Here's the gist:
Jordan’s Bijou was a straightforward blend of Sacred Gin, Chartreuse, sweet vermouth and a single dash of orange bitters, thoroughly stirred and served up in a delicate thin-walled coupe glass reminiscent of the antique glasses from the late 1800s. Beautiful, translucent golden and gleaming in the gentle curve of the glass, savory and complex, heady and potent and tantalizing with wafting botanicals, the Bijou was spirit-forward---how could it not be, when all the ingredients were spirit-based---seemingly simple but maddeningly complex (the botanical list alone, from the gin, the Chartreuse, the vermouth and the bitters would likely require a page of fine print), focused and powerful.
And so we’ve had another night
of poetry and poses
And each man knows he’ll be alone
when the sacred gin mill closes
Last Call – Dave Van Ronk
Jordan’s choice of Sacred Gin was inspired. Made in London by an artisanal small-batch microdistillery (literally located in the back of a private house), Sacred Gin is made through an expensive process of cold vacuum distillation rather than the standard heat distillation. This involves vacuum, dry ice and liquid nitrogen to extract and refine the alcohol. Both the base neutral spirits and the botanicals are distilled separately, then blended. The result is an extremely aromatic expression on a crisp and clean alcohol base. Sacred Gin lists their botanicals as the obligatory juniper, fresh orange, lemon and lime peel, cardamom, and the unusual Biblically-cited Frankincense, an aromatic resin collected from Arabian and African bushes and still used today in perfumes and oils. It married perfectly with the Chartreuse botanicals, harmonized with the slightly sweet and pungent vermouth, and was bound together by the addition of the dash of orange bitters.
Bijous may be adorned with a cherry or citrus peel, or even, I have heard, an olive; however, Jordan simply squeezed the oil from a lemon peel, rubbed it around the rim of the glass, and then discarded it, leaving the drink, clear and shimmering, for no garnish was needed to adorn this triple-jewel of a cocktail.
And here's the full thing: http://www.examiner.com/article/portland-bar-scene-classic-bijou-at-the-multnomah-whiskey-library
