Bijou Cocktail is an amalgam of flavors and aromas with a history of decades. Bar Manager Panos Pallis “travels” us to an era of diversity.
Introduction
Bijou is one of the drinks that withstood the test of time, giving us a handful of information about the availability of drinks in each country and the way it was served by all bartenders from 1862 until present!
Bijou Cocktail is a compound of flavors and aromas with a history of decades that started from the beginning of the bar scene as it’s one of the first cocktails ever served at a bar.
In the book entitled “How to Mix Drinks”(Bartender Jeremiah P. Thomas,1862) broaches the Fancy Gin Cocktail , which over the years has evolved into the Bijou we relish today in our favorite bars.
Fancy Gin Cocktail
Ingredients
- 1/3 of fine ice
- 1 wine glass Gin
- 3 dashes liqueur Curacao
- 2 dashes gum syrup
- 2 dashes bitters
Preparation Method- Shake
Shake all the ingredients in a shaker and strain into a cold Fancy wine glass garnishing with lemon peel
Evolution
Αfterwards, Ι will present you the evolution of the Fancy Gin Cocktail illustrated through the relevant bibliography along with historical events from 1862 to the present Bijou.
Vermouth, although introduced in New Orleans harbor earlier than 1838 and unlike other alcohol drinks, was not effortlessly available in the bars of this period. That explains why there is not a single drop of Vermouth referred in Τhomas Jeremiah’s book (“How to Mix Drinks“, Bartender Jeremiah P. Thomas, 1862)
This changed with the growing popularity of bars and the shift of public preferences.
The drinks with intense and aromatic flavors with the Fifty-Fifty Martini and the legendary Manhattan, Martinez, Rob Roy, Bronx start making their own history, playing the lead role in Menus until today.
History & Variations of Bijou Cocktail
In the book “Mixicologist” of 1895, Bartender Christopher Lawlor presents his own ambrosial Bijou.
Ingredients
- 1/3 wine glass Gin
- 1/3 wine glass Vermouth
- 1/3 wine glass Grand Marnier
Preparation Method- Stir
Stir in the mixing glass all the ingredients and strain with the strainer in a cold Cocktail glass
It is also worth mentioning Lawlor’s tips imprinted in his book answering for ambitious Bartenders, which are applied from 1895 until today.
“Rarely does a Bar owner succeed heedless of whisky’s quality when served at the clients”
In the year of 1895, he also outlines the character of a Barman:
“He should be a man of good character, with straight personal habits, good temper, cheerful, obliging, wide-awake, quick, graceful, attentive, sympathetic, yet too smart to be ‘worked,’ neither grum nor too talkative, of neat appearance and well dressed,” he marks.
In “Bartender’s Manual” dated back in 1900, Harry Johnson, apart from his impressive recipes, is also one of the first to offer instructions for managing a bar and more!
He presents us his own flavorful Bijou.
Ingredients
- 1/3 wine glass trimmed ice
- 1/3 wine glass Plymouth Gin
- 1/3 wine glass Vermouth (Italian)
- 1/3 wine glass Chartreuse(green)
- 1 dash orange bitters
Preparation Method- Stir
We stir in the mixing glass all our ingredients and strain with the strainer as long as we have added lemon essential oils in a cold glass.
Garnish– Cherry or olive
In the book entitled “Drinks” of 1914, Jacques Straub is referred to a different preparation method.
Ingredients
- 1/3 jigger Gin
- 1/3 jigger Vermouth
- 1/3 jigger Green Chartreuse
Preparation Method- Shake
Shake in a shaker all the ingredients and strain in a cold Cocktail glass
In “The Savoy Cocktail Book” of 1930, Head Bartender and Founding Member of United Kingdom Bartenders Guild, Harry Craddock presents us at The Savoy Hotel in London his own luscious Bijou.
Ingredients
- 1/3 Plymouth Gin
- 1/3 Cancia Italian Vermouth
- 1/3 Green Chartreuse
- 1 dash orange bitters
Preparation method-Stir
Stir in the mixing glass all our ingredients and strain with the strainer in a glass.
Garnish-Cherry or Olive
In the book entitled “Waldorf Astoria Bar Book” of 1931, by Waldorf Astoria in New York journalist Albert Steves Crockett mentions a different Bijou accompanying the history of the drink’s name.
“From the theater of that name, in Broadway, a few blocks away, through certain connoisseurs were strong for the French term that was synonymous with jewel. The nativity of its two principal components lent authority to the drink, if not to their contention. They said it tasted like a jewel.
Ingredients
- Two Dashes Orange Bitters
- One-half French Vermouth
- One-half Grand Marnier
Preparation method- Stir
Stir in the mixing glass all our ingredients and strain with the strainer in a glass.
