When the Chartreuse Last Word competition hit Reading we knew it was going to be a hard fought contest and we weren’t disappointed.
With Reading bartenders knocking out great drink after great drink in competitions across the country bragging rights in their own town was going to result in an epic battle.
This particular contest was taken out by Jonathan Carlton from Cerise with his lemon sherbet inspired Last Word twist, Bruno’s Broadcast.
The mystery shopper summed up the reason for the victory:
‘This was a great cocktail with strong acidity and fantastic citrus flavours. I also found it well balanced with the Chartreuse really coming through. The bar itself looks great and the service was fantastic. We did not initially get served by James but one of the other bartenders (Glen I think it was) who was really knowledgeable, he gave us an accurate history of Chartreuse and talked us through a lot of Chartreuse cocktails.’
To check out Jonathan’s winning recipe click here.
The next city to take on the challenge is one used to intercity rivalry although admittedly the Last Word comp is significantly more important than the Premiership. The drinks are below and unsurprisingly they sound awesome:
Green with Envy – Amir Javaid, Australisia
- 25ml Green Chartreuse
- 25ml Bols Genever
- 20ml lime juice
- 12.5 ml Velvet Falernum
- 5 Thai basil leaves
- 2 dashes bitters
Shake and double strain into a chilled martini glass with a smoked sea salt rim and a Thai basil float.
Lost For Words
(for all those times you can’t find the right thing to say) – Ben Davies, Oddfellows
- 25ml Yellow Chartreuse
- 25ml Pampero Aniversario
- 25ml lemon juice
- 25ml honey syrup (2 parts honey, 1 part water)
- 25ml egg white
- 6 mint leaves
All ingredients in to a shaker, dry shake then wet shake and then fine strain in to a large chilled coupe glass.
The Last word boggles the mind with bags of character and personality and it has been one of my favourites since the first time I was made one and I was lost for words, so that whole reaction was what I wanted to recreate again with my own little twist.
The Last and First
– Pavin Panesar, Red Door, Chester
- 25ml Green Chartreuse
- 25ml Giffard Pamplemousse
- 25ml Fresh Pink Grapefruit Juice
- 25ml Johnsons Sauvignon Blanc
Stir all ingredients in a boston glass, then strain into a thyme rimmed martini coupe. Garnish with grapefruit zest
The word twist personally means to me the individuals own perception of how a good classic drink could be altered, but keeping the fundamentals the same.
The Zig Zag
– Marc Farrell, Yacht Club
- 25ml Green Chartreuse
- 25ml Santa Teresa Claro
- 25ml Aperol
- 25ml lime juice
- 2 bar spoons acacia honey
- Egg white
I have chosen rum over Gin simply because I want softer flavours to compliment the Chartreuse notes, with Claro you also get slightly grassy notes and a dry style of rum without extra sweetness. Aperol is my bitter/sweet element just like maraschino you get a complex shift from sweet to bitter with the Aperol, with a nice orange tingle on the finish. By using the first two ingredients with a softer I feel the Chartreuse sings through, and lifts out the sweeter notes of Chartreuse.
Papillion #3
– Joe Schofield, Liars Club
- 25ml Chartreuse Green
- 25ml Creme de Banane
- 25ml lemon juice
- Egg white