The first reference to this cocktail that I know of is from Harry McElhone’s Harry’s ABC of Mixing Cocktails, reprinted by Mud Puddle Books as its later incarnation, Barflies and Cocktails (and more on that next week, if you don’t know about these fantastic reprints just yet). The original called for equal parts of each of the main ingredients, but this version is, I think, a bit more well-balanced.

The recipe is credited to one Harry Johnson of the city of New Orleans. It’s an old favorite.

The Bijou Cocktail

1-1/2 ounces gin.
1/2 ounce green Chartreuse.
1/2 ounce sweet vermouth.
1 dash orange bitters.

Stir with ice and strain into a cocktail glass. Optionally garnish with a cocktail cherry.

Lovely. (No photo, sorry … that’s both my laziness and my lack of decent lighting for cocktail photos, which I’m actually working on. Within the next month I hope to have pics of every cocktail I write about here.)