The sky is purple, the flare of a match behind a cupped hand is gold; the liquor is green, bright green, made from a thousand herbs, made from altars. Those who know enough to drink Chartreuse at Mardi Gras are lucky, because the distilled essence of the town burns in their bellies. Chartreuse glows in the dark, and if you drink enough of it, your eyes will turn bright green.
Poppy Z. Brite, Lost Souls
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I always associated the anise liquors like Absinthe and Sambuca with the cooler months of Autumn. Anything in that flavor range seems pretty appropriate for the dark cocktails of the Halloween season. Chartreuse might not have anise in its mix of mysterious spices and herbs, but it's definitely in the same family with its flavors of citrus, clove, cinnamon, rosemary, and thyme. Definitely a Halloween varietal.
Back when we visited Lambertville the week before Halloween, we stopped into a candy shop and picked up some liquor-filled chocolates. One of them sported an absinthe filling we were dying to try.
It was in that green swirly one in the middle of the back row. The absinthe wasn't as pronounced as it should have been, but it definitely tasted dark and seasonal.
We found a recipe for Boozy No Bake Fudge Squares and this time you can taste the liquor. The recipe called for absinthe, but we used cool green Chartreuse that we had on hand. Turns out fudge is a perfect conduit for strange liquors.
Chartreuse fudge will definitely be a regular in the Fall lineup.
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