House of Friends

Cocktail consultant Brian Van Flandern created this cocktail in honor of Casamigos creators and friends George Clooney and Rande Gerber. Think of the House of Friends as an herbaceous take on the classic Margarita, one that’s perfectly suited to any occasion or time of day, according to New York City bartender Faye Chen.

Chen, who co-owns Double Chicken Please in Manhattan’s Lower East Side neighborhood with fellow award-winning bar wiz GN Chan, shares some insight on what Yellow Chartreuse brings to this delightfully complex tequila cocktail. “Yellow Chartreuse is one of the ingredients that can act as boozy honey—it gives the drink a solid body with an herbaceous note,” she says. The use of Cointreau in place of triple sec generally translates to lending a bit more structure to the overall flavor profile, thanks to its slightly higher proof, and of course there are the delicate orange, floral and vanilla notes for which Cointreau is so well-known.

Pro tip: adding a pinch of sea salt to the drink itself (beyond just rimming the glass) before you shake can help to brighten and unify the drink’s citrus and floral qualities while also highlighting the tequila itself. Or, you can kick things up a notch, says Chen. [Using] a small pinch of flavored salt is always a nice trick—try vanilla salt, smoky salt or Mexican worm salt,” she shares.

Despite its name, you can just as easily enjoy this cocktail at home solo as much as you would surrounded by a group of friends. Either way, you’ll want to keep your ingredients and supplies at the ready, because there will inevitably be a second round.