Garnish-Orange peel
In the book by title “100 Famous Cocktails” of the year 1934, the Maitre d ‘hotel of Waldorf – Astoria hotel Oscar Tschirky or Oscar of Waldorf ,as he was known, publishes a different Bijou with aromatic bitters, dry Vermouth, without Gin.
Ingredients
- 2 dash bitters Abbot’s Bitters
- one-half French Vermouth
- one-half Grand Marnier
Preparation Method- Stir
Stir in the mixing glass all the ingredients and strain with the strainer in a glass
In the book dubbed “The Artistry Of Mixing Drinks” of 1936, Head Bartender Frank Meier, creates at the Ritz Hotel in Paris a dry Bijou with French Vermouth, Orange Curacao Liqueur and orange bitters.
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 ounce Gin
- 3/4 ounces French Vermouth
- 3/4 ounces Orange Curacao
- 1 dash of Orange Bitters
Preparation Method-Stir
Stir in the mixing glass all our ingredients and strain with the strainer in a glass.
Garnish-Cherry
In “The Dead Rabbit Drinks Manual” of 2016, Bartender and writer Jack Mcgarry makes a variation of Harry Johnson’s original recipe with more aromatic components like most 19th century drinks consisting of Gin, Italian Vermouth, Chartreuse, Bitters and absinthe.
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 ounces London Dry Gin
- 1 1/2 ounce Italian Vermouth
- 1/2 ounce Green Chartreuse
- 2 dashes Orange Bitters
- 2 dashes Dead Rabbit Orinoco Bitters
- 2 dashes Pernod Ricard Absinthe
Preparation method- Stir
Stir in the mixing glass all our ingredients and strain with the strainer in a glass.
Garnish- Orange peel
In “The New Craft of the Cocktail” of the year 2020, Bartender, author and Professor Dale Degroff presents a drier version of Bijou driven by The Savoy book using the French Liqueur Chartreuse V.E.P (vieillissement exceptionnellement prolongé) orange bitters, Italian Vermouth making it even more special.
Ingredients
- 2 ounces Plymouth Gin
- 1/2 ounce Green Chartreuse
- 1/2 ounce Martini & Rossi sweet Vermouth
- dash orange bitters
Preparation Method-Stir
Stir in the mixing glass all our ingredients and strain with the strainer as long as we have added lemon essential oils in a cold glass.
Garnish- Cherry
In the Pan-Hellenic Cocktail competition ” Greek Spirits Aegean Cocktails & Spirits” that took place at the Stavros Niarchos Foundation on 22/09/21, I participated as a contestant and presented my own Bijou suggestions, which for the sake of the article I “mixed” to make them even tastier.
Sun-Drop Diamond Cocktail
The tear of the sun (Sun-Drop), apart from the name of our own Bijou that we made with selected Greek spirits, is also an authentic gold diamond in the shape of a pear, which was found and sold in 2010 at an auction in Switzerland for 10.9 million dollars.
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 ounce Mataroa Gin
- 1 1/2 ounce Veroni Dry Vermouth
- 1/2 ounce Stichion Mastic Liqueur
- 1 dash Ouzo Adolo
Preparation Method- Stir
Stir in the mixing glass all our ingredients and strain with the strainer as long as we have added essential lemon oils in a cold glass.
Garnish-Cherry & lemon peel
Argyle Phoenix Cocktail
Red fruits and spices are key ingredients in Argyle Phoenix Cocktail. The most expensive 1.56 carat red diamond discovered in the Argyle mine in Australia and sold in 2013 for 2 million dollars, is our delicious Bijou.
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 ounce Mataroa Gin
- 1 1/2 ounce Veroni Rosso Vermouth
- 1/2 ounce Majuni Liqueur
- 2 dash Cinnamon bitters
Preparation Method-Stir
Stir in the mixing glass all our ingredients and strain with the strainer in a cold glass.
Garnish-Orange Peel
About the Author
Pallis Panos is Bar Manager with a fondness in history, tasting and thematic Cocktail Menus. In addition, is editorialist in prestigious Journalistic websites occupied about history of drinks and Bar Consultant at the teams of renowned Chefs.
The first bar where he was employed as Barback was at the Westin and Arion Hotels of the legendary Astir Vouliagmeni in 2008-2014 with Bar Manager Stefanos Vlassis and Bartender Giannis Vlachos.
The 1st Cocktail competition he participated in, was in 2009 , where he failed miserably.
Since then until present, he counts more than 16 participations in Greece and abroad with an overall of 10 awards and many seminars.
Recently, the World Barmen Association (IBA) made him a certified trainer of the Hellenic Barmen Association (HBA).
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