Name: Harvest Moon (PDT's recipe)
Total time: 2 min
Cuisine: Cocktail
Ingredients: 45 ml Rye whiskey 50% abv; 30 ml Aromatized wine; 15 ml Calvados apple brandy; 7.5 ml Chartreuse Green; 3 dash Abbott's bitters

Ingredients

1 1/2 fl oz

Straight rye whiskey (100 proof /50% alc./vol.)

1 fl oz

Aromatized wine (e.g. Lillet Blanc)

1/2 fl oz

Calvados / apple brandy / straight applejack

1/4 fl oz

Green Chartreuse (or alternative herbal liqueur)

3 dash

Bob's Abbotts bitters

How to make

Glassware

Prepare

Select and pre-chill an OLD-FASHIONED GLASS.

Prepare garnish of coin-shaped and sized orange zest twist.

Method

STIR all ingredients with ice.

STRAIN into ice-filled glass.

Garnish

EXPRESS orange zest twist over the cocktail and use as garnish.

Flavour Profile

No alcohol

Medium

Boozy

Sweet

Medium

Dry/sour

Health & Nutrition

Nutrition:

One serving of Harvest Moon (PDT's recipe) contains 205 calories

Alcohol content:

2.2 standard drinks
30.63% alc./vol. (61.26° proof)
30.2 grams of pure alcohol

History

Created in 2007 by Daniel Eun at PDT, New York City, USA. Daniels' original recipe, as recounted in Jim Meehan's 2001 The PDT Cocktail Book, uses Wild Turkey rye whiskey and calls for the drink to be served straight-up in a coupe rather than on-the-rocks. However, we prefer this with the added dilution from serving over ice. In the book, Jim writes, "This drink looks like the sky during the harvest moon – when reddish-orange moon (the orange twist) rises after sunset."

Review

Stirred down and boozy – very boozy, especially when made with bonded rye and applejack (as per the original recipe) rather than the comparatively subdued calvados used here. However, the cocktail's apple notes, coupled with the subtle herbal complexity of Chartreuse, combine wonderfully in this potent rye whiskey-based after-dinner sipper.

Comments & Discussion

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Marie-Therese Straus Commenter Appreciated Commenter 9 months ago

Boozy but sophisticated and complex cocktail. We swapped out the Calvados with a bottled in bond applejack and upped the Green Chartreuse just a bit (about an extra bar spoon per drink). Served over a big ice cube, this was a lovely sipper with big spice flavours.

Andy Parnell-Hopkinson Commenter Appreciated Commenter 10 months ago

One of the best things about autumn.

Daniel Jones Commenter Appreciated Commenter 1 year ago

I really enjoyed this cocktail, although half way through I removed the ice chunk because it began to lose the complex rich flavors due to dilution. I saw this recipe on another site that uses 1/2oz Green Chartreuse so I split the difference and did about a 1/3oz. I love these cocktails that use 1/2oz or less of Green Chartreuse, because it blends with the other ingredients compared to dominating the flavor profile like in a Last Word, which I do enjoy but don't make often.

Lynn Garvie Commenter Appreciated Commenter 1 year ago

Are the Abbots bitters essential here? Is there a good alternative? I like the sound of this and would like to try it, but I don't have Abbots bitters. (Harvest Moon Cocktail)

Simon Difford Verified User Premium Member Commenter Appreciated Commenter 1 year ago

When considering alternative bitters, Abbotts have a Christmasy herb spice-like flavour. Avoid citrusy bitters in favour of herbal/spice.

John Hinojos Premium Member Commenter Appreciated Commenter 5 years ago

Made this using bonded rye and applejack. At 100 proof each, it was a perfect mix. Great balance with a hint of the apple and the Chartreuse. It was just want I was looking for after a wonderful French dinner.

John Hinojos Premium Member Commenter Appreciated Commenter 5 years ago

I did serve over a block of ice, but it will not last long enough to dilute too much. Would consider serving as originally done with no ice and a longer stir.

Steven Schulman 5 years ago

Maybe a bit more rye - I might bump it up to 2 parts rather than 1.5

Geoff B. Commenter Appreciated Commenter 5 years ago

A fall cocktail with some nice botanicals. Definitely boozy and would recommend over ice as noted. I like the proportions noted and nicely allows each ingredient to play a part.

David M. Premium Member Commenter Appreciated Commenter 5 years ago

I enjoyed picking out the Calvados and Chartreuse flavors. But overall, despite the “very boozy” classification, the flavors were a bit too mild for me this evening.