Chartreuse Swizzle
Green Chartreuse, pineapple, lime and falernum, swizzled over crushed ice. Marco Dionysos's 2003 San Francisco drink — the herbal liqueur's one great tiki moment.
Built to the standard modern spec; not yet tested in our kitchen. How we test.
The recipe.
Scaling adjusts quantities only. Prepare shaken drinks in individual portions.
Let’s make a good drink.
Fill a collins glass or swizzle cup with crushed ice.
Add the Chartreuse, pineapple juice, lime juice and falernum.
Swizzle: hold a swizzle stick or bar spoon between your palms and spin it in the drink until the outside of the glass frosts.
Top with more crushed ice, garnish with a mint sprig and a grating of nutmeg.
A thoughtful finish
- Swizzle, don't stir. Spinning the stick between your palms aerates the drink and chills it fast; the glass should frost over.
- Crushed ice is the recipe. On cubes the drink is too strong and never gets the dilution it needs.
- Green Chartreuse is 55% — this is a strong drink in a tall, friendly glass. One is plenty.
Common mistakes
- Yellow Chartreuse. It is sweeter and milder and the drink loses its herbal bite.
- Shaking and straining over cubes. It works, but it is not a swizzle and it is too strong.
- Skipping the nutmeg. It ties the pineapple and the herbs together.
A few good questions.
What does a Chartreuse Swizzle taste like?
Herbal and tropical at once: the 130 botanicals of green Chartreuse against pineapple and lime, with falernum's clove and ginger underneath. Cold, sweet-sour and surprisingly strong.
What is a swizzle?
A Caribbean method: a drink built over crushed ice and churned with a forked stick, the swizzle, until it is frosted and cold. The Rum Swizzle is the classic.
What is falernum?
A Caribbean liqueur or syrup of lime, almond, clove and ginger. The liqueur version is around 11% ABV; the syrup is alcohol-free. Either works here.
Can I use less Chartreuse?
An ounce makes a gentler drink. Below that the pineapple takes over and you have lost the point.
Variations
- Rum Swizzle — Rum, lime, sugar and bitters, swizzled.
- Bermuda Rum Swizzle — Rum, pineapple, orange and falernum.
- Last Word — Gin, green Chartreuse, maraschino and lime.
- Mezcal Last Word — Mezcal in the Last Word template.
Where it comes from
2003 · San Francisco · Marcovaldo Dionysos
Marco Dionysos created the Chartreuse Swizzle in 2003 for a cocktail competition sponsored by Chartreuse, and it won. The idea was to treat the French monastery liqueur as a base spirit in a Caribbean swizzle — green Chartreuse against pineapple, lime and falernum, built over crushed ice and churned with a swizzle stick until the glass frosts. It was unlike anything else on a menu at the time, and it has since become one of the few modern drinks to use Chartreuse as the lead rather than a modifier. Dionysos has put it on every bar he has worked in since.
Sources
- Marcovaldo Dionysos, competition entry and bar notes, 2003 (interview)
- Robert Simonson, Modern Classic Cocktails, 2022 (book)
- Difford's Guide, Chartreuse Swizzle, 2015 (reference)
Strength. About 1.24 US standard drinks at an estimated 16.6% ABV, estimated from the ingredients and technique, not measured. What that means.
A little character in every sip.
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