Launching a Modern Classic: The Love & Murder Cocktail

Have you tried it yet?

About three and a half years ago, I saw on social media that a new cocktail was on offer at Porchlight, a bar in New York City, which at the time was overseen by Nick Bennett as bar director.

From Nick’s post, it seemed the drink was a sour of sorts made with a split base of Campari and green Chartreuse, two of the most intense and polarizing flavors in the drinks world—and two of my favorites.

But the two liqueurs aren’t often found together in the same glass. Either one can render a cocktail spiky and unbalanced if used injudiciously; using them in combination as a cocktail’s backbone sounded potentially disastrous. How on earth would that pair of bullies play together? Wouldn’t they clash? “It feels like it shouldn’t work, but it really does!” Nick assured in his Instagram post. I was skeptical, but intensely curious; I vowed to stop into Porchlight soon to try it myself.

And I did, a few weeks afterward. I instantly fell in love.

It’s a strange drink, to be sure, and no less polarizing than either of its key components. (But even if you’re not a fan of either one, you’ll likely still find this drink oddly compelling.) I notice that the Chartreuse makes itself known first, herbaceous and sharp, followed a moment later by the Campari’s bitter uppercut, a one-two punch of flavors that finds me rapidly taking sip after sip as I try to figure out the interplay between them.

They’re bridged by lime juice and tamed a bit by a few drops of saline solution, which enhances sweet flavors and balances bitterness. (The use of saline is a trademark of bartenders who’ve worked with cocktail mad scientist Dave Arnold, which Nick did as head bartender at the now-closed Booker & Dax.)

The liqueurs’ different ABVs (green Chartreuse clocks in at a sky-high 55%, while Campari is a relatively gentle 24%) even each other out, resulting in a drink about the same strength as, say, a daiquiri or any other standard sour-format cocktail.

It’s a familiar-enough format, but trust me, you almost certainly haven’t experienced this combination of flavors before.

Shortly after that Porchlight visit, I sent Nick a message. “I love your Love & Murder cocktail; to me it feels like a potential true modern classic. Would you be willing to share the spec for publication?”

He did, adding, “What I wanted was a cocktail that felt classic. The combination of Campari and green Chartreuse was something that I hadn’t come across enough and (surprisingly) never as the main ingredients. I was overjoyed that it turned out as good as it did, because on paper it doesn’t seem like it should work.” I put the recipe on the popular drinks website I helmed at the time.

It quickly spread. Within just a few weeks, the recipe showed up on the Difford’s Guide site, and soon it was on a zillion different drinks blogs as well.

According to various posters on Reddit (where dozens of users have posted the recipe on the r/cocktails sub), it has appeared on the menus at a number of bars across the country. An uncountable number of videos of home bartenders making the drink have reached me through the usual social media avenues; the cocktail pops up on my Explore tab with surprising frequency.

I cheer it on every time.

In the past few weeks, these instances have surged significantly. It seems the drink is currently undergoing another small explosion in popularity.

A few days ago, a cocktail-knowledgeable friend (hi, Rob!) messaged me about the drink; he’d found the recipe online and had noticed my byline. I was surprised it had made its way to someone I know. “What an amazing and awful cocktail,” he wrote, confessing that he’s not a fan of Campari and initially found the drink’s finish much too bitter but had forged a truce with it by the time he finished the cocktail. (Like I said, it’s a polarizing drink.) He plans to serve it at a Valentine’s Day party this weekend, where I’m sure it will find even more fans.

I happened to run into Nick just last night and mentioned the Love and Murder’s recent popularity surge to him; he’s noticed it as well. I asked if he had any idea why. “I have no idea!” he exclaimed, laughing. He’s as surprised as anyone: He had thought, he told me, that it would just be on the menu at Porchlight for a season or two. It’s still on there, nearly four years later.

Will it eventually prove to be the next Naked & Famous? Possibly! The makings are there: The drink is familiar in form (not much different from a daiquiri, really) but distinctive in flavor; it’s easy enough for the average home bartender to make (and they likely have all the ingredients on hand), yet not so simple you feel like a fool ordering it at a bar. And it’s easy enough for an average cocktail bartender to whip up upon request, assuming they know the spec.

Give it a try yourself and let me—or the internet at large—know what you think.

Love and Murder

As created by Nick Bennett at Porchlight, New York City

1 ounce Campari
1 ounce green Chartreuse
1 ounce lime juice, freshly squeezed
¾ ounce simple syrup (1:1 water to granulated sugar)
4 drops saline solution (5:1 water to kosher salt)

Add all ingredients into a shaker with ice and shake until well-chilled. Strain into a chilled coupe glass. (No garnish.)