Brandy/Cognac
Champs-Élysées
Cognac, green Chartreuse, and lemon — a Sidecar's more herbal, more serious cousin.
Every recipe on Sipped Right is tested at home before it's published — not just written.
Origin
Named for the famous Paris avenue, Champs-Élysées first appears in print in 1925, in "Drinks — Long and Short" by Nina Toye and A.H. Adair, and was recorded again in 1930 in Harry Craddock's "Savoy Cocktail Book." It's often described as a twist on the Sidecar, with green Chartreuse standing in for the orange liqueur — trading citrus brightness for something more herbal and monastic, fittingly, since Chartreuse is still made by Carthusian monks to a recipe dating to 1737. The drink crossed the Atlantic during Prohibition, as Americans traveled to Europe for the cocktails they couldn't get at home. It's never reached the Sidecar's fame, which somehow makes finding a good one feel like being let in on something.
Flavour Profile
Good for a dinner party or a night wanting a little more edge than most cognac sours. Not a beginner's cocktail if Chartreuse's intensity is new — start with a Sidecar first. Medium strength.
Glass & Garnish
Chilled coupe. Garnish: lemon twist, expressed over the drink.
Ingredients
- Cognac1.5 oz
- Green Chartreuse0.5 oz
- Fresh lemon juice0.75 oz
- Simple syrup0.25 oz
- Angostura bitters2 dashes
2 dashes in this recipe = 4 Japanese dasher-bottle dashes, if that's what's in your kit.
Method
- Chill a coupe.
- Add bitters, syrup, and lemon to a shaker.
- Add Chartreuse, then cognac.
- Fill with ice, shake 15 seconds.
- Fine-strain into the coupe.
- Garnish with a lemon twist.
Notes
Yellow Chartreuse substitutes, sweeter and less potent — scale back the syrup slightly. Lime works in place of lemon. Scales cleanly to a pitcher for a dinner party. Pairs with roasted nuts or a mild hard cheese.
Tools Used
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