Hula’s speakeasy features a line of cocktails from both green and yellow chartreuse.

Imagine your neighbors have a thing for chartreuse.

Well, they do—if you happen to be in Hula’s Island Grill. Next Door, the restaurant’s dim and narrow speakeasy, offers seven cocktails based on the French liqueur prepared for a few thousand years by Carthusian monks.

The concoctions share an elegance and complexity that causes one to linger over the glass, for it would be a shame to let them slip by without pause. For example, Loose Lingo features yellow chartreuse with rye whiskey, amaro, citrus and a splash of benedictine. The result is tropical, with a deep grassy background and wafts of bittersweet haze. Yet it is also floral, with a fresh spicy note, the even fruit making it easy on the palate. On the other hand, Ultima Palabra—green chartreuse, both tequila and mezcal, as well as lavender bitters