Five O’Clock Fridays: Green Monk Fizz

In the “Five O’Clock Fridays” series, we’ll highlight a particular drink we’re loving right now. Depending on where we stumble upon this brilliant beverage, we’ll either provide a recipe to go along with it, or provide tasting notes and point you to where you can purchase it. Today’s edition: the Green Monk Fizz!

We knew were on to something special when Jason, our server at Garfunkel’s in the Lower East Side of Manhattan, placed our new drink in front of us.

We had selected “bartender’s choice” for our latest round of drinks, and I’d specified a “a drink with green chartreuse in it.” For those of you unfamiliar with the “bartender’s choice” option, it’s basically like an alcohol Russian roulette: you give some guidance to the bartender on what you’d like, and leave the rest up to the mixology gods. Sometimes, you’ll get a knockout; other times, the drink will be quaffable, but average.

In this case, I wasn’t sure what to expect, since I generally don’t crave green chartreuse. I secretly hoped that it wouldn’t be the Last Word cocktail, which is delicious, but I’ve had it several times in the recent past.

Luckily, we were in the capable hands of Derek, Garfunkel’s Beverage Director. He didn’t miss a beat when he heard our request, and passed our challenge with flying colors.

Derek’s creation, the “Green Monk Fizz,” was refreshing, herbaceous, and complex. It’s the kind of cocktail that you’d be equally at home sipping on a warm beach in the Caribbean or sitting by a roaring campfire in the Hudson Valley. (Plus, I’m kind of a sucker for egg white drinks, which he didn’t know at the time, so score one for Garfunkel’s!)

Fun fact: the “Green Monk Fizz” is named for the select few monks in France that hold the secret to the recipe for green chartreuse. Don’t know your chartreuse from your benedictine? That’s OK — you can read our related post about chartreuse here.

Thankfully, Derek generously shared his recipe with us so we could continue making it at home. Without further ado, here’s the not-so-secret recipe for this delicious drink.

Green Monk Fizz

1 1/2 oz. Gin
1/2 oz. Green Chartreuse
3/4 oz. Housemade Hazelnut Orgeat
3/4 oz. Lime Juice
Egg White
Cucumber
Angostura Bitters
Club Soda

Muddle the cucumber inside the shaker. Add gin, green chartreuse, orgeat, egg white, and lime juice; dry shake with one ice cube first until it dilutes, then add ice and shake hard after. Double strain the mixture to ensure a silky, icy cocktail. Top with club soda and add 2 dashes of Angostura bitters.

Note: Garfunkel’s used their own housemade hazelnut orgeat in their version of this drink. If you don’t have orgeat in your household yet (like us, for shame!), you can find it here. Don’t have your own cocktail shaker yet? You can find a great one here.

If you liked this post, check out:

• • Five O’Clock Fridays: Kentucky Colonel
  • Booze Buzz: Circa Brewing Co. in Brooklyn
  • Booze Buzz: Elsa in Brooklyn

Essential Info:
Where should you stay in New York City? Check out all options here.
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Where else have I visited in New York lately? Beacon, NY and Coney Island Brewery.
What camera did I use for this post? I used our Olympus EM5 Mark II camera with this lens and (and my cell phone).
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Have you tried making this cocktail? What did you think? Sound off in the comments below!