Hacker News Reader

Comment by wesleyd | Hacker News Reader

Once upon a time, many years ago, I was working in a bar in rural Ireland. I was 16 or 17, I was alone in the place, it was a slow afternoon, I was crouched down, putting bottles on shelves, idly wondering what the strongest drink - highest ABV - in this place was. Most spirits were about 40%, many less, some slightly more. At that moment I happened to look up and I swear a beam of sunshine at that moment lit on a bottle of green chartreuse above my head, highlighting the “55% ABV” on the label. In my memory, music also chimed. I just had to taste this stuff, so I poured a tiny drop into a glass. O. M. G. It. Was. _Vile_. To this day, it is my benchmark for how bad something tastes.

View on HN

In fairness, I thought the same thing about most types of beer at that age. If you like cocktails and interesting flavors, Chartreuse is genuinely excellent and beloved by bartenders. There are bars that have drink programs that specialize in it, and this has been a thing since far before the shortage.

It's very sweet. The thing here is nobody drinks it straight. Do equal parts Chartreuse, gin, Maraschino, and lemon juice (a Last Word); it's hard to hate, and a good introduction to what Chartreuse is about. My next move would be to put it in a Sazerac.

If you want to use it in a Sazerac, swap it in for the Peychaud's and soak a real sugar cube with it instead of using simple syrup. I don't personally like it, but IMO it's the only good entry point for it in terms of texture.

The other option is a Carthusian, which puts a 1/4 oz. in and swaps the Peychaud's with lemon bitters to offset with acid.

Gonna need to give this a whirl.

Throw it in hot chocolate in the winter after doing winter stuff. Though green is my preference for that, both work.

It's definitely strong and has an intense herbal flavor. There are far viler spirits, though (try Suze). Personally I find it an enjoyable sipper!

Malort tastes like Meyer's lemons (the ones you use to clean things instead of eat) and anise, most people without a strong anise culture would hate it.

Malort tastes like what it is: a cleaning solvent. It's a prank Chicagoans play on tourists. The authentic, artistically coherent version of Malort is Novasalus.

Malort improves a lot with a little airing out. Straight out of the bottle and into a shot glass tastes like poison, but if you leave it in a glass, maybe giving it a few swirls for a bit while doing something else (like trying to convince someone to try it for the first time), it tempers out quite a bit, and, while still bitter, becomes a drink that at least sometimes can be enjoyed.

But basically every amaro/bitter liqueur is better for this

I quite enjoy Suze on the rocks, but then again I also enjoy most amari.

What? Chartreuse is delicious. But more importantly, the crazy ABVs are in overproof rum. Some are over 75%. Not advisable to drink neat. And much more disgusting.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com