Love and Murder

The Love and Murder is a pretty unusual cocktail. Skipping many of the usual base spirits such as Whiskey, Gin, or Vodka, the Love and Murder chooses to feature both Campari and Green Chartreuse, two spirits usually used as modifiers to their base spirits.

This cocktail is a relatively modern invention coming out of the New York bar Porchlight. Even though it's a newer recipe, it still feels like it's been around for awhile. Both Campari and Chartreuse are old school ingredients that we see in so many classic. As is the Lime Juice and ample amount of Simple Syrup to sweeten things up, especially against all that Campari.

Even more unusual, the recipe calls for a few drops of Salt Water. It's only a little bit. So little that you probably won't even taste it. But like putting salt on food, it's not about the taste of the salt, it's about adding more to the flavours that are already there.

Total Time 3

Servings 1 cocktail

Ingredients

30 mL Campari
30 mL Green Chartreuse
30 mL Lime Juice
20 mL Simple Syrup*
4 drops Salt Water 5:1 water to salt ratio

Instructions

Shake all ingredients in a cocktail shaker with ice until the drink is well chilled.
Strain into a Coupe glass.
Serve and enjoy.

Notes

Here's our recipe for Simple Syrup if you need it.

A Bit More About the Love and Murder Cocktail

This is weird one. Beyond the name, which implies there’s some sort of story here, the cocktail mixes together some fairly extreme flavours. Campari is quite bitter, Chartreuse a little sweet but more herbal. Then you get sour from the Lime Juice. It’s not until the Simple Syrup is introduced that we start to see some balance. However, you’ll be surprised at how all the ingredients and flavours actually do balance out. But that’s the skill of a good cocktail inventor at work!

Don’t be shy or put by the strange combination of ingredients in this cocktail recipe. Perhaps you’ll be pleasantly surprised!

Is it possible to make more than one cocktail at the same time?

For the Love and Murder, you should be OK to shake up multiple cocktails at once, just don’t try to make too many at once. The key to shaking a cocktail is to make sure things are actually mixed and chilled. If there’s not enough room in your shaker, you can’t do that.

If I make a Love and Murder, can I drink or serve it later?

That should be fine, just not too much later. A freshly shaken cocktail, especially with a citrus juice, has a different consistency to one that’s been sitting awhile. Feel free to leave this cocktail in the fridge for a bit if you’re not going to drink it right away, but don’t leave it too long!

When is a good time to try a Love and Murder?

Well, it’s always good to fall in love! Murder on the other hand… Poor jokes aside, according to the inventor of the cocktail, he named it after a play call The Genleman’s Guide to Love and Murder, which kind of suits cocktails in general. Cocktails are very sophisticated and can sometimes imply some intrigue and scandal.

Cocktails like this are often very nice to enjoy in a bar or at a cocktail party. They’re really just designed to be enjoyed, rather than given a specific occasion for. Since the Love and Murder has some connection to the theatre, we see it as a good pre-theatre cocktail. Perhaps you’re out in the big city, ready to see the new and popular play or musical. You stop into a bar near the theatre for a drink before the show, and you order a Love and Murder. It works!

Is the Love and Murder a strong cocktail?

Actually, it weighs in as about the same strength as many other standard cocktails, so we’ll put it at average. While Chartreuse has a pretty high alcohol level around 55% alcohol by volume, Campari is actually on the lower side, coming in at 24% alcohol by volume. This averages out to about 40% alcohol, so you’re looking at a similar average ABV as, say, Whiskey or Gin. And if you look at other cocktail recipes on this website, you’ll notice more than a few of them use similar measures of those spirits. This is why we say the Love and Murder is about average in strength. Talk about balancing things out!

What kind of music goes with the Love and Murder?

This is actually a pretty easy one. We’ll stay with the theatrical roots of this recipe (the name at least) and say the drink should go with Musical Theatre. Just like we suggested having one of these at a bar before attending the theatre, perhaps, after enjoying a great show, you can go back to the very same bar and have one of these again! If it’s a bar at or near the theatre, maybe they’re playing the score from the show you just saw!