h bomb

The theme for this month's Mixology Monday (MxMo LXVI) was picked by Ed of the Wordsmithing Pantagruel blog. The theme he chose was "(It's not easy) Bein' Green" which roughly translated into finding or concocting a drink recipe that uses at least one green ingredient or garnish. Ed explained, "Let's pay one last tribute to the greens of summer before the frosts come and our outdoor herb gardens give up the ghost for the winter... I'm giving you a wide berth on this one, anything using a green ingredient is fair play. There's not only the aforementioned Chartreuse; how about Absinthe Verte, aka the green fairy. Or Midori, that stuff is pretty damn green. Crème de menthe? Why not? Douglas Fir eau de vie? Bring it! Apple schnapps? Uh...well...it is green. ...Base, mixer, and or garnish; if it's green it's good. Surprise me."

While writing up a blurb about the Bikini Atoll on the Drink & Tell cocktail book's Facebook fanpage this past week, I looked up the drink that influenced it, the Nuclear Daiquiri. In that post, I referenced a recipe that Drink's Josey Packard found in Stan Jones' Complete Bar Guide called the H Bomb. The H Bomb has both Green and Yellow Chartreuse along with Bourbon and brandy. I am not sure what it is about Chartreuse that makes people think of radiation, but all of these recipes contain Green if not both Chartreuses.

H Bomb
• 3/4 oz Bourbon (Eagle Rare 10 Year)
• 3/4 oz Brandy (Foret)
• 1/2 oz Green Chartreuse
• 1/2 oz Yellow Chartreuse
Stir with ice and strain into a cocktail glass. In retrospect, straining into a rocks glass containing a large ice cube might be preferable here.

I never inquired how Josey made it to scale for Drink's three ounce pour; I guess that she might go with the house 1:1:1/2:1/2 ratio, although I have found equal parts recipes for the H Bomb on the web. I stuck with the recipe as written by Stan Jones for this one.
The Green Chartreuse's aromas greeted the nose. The Yellow Chartreuse was the next to show itself with a honeyed flavor that joined the Bourbon's malt on the sip. The swallow began with hot Bourbon notes that were followed by savory Yellow and spicy Green Chartreuse flavors. Finally, the drink ended with a sweet brandy finish. Here, the tension in the drink was between the hot proofiness of the spirits against the sweet and savory aspects. Perhaps serving this in a rocks glass with a large ice cube would allow the drink's heat to mellow as the ice melt. Overall, the H Bomb has a modern mixologist feel to it (or would that required a Fernet Branca rinse too?) even though the Complete Bartender was published in the late 1970s.

So cheers to Ed from Wordsmithing Pantagruel for hosting this month's Mixology Monday!