The Chartreuse Swizzle recipe
according to the IBA specification
Pour the Chartreuse, pineapple juice, lime juice and falernum into a highball glass.
Scoop crushed ice into the glass until it is two-thirds full.
Place a swizzle stick or long bar spoon all the way to the bottom and spin it quickly back and forth between your palms for about 15 seconds, until the outside of the glass frosts over.
Top up with fresh crushed ice until it forms a mound above the rim.
Garnish with a sprig of mint, grate some nutmeg over it and serve with a straw.
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The story
The Chartreuse Swizzle was created in 2003 by Marcovaldo 'Marco' Dionysos, a bartender from San Francisco. He made it for the Chartreuse cocktail competition in that city, which he had already won the previous four years. This time, he deliberately chose something light and tropical, with pineapple, lime, and falernum, and won again. The drink later appeared on the menu at Harry Denton's Starlight Room and gained wider recognition from 2008 through the Clock Bar, also in San Francisco. The technique is much older. Swizzles originated in the Caribbean, where drinks with ice were mixed using a stick made from a branch with a whorl of smaller branches at the end. Today, the Chartreuse Swizzle is listed as a modern classic on the official IBA list.
The right glass
A swizzle belongs in a tall glass because you need room for the swizzle stick and a tall column of crushed ice. A 35 to 47 cl highball glass is ideal: narrow enough to make the ice spin properly, and tall enough for the mound of ice on top. Prefer sturdy glass with a thick base, because swizzling makes the stick tap against the sides. As the outside of the glass fogs up, you can immediately see that the drink is cold enough. View our highball glasses.
Bormioli Rocco Diamond Highball Glass 47 cl (6 pieces)
Arcoroc Islande Highball Glass 33 cl (6 pieces)
Both sets together € 35,90.
The right tools
For a Chartreuse Swizzle, besides the glass, you need a long bar spoon, a jigger for precise measuring, a citrus juicer, a nutmeg grater, and glass straws. These are the bar tools we use ourselves; you can find everything in our bar tools & cocktail sets.
With crushed ice, drink through a straw
Glassware set (our choice 01) + 5 bar tools together € 89,70.
What do you make a Chartreuse Swizzle with?
For a Chartreuse Swizzle, you need liqueur. On every drink page, you can read the alcohol percentage, what it tastes like, which cocktails pair well with it, and which glass you need.
Variations & twists
You can place a few mint leaves in the glass before you start swizzling; this will intensify the mint aroma. Yellow Chartreuse makes it softer and sweeter. If you’re a fan of green Chartreuse, try the Last Word with gin, maraschino, and lime, or the Naked and Famous with mezcal, yellow Chartreuse, and Aperol. For a rum drink with pineapple and a bitter edge, the Jungle Bird is the logical next step.
Serving tip
Squeeze the pineapple and lime fresh: packaged pineapple juice lacks the fresh acidity and soft layer of foam of fresh juice. Refrigerate the Chartreuse so the ice melts less quickly. Grate the nutmeg at the last moment to preserve its aroma.
Good to know
Chartreuse Swizzle recipe: the ingredients at a glance
The IBA specification is brief: 4.5 cl green Chartreuse, 3 cl fresh pineapple juice, 2.25 cl fresh lime juice, and 1.5 cl falernum. The Chartreuse is both the base and the flavoring, with herbs, mint, and a hint of anise. Pineapple juice adds juice, sweetness, and a soft layer of foam, while lime juice provides the acidity that keeps the liqueur in check. Falernum adds clove, ginger, and lime, bringing the spicy and tropical notes together. Garnish with a sprig of mint and freshly grated nutmeg: you smell the mint with every sip, while the nutmeg adds a warm layer on top.
What is Green Chartreuse
Chartreuse is a French herbal liqueur made by Carthusian monks in the French Alps. The recipe is secret and, according to the makers, contains 130 plants, herbs and flowers. The green version is 55 percent ABV and tastes intense, herbal and slightly sweet. There is also a yellow Chartreuse, which is milder and sweeter and contains less alcohol. Green Chartreuse is also used in the Last Word, a classic made with equal parts gin, maraschino and lime. A bottle lasts a long time because you use small amounts per cocktail.
What is swizzling and which stick do you use
Swizzling is a Caribbean mixing technique. You place a stick all the way to the bottom of a glass filled with crushed ice and quickly rotate it between your palms, as if making fire. The ice moves along with it, the drink cools quickly and the outside of the glass becomes frosted. The classic swizzle stick comes from the bois lélé, a Caribbean tree whose branches have a cluster of smaller branches at the end. If you do not have one, a long bar spoon works too: rotate it in the same way. Find a long spoon in our bar spoon collection.
What is falernum and where can you find it
Falernum comes from Barbados and is a sweet preparation with lime, cloves, ginger and almond. There are two types: a rum-based liqueur of around 11 percent ABV, of which Velvet Falernum is the best known, and a non-alcoholic syrup. Dionysos used Velvet Falernum for his original. You can also make it yourself: infuse lime peel, cloves and grated ginger in white rum for a day, strain and mix with sugar syrup. Falernum is a staple in tiki cocktails, such as the Three Dots and a Dash, so you will use the bottle more often than you think.
Making a Chartreuse Swizzle without a swizzle stick
No swizzle stick or long bar spoon? Shake all the ingredients briefly, for five to eight seconds, with a scoop of crushed ice. Pour everything unstrained into the highball glass and top up with fresh crushed ice to just above the rim. You will miss the frosted glass and layered look, but the temperature and dilution will be similar. Stirring with a regular spoon works less well, because you cannot reach the bottom and get the ice moving. If you make swizzles more often, a 40 cm bar spoon is well worth it.
How strong is a Chartreuse Swizzle
Stronger than it tastes. The 4.5 cl of 55% green Chartreuse contains almost 2.5 cl of pure alcohol, and the falernum adds a little more. Together, that's about two standard drinks, more than a gin and tonic or a Mojito. Thanks to the pineapple juice, lime and crushed ice, it still goes down light and fresh. The ice dilutes the drink over time, making it softer as you drink it. So it's best served as that one cocktail of the evening rather than round after round.
Frequently asked questions
What is a Chartreuse Swizzle?
A modern classic from San Francisco with green Chartreuse as its base, complemented by pineapple juice, lime juice and falernum. You build it in a tall glass with crushed ice and swizzle until the glass frosts over. It tastes spicy, fresh and tropical all at once.
What goes into a Chartreuse Swizzle?
According to the IBA: 4.5 cl green Chartreuse, 3 cl fresh pineapple juice, 2.25 cl fresh lime juice and 1.5 cl falernum, with plenty of crushed ice. Garnish with mint leaves and freshly grated nutmeg. Nothing more is needed.
Can I use yellow Chartreuse?
You can, but it will be a different drink. Yellow Chartreuse is softer, sweeter and more honeyed and contains less alcohol, so the swizzle becomes rounder and less spicy. Reduce the falernum to 1 cl so it doesn't become too sweet. You can also taste yellow Chartreuse in the Naked and Famous.
Who invented the Chartreuse Swizzle?
Marcovaldo 'Marco' Dionysos, a bartender from San Francisco. He created it in 2003 for a Chartreuse cocktail competition in the city, which he won. After that, the drink appeared on bar menus in San Francisco and grew into a modern classic on the IBA list.
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