This cocktail may be new, but it’s far from green.
The Greenpoint is a New York City named and New York City made cocktail. Famous bartender Michael McIlroy first stirred it up at the also famous Milk & Honey – a legendary cocktail bar in Manhattan. The bar has since closed, but is still responsible for modern cocktail classics like the Penicillin and Greenpoint’s cousin, The Red Hook.
So while Greenpoint and Red Hook are now both famous, modern cocktails, they also just so happen to be neighborhoods in Brooklyn. And if you think that’s just a coincidence, you’d be sorely mistaken.
Michael McIlroy and Vincenzo Errico (inventor of the Red Hook) both worked at Milk & Honey in the early 2000s and both decided to create neighborhood-named riffs on the famous Brooklyn cocktail. Funnily enough, the Brooklyn is actually a riff of the classic cocktail giant – The Manhattan.
Around 1908, recipes for the Brooklyn cocktail began popping up as a sassy retort to the Manhattan’s growing popularity in the late 1880s. The Brooklyn swapped bourbon for rye, sweet vermouth for dry vermouth, and added in Luxardo Maraschino Liqueur and Amer Picon for a familiar, yet distinctly different cocktail result. While the Brooklyn enjoyed a lot of fame back then, it took another century for it to be revived with the creation of its variations.
Even though the Greenpoint is fairly young compared to its inspiration, it’s still full of complex, mature flavors. Unlike the Red Hook, which closely followed the idea of the Brooklyn, the Greenpoint takes a very different direction. Sure, rye whiskey remains the base and sweet vermouth makes a Manhattan-like comeback, but the addition of yellow Chartreuse is where things get interesting.
Yellow Chartreuse is an ancient herbal liqueur that French monks have been whipping up since 1838. The secret recipe includes a whopping 130 plants and spices for a distinctly sweet, spicy flavor. Needless to say, it brings a big personality to any cocktail. The Greenpoint is no exception.
With distinctly bold flavors, the Greenpoint makes a unique name for itself and its neighborhood.
Greenpoint
Equipment
- 1 Mixing Glass
- 1 Bar Spoon
- 1 Hawthorne Strainer
- 1 Cocktail Glass
Ingredients
- 2 ounces Rye Whiskey
- ½ ounce Yellow Chartreuse
- ½ ounce Sweet Vermouth
- 1 dash Angostura Bitters
- 1 dash Orange Bitters
- 1 twist Lemon (garnish)
Instructions
- Into a mixing glass filled with ice, add 2 ounces of Rye Whiskey, ½ ounce Yellow Chartreuse, ½ ounce Sweet Vermouth, 1 dash of Angostura bitters, 1 dash of orange bitters.
- Stir until well chilled.
- Strain into a cocktail glass.
- Garnish with a twist of lemon.
