Love & Murder

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Cocktail History

The Love & Murder is a modern cocktail that was created by bartender Nick Bennett at Porchlight in New York City, New York. It uniquely combines Campari and Green Chartreuse, which are two of the most divisive liqueurs in the world, as the base in equal parts, and it pairs them with sour citrus, simple syrup, and salt to create a savory and sweet recipe. Although it could be interpreted as a nod to the ingredients, the drink was named for the broadway play The Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder because Bennett knew the Broadway actors who frequent the bar would enjoy the reference.

Cocktail Ingredients

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

Campari: This is a liqueur made in Italy with gentian root, rhubarb, citrus, herbs, aromatic plants, fruit, and alcohol. For a mocktail version of this drink, try Giffard Non-Alcoholic Bitter Syrup in place of the bitter liqueur.

Green Chartreuse: This is a liqueur made in France with over a hundred herbs and plants, spices, sugar, and alcohol. For a mocktail version of this drink, try winter herb syrup in place of the Green Chartreuse.

Lime: This is the liquid juice of a lime. We used freshly squeezed lime juice.

Simple Syrup: This is a sweetener made with white sugar and water. We made ours at home using Alex’s stovetop recipe.

Saline Solution: This is a solution made with five to one kosher salt and water.

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.

Juicer: This is used to juice citrus. We used the ALEEHAI Manual Fruit Juicer.

Tasting Notes

The Love & Murder features herbal Chartreuse aromas and has a taste that marries Campari’s sweet orange notes, Chartreuse’s herbal blend, and lime, and it leaves a lingering bitter note on the swallow.

Our Opinion of This Cocktail Recipe: This recipe really is difficult to describe, but both of the starring liqueurs play their own distinct parts well in the overall experience. We might recommend toning down the sugar if you’ve got a drier palate, but we both thought the Love & Murder was excellent and worth making again and again.

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.

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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.

Take Our Quiz →

Alex’s Take: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
“This fairly basic sour riff was really tasty and unique, with its two fairly questionable liqueurs facing off in equal parts. Its combination of Campari’s bitter orange notes with the Chartreuse’s earthy blend made for a really interesting match. The Chartreuse definitely dominates in the beginning, and the Campari lingers long after the rest. My only suggestion would be to taper your amount of simple syrup down a bit because both liqueurs are already plenty sweet, and so much syrup made the whole thing a bit of a sugar bomb.”

Kendall’s Take: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
“I never, ever thought I’d be using the words ‘Campari’ and ‘overly sugary’ in the same sentence, but here we are. I was intrigued the first time I came across the Love & Murder because I had no clue what to expect of a Campari and Green Chartreuse drink. Since Alex already loves both and because I wanted us to try something more serious alongside a few other kitschy Valentine’s Day cocktails, I added it to our calendar, and I’m quite glad we made it. It’s bizarre how sweet the drink ends up being given the bitterness of the Italian liqueur, but it’s still quite tasty. I’m in agreement with Alex in that I don’t know if I’d make it with these exact specifications again, but it’s worth trying as a starting point.”

Recipe

This cocktail recipe was adapted from Liquor, an online beverage publication.

AuthorLiquor.com

Yields1 ServingPrep Time5 mins

Ingredients
 1 oz Campari
 1 oz Green Chartreuse
 1 oz Lime Juice
 4 drops Saline Solution

Method
1

Add Campari, Green Chartreuse, lime juice, simple syrup, saline solution, and cubed ice to a shaker.

2

Shake for 10-20 seconds.

3

Strain into a cocktail glass.

Ingredients

Ingredients
 1 oz Campari
 1 oz Green Chartreuse
 1 oz Lime Juice
 4 drops Saline Solution

Directions

Method
1

Add Campari, Green Chartreuse, lime juice, simple syrup, saline solution, and cubed ice to a shaker.

2

Shake for 10-20 seconds.

3

Strain into a cocktail glass.

Love & Murder

Make It a Mocktail: Use Giffard Non-Alcoholic Bitter Syrup in place of the bitter liqueur and winter herb syrup in place of the Green Chartreuse to try a booze-free version of this drink.

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More Campari Cocktails

If you like this cocktail recipe, here are a few others we’ve tried that you may enjoy:

Negroni Sbagliato Cocktail Recipe

Negroni Sbagliato: A sparkling wine cocktail made with Campari, sweet vermouth, and an orange twist

Old Pal Cocktail Recipe

Old Pal: A whiskey cocktail made with dry vermouth, Campari, and an orange twist

Garibaldi Cocktail Recipe

Garibaldi: A Campari cocktail made with orange juice and an orange slice

Jungle Bird Cocktail Recipe

Jungle Bird: A rum cocktail made with Campari, lime juice, simple syrup, pineapple juice, and a lime wheel

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