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Cocktail History
The Golden Chrysanthemum is a modern 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 carbonated wine made with white or red grapes. We used La Marca Prosecco because it has a crisp and refreshing taste with floral notes. For a low-proof version of this drink, try Gruvi Non-Alcoholic Prosecco in place of the sparkling wine.
Pear Liqueur: This is a liqueur made with Bartlett pears, quince, sugar, and alcohol. We used Maison Ferrand Mathilde Poire Liqueur because it has a rich fruit flavor. For a low-proof version of this drink, try Monin Premium Pear Syrup in place of the pear liqueur.
Suze: This is an apéritif made in France with gentian root, citrus, herbs, and alcohol.
Pear Brandy: This is a type of brandy made with Bartlett pears and sparkling wine yeast. We used St. George Pear Brandy because it has a crisp pear flavor and notes of black pepper. For a low-proof version of this drink, try Escape Mocktails Non-Alcoholic Cognac Alternative in place of the brandy.
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. We used the Japanese jigger from the A Bar Above 14-Piece Silver Bar Set.
Boston Shaker: This is used to shake ingredients. We 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. We used the A Bar Above Hawthorne Strainer.
Peeler: This is used to remove the garnish peel from the citrus. We used the OXO Good Grips 2-Piece Peeler Set.
Tasting Notes
The Golden Chrysanthemum features lemon and herbal aromas and a mostly herbaceous taste that combines the effervescence and slight sweetness of sparkling wine, the pleasant flavors of sweet pear, and the herbal and bitter Suze.
Our Opinion of This Cocktail Recipe: While the drink is overall fairly sweet, the backing of the bitter yellow liqueur adds a unique complexity that takes this a step further than your typical sparkling wine cocktail. Though Kendall felt the addition of the Suze was still much too bitter despite the balance of sweet ingredients, Alex loved this recipe! Its unique flavors and aromas set the Golden Chrysanthemum so far apart from any other sparkling cocktails we’ve tried.
Which of our palates is yours most like?
Find out if your palate is most similar to Alex’s or Kendall’s by answering five questions.
Which of our palates is yours most like?
Find out if your palate is most similar to Alex’s or Kendall’s by answering five questions.
Alex’s Take: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
“While I find most sparkling wine cocktails to taste more or less the same, this drink is one of the outliers. Thanks to the herbal, bitter Suze, this one tastes like its accenting flavors rather than just the sparkling wine. The pear liqueur also adds a fruity sweetness to balance out the deep bitterness, making for a well-balanced cocktail with an effervescent twist that I found went down fairly easily but not too quickly.”—
Kendall’s Take: ⭐
“I really thought we had come across a Suze cocktail I would enjoy when I added this one to our calendar, 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, but its presence was still too prominent for my liking. It was interesting but ultimately a ‘no’ for me.”
Recipe
This cocktail recipe was adapted from a 2015 issue of Saveur magazine.
Add pear liqueur, Suze, pear brandy, and cubed ice to a shaker.
Shake for 10-20 seconds.
Strain into a cocktail glass.
Top with sparkling wine.
Garnish with lemon peel.
Ingredients
Directions
Add pear liqueur, Suze, pear brandy, and cubed ice to a shaker.
Shake for 10-20 seconds.
Strain into a cocktail glass.
Top with sparkling wine.
Garnish with lemon peel.
Make It a Mocktail: Use Gruvi Non-Alcoholic Prosecco in place of the sparkling wine, Monin Premium Pear Syrup in place of the pear liqueur, and Escape Mocktails Non-Alcoholic Cognac Alternative in place of the brandy to try a low-proof version of this drink.
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More Sparkling Wine Cocktails
If you like this sparkling wine-based cocktail recipe, here are a few others we’ve tried that you may enjoy:
Nucleus Mimosa: A sparkling wine cocktail made with orange juice, cranberry juice, and a lime slice
Pomegranate Gin Fizz: A gin cocktail made with grenadine, sparkling wine, pomegranate seeds, and a Demerara sugar cube
Mountaintop Meadow: A vodka cocktail made with elderflower liqueur, simple syrup, lavender bitters, dry sparkling wine, a pineapple wedge, and mint
Minute To Midnight: A brandy cocktail made with pear liqueur, Angostura aromatic bitters, dry sparkling wine, and a lemon twist
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