Golden Chrysanthemum

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Cocktail History

The Golden Chrysanthemum is a spring cocktail that was created by bartender Kenta Goto of Bar Goto in New York City, New York. The recipe’s made with a unique yet bitter combination of sparkling wine, pear liqueur, brandy, and lemon, all of which are meant to pay tribute to the Japanese flower of the same name.

Cocktail Ingredients

To make this cocktail, you’ll need the following ingredients:

Sparkling Wine: This is a type of wine made with white grapes and yeast, which are fermented with the skins to produce alcohol and then infused with carbon dioxide gas to develop a pale yellow-green color and crisp, fruity flavor.

Pear Liqueur: This is a liqueur made with pears, distilled alcohol, water, and sugar, which are blended and infused to develop a delicate, fruit flavor.

Suze: This is a liqueur made in France with gentian root, herbs, botanicals, distilled alcohol, water, and sugar, which are blended and infused to develop a bitter, herbal flavor.

Pear Brandy: This is a spirit made with fermented pears and yeast, which are distilled and then aged to develop a delicate, fruit flavor.

Lemon Twist: This is the peel of a lemon that has been twisted into a corkscrew shape.

Bartending Tools

To make this cocktail, you’ll need the following bar tools:

Jigger: This is used to measure and pour ingredients. I used the Japanese jigger from the A Bar Above 14-Piece Silver Bar Set.

Boston Shaker: This is used to shake ingredients. I used the Boston shaker from the A Bar Above 14-Piece Silver Bar Set.

Hawthorne Strainer: This is used to strain out ice and solid ingredients after the cocktail is shaken. I used the A Bar Above Hawthorne Strainer.

Peeler: This is used to remove the garnish peel from the citrus. I used the OXO Good Grips 2-Piece Peeler Set.

Tasting Notes

This cocktail has the following flavor profile:

• Appearance: Alluring yellow color

• Aroma: Lemon and herbs

• Taste: Herbaceous wine flavor with sweet pear notes

• Finish: Citrus and bitter liqueur

Kendall’s Take: “I really thought I had come across a Suze cocktail I would enjoy when I found this one, but alas, I still couldn’t drink more than a sip of the Golden Chrysanthemum because the Suze was so aggressive. I expected the sparkling wine to temper the bitter liqueur a lot more than it did like it does the gin in a French 75, but its presence was still too prominent for my liking. It was interesting but ultimately a ‘no’ for me.”

Recipe

This cocktail recipe was found in Saveur magazine.