The idea behind this was to come up with a twist on the bijou, a drink created by the legendary late 19th- and early 20th-century bartender Harry Johnson and so called because it combines the colour of three jewels: gin for diamond, vermouth for ruby and chartreuse for emerald. I called my version little kiss, because the word bijou reminded me of “bisou”, or kiss in French. I swapped green chartreuse for the yellow one (less alcohol and a bit sweeter), replaced the vermouth with manzanilla (to give it a touch of nuttiness) and added Aperol for a hint of orange.
Little kiss
25ml gin – I use Silent Pool
25ml yellow chartreuse
15ml manzanilla
10ml Aperol
1 twist lemon zest, to garnish
Put everything in a mixing glass (or jug) filled with ice, stir to chill, then strain into a nick & nora glass and garnish with a lemon twist.
