters? I use Regan's Orange Bitters a lot, it has a wonderful complex orange flavor. I also use Angostura Orange Bitters, which has a little more candied taste to me.
“It doesn’t really spear or pepper me.” Ha!
😄
Thank you! Green Chartreuse is scarce and I have to beg someone to sell me some for a $100 and none of our politicians seem to care! Jk, I really did want to find an alternative to Green Chartreuse until they can get us some more here in the states so Genepy it is for all the Last Word variants i love. TY TY TY!
Lol, I thought you were serious for a second. I was like, well you could write into your congressman about it... 😂 I'm glad you can purchase Genepy! It's great for the Last Word and you'll save a little money. What market are you in?
I’m lucky enough to find some chartreuse verte at 44€ the bottle. When I’m going to the alps I always beu g back to bottles. I use them for cocktail but also as a digestive. As a cocktail fan it’s great to find easily French product. You can buy Nouilly Pratt in a lot of super market and use it for cooking instead of white wine.
I haven't been able to find the Green anywhere near me either. One place has the Yellow, but it's like 70 bucks.
Where are you finding chartreuse for 60? I can’t find it for less than 80 anywhere near me.
We haven't needed to buy it since the supply issues began and now we're having trouble finding it in our market (Austin, TX).
Thanks for posting, I was looking for chartreuse alternatives, and what their differences are. I have strega, it has an overwhelming manufactured mint flavor to me.
Yes, I got a distinct mint note! It's definitely not for everyone. The manufactured mint note you speak of is interesting though, as they exclusively use natural ingredients. I wonder what could be causing that?
@@liberandco Manufactured may not have been the best choice of words. I should have left it at overwhelming, and even that is probably a slight over exaggeration. I guess that my point was that the mint flavor is very forward.
I’ve heard Ver can work for Green Chartreuse as well. Any info on that?
We've never had it, but if you end up trying it, we'd love to hear about it.
Hello, great video. Any suggestions for one drink to have daily to promote sleepiness at night for someone who doesn’t actually drink?
That's a tough one, but maybe you can combine a few ingredients that are known to promote sleepiness:
1 chamomile tea bag
1/2 cup of boiling water
1/4 cup of tart cherry juice
1/4 cup of unsweetened almond milk
1 teaspoon of honey
1/4 teaspoon of vanilla extract
Steep the chamomile tea bag in the boiling water for 3-5 minutes. Remove the tea bag and let the tea cool to room temperature.
In a shaker, combine the cooled chamomile tea, tart cherry juice, almond milk, honey, and vanilla extract.
Add ice to the shaker and shake vigorously for about 30 seconds.
Strain the mixture into a glass filled with ice.
Chamomile tea is known for its relaxing properties and may help promote sleepiness, while tart cherry juice contains melatonin.
Great video man! Quick question; Is it normal for an unopened bottle of green chartreuse to have a bit of sediment floating around when held up to light? Keep in mind that it has been in the back of my cabinet for about two or three years now. Is that sediment stuff normal and would it still be good to drink?
Thank you! Yes, I think that's normal. Ours is a year or two old and we see a little bit of sediment floating around. The final product is filtered of course, but there could be some herbs/spices that get through. Alcohol does an amazing job at preservation, so it should be totally good to drink.
@@liberandco Awesome, thanks man! Looking forward to trying this stuff so that helps a lot, keep up the good work!
I’d also be curious about a Ver Liqueur comparison. It’s 50% ABV. To my unrefined palette, I think it’s close enough to substitute chartreuse. Then again, I can’t get ahold of chartreuse to compare. I’d be curious to hear your tasting notes.
I haven't tried that one! Sounds like it would be great. Looks like they have it at our local Total Wine in Austin as well. Thanks for the tip!
Ver is my go-to Chartreuse substitute at the moment as I can't seem to find it in my area anymore. To my tastes it is closer to Green Chartreuse than the Genepy, though they are both tasty. It's been a while since I did a direct comparison, but Ver had more of that vegetal, peppery note that I love about Chartreuse whereas Genepy was more mint forward.
Have you tried Galliano in place of yellow?
FACCIA BRUTTO makes a delicious alt.
We haven't tried it yet, but we'll see if we can get a bottle.
I've been using Strega as a substitute for yellow Chartreuse. I find that Strega has a stronger flavor, and I have to use less of it.
We definitely have to try it out ourselves! Cheers!
Has anyone tried the “last word” but with Strega instead of chartreuse?
I believe Strega gets its color from saffron.
I think you're right. I'm seeing that online as well.
I found Vert to be a decent green alternative
What are the details on that? Is that the one from Italy?
@@liberandco Fan of your mixers as well. Used the passion fruit one for hurricanes.
@@liberandco Looks like my first reply was deleted. It’s Ver and is distributed by Elixir domestically
At a certain point it seems like it's going to be better to brew up flavor extracts rather than hunting down all kinds of weird overpriced alcohols. Most of my mixers cost way more than the base liquors I drink which is kind of silly. Is there a good recipe for homemade marachino flavor for instance? there's no reason it needs to be a liqueur
We don't know of a recipe for homemade maraschino flavor, but it's possible someone has come up with something like that. It can be hard to replicate flavors, but if you put in the trial and error work I'm sure you could get something close. Let us know if you find anything!
I know I'm following a rabbit trail, but does anyone else get that weird aftertaste from Maraschino that I do? Kind of a stale taste.
It really dominates a cocktail so I'd be interested in a sub that might be superior to the Luxardo itself.
@@bruddahmike no it tastes great to me, just like a really intense cherry-esque flavor. Taste is subjective of course
I believe "Genepy des Alpes" is now being bottled under the name "Genepy le Chamois".
That does appear to be the case! Several retailers (i.e. Total Wine) show the name Genepy Le Chamois, but the bottle's image is still Genepy des Alpes. Thank you for pointing out!
Boomsma Cloosterbitter is an amazing substitute. YUM!!!
You are the second person to have mentioned that! We're going to have to add that to our bar. The name alone is amazing! Thanks for the tip 👍
@@liberandco it's been my favorite find for years. More on par with the sweetness level of the yellow, but the color is gorgeous in cocktails, it gets you your herbal hit and it costs about 1/3 the price. Plus the packaging is super cool.
For which--green or yellow? I love a Last Word coctail now and again and it impresses guests.
@@thedogshouterer it's a great sub for the green in regards to color, but slightly sweeter like the yellow
@@GoShelbyGoYo Thanks! I looked it up last night and, with PAs draconian liquor laws, it's not available here. With the cost of shipping (on average, coming in at $27+ everywhere I looked) it would cost the same as a bottle of Chartruese. I love the bottle and the name. I'll keep my eyes peeled when I'm out-of-state.
I thought Yellow Chartreuse's color was from the honey added to Green Chartreuse.
it's all about those herbs and spices!
I have not found a good substitute yet.
It's truly one of a kind.