ENDANGERED COCKTAIL OF THE MONTH-THE NOME COCKTAIL

By Pink Lady
Warm weather is here, and while I enjoy drinking gin all year round, it’s especially refreshing to raise an ice-cold glass of gin in the warmer months. Our gardens are finally abloom, so why not stir up a drink with one of my most beloved herbal liqueurs: Chartreuse? The Nome Cocktail calls for Yellow Chartreuse, the golden-hued liqueur made by a silent order of Carthusian monks in the French Alps. I see Green Chartreuse used more widely in cocktails, but the yellow version deserves a spot on your bar cart as well. The drink is a variation on the Alaska Cocktail, which is believed to date back to the mid-1800s, when Chartreuse was first imported to the United States. The name of that cocktail is commonly attributed to its golden hue and is considered a nod to the gold discovered in our northernmost state. It is, more broadly, considered a martini riff and makes a lovely aperitif to enjoy before a light summer meal.

The Nome was created by David Embury and appears in his 1948 cocktail book The Fine Art of Mixing Drinks. As Embury noted in his recipe for the Alaska: “It can be greatly improved by using less Chartreuse and adding 1 to 2 parts dry sherry. This is the Nome.” Nome is the name of an Alaskan city where one of the largest gold rushes took place from 1899 to 1909.

Raise a glass to summer sipping with the Nome!

THE NOME COCKTAIL

2 ounces of London Dry gin
1/3 ounce of Yellow Chartreuse
2/3 ounce of Fino Sherry

Stir ingredients with ice.
Strain into a chilled cocktail glass.
Garnish with fresh mint leaf.

Cin-cin!