Present Joys

“We thank the Lord of heaven and earth
who hath preserved us from our birth
for present joys, for blessings past,
and for the hope of heaven at last.”

Chartreuse imitation

A few years ago I discovered I have a sensitivity (allergy?) to cane sugar, and since then it’s gotten worse and worse.

I finally got my butt in gear last week and ordered a bunch of herbs from Penn Herb—I’m going to try and make copycat infusions of some of my most frequently used bar ingredients (for now, that’s Campari, Chartreuse, and fernet). This is no sugar grandparent’s delight.

So I tried my first infusion of Chartreuse last night, and I’m going to print the recipe here so I can refer back to it later. This first test will end up being around 500 ml at about 45% ABV.

Chartreuse imitation 1

  • 0.2 oz hyssop
  • 0.03 oz mint (it should have been peppermint, but all I have is common garden mint, and only a tiny bit of it anyway)
  • 0.03 oz rosemary
  • 0.18 oz génépi (this was the entire sachet I had left over from a recent order.)
  • 0.025 oz thyme
  • 0.132 oz angelica root
  • 0.07 oz black tea (I used Upton Premium China Keemun)
  • 0.02 oz China cinnamon
  • 0.02 oz myrrh gum
  • 0.01 oz cardamom
  • 0.02 oz clove

Mix with 250 ml 151-proof Everclear.

hagleyvault:

It’s getting toasty out there. Luckily, July is National Ice Cream Month and we’ve found a few easy-to-follow recipes for ice cold beverages in the circa 1965 Betty Crocker’s New boys and girls cookbook. It includes recipes for such drinks as a Molasses Soda (molasses, milk, vanilla ice cream, and club soda), Choc-o-Nut milk (peanut butter, chocolate syrup, and milk) and Woodsman’s Refresher (milk, maple syrup, and cinnamon). 

This is TX652.2 .C76 in Hagley’s Published Collections.

I had a copy of this book as a child. The full-color photography is a buzzkill, but the illustrations and all the simple, two- and three-ink print areas are spectacular examples of beautiful mid-century efficiency.

Originally reposted from
othmeralia