Champin’ at the bit.
Champs-Élysées + L’Emitage Saint Valbert.
Despite my optimism that the Chartreuse Crisis would gradually resolve itself (after the hoarders had hoarded enough) it regrettably appears to have endured and become permanent. Despite living in one of the alleged “core markets” I can barely ever find a bottle and even when I do I am loathe to shell out the new asking prices of €70-90 knowing a few years ago it was a “mere” €35 for a bottle of the green stuff. Almost three years ago I posted a synopsis of the crisis with some possible solutions, none of them 100% satisfactory but more recently I espied something I thought worthy of investigation. L’Emitage Saint Valbert seems to have come from nowhere yet claims to have been in monky production in France since 1864. It weighs in at the same 55% as the “real” juice which is certainly encouraging as is that it costs much the same as pre-crisis green Chartreuse did. On the flip-side it does not look to be widely distributed outside of Europe apart from some East Asian airport shops. Also on the negative side of the ledger, a careful reading (between the lines) of the “history” on the back of the bottle suggests to me that this is a modern creation designed specifically to capitalise on the current crisis and that has been “history-washed” – a not uncommon practice in the world of booze. But is it any good? Sipped side to side with my dwindled remains of green Chartreuse I found the new contender to pretty similar but less intense. The Chartreuse has a wonderful rounded herbal flavour and pleasant mouth-feel whereas L’Ermitage feels a touch less integrated, a little more watery and has a slightly bitter finish that the Chartreuse lacks. But to be fair the differences are slight and when mixed with other ingredients as in a cocktail fade away almost entirely. Those who like to sip upon their Chartreuse might be disappointed but the mixin’ masses are served well enough by this “newcomer” – if it is available in their area.
But all of this is just an excuse to mix us up a classic French prohibition era cocktail called the Champs-Élysées which as surely everyone knows is the wide boulevard that runs from L’Arc de Triomphe down to Place de la Concorde in Paris. Emerging somewhat vaguely in the 1920s the Champs* got its big break by being included in Harry Craddock’s Savoy cocktail book of 1930. Harry gave a recipe to make enough for a small group and most recipes since have been based on a reduction of that leading to a consensus on the ingredients but not so much on the proportions. The version I give below is my preferred recipe but feel free to tinker away yourselves. I do however insist on using real French cognac and not some random “brandy” with my preference for a mixing cognac being Courvoisier VS which punches well above its moderate-ish price. It’s a classy drink and as such demands quality ingredients yet in the current situation L’Ermitage Saint Valbert is just good enough. It also requires attention to detail: The chilled glass, double straining, care of measurement, a neatly trimmed garnish.
Champs-Élysées.
1.5oz / 45ml cognac.
0.5oz / 15ml green Chartreuse or substitute.
0.75oz / 22ml fresh lemon juice.
0.25oz / 7.5ml simple syrup
2 dashes of Angostura bitters
Shake with ice and double strain into a chilled Champagne coupe.
Garnish with lemon twist.
Toast France’s most famous street.
*I avoid using the full name as adding all those weird-ass French letters is a pain in WordPress.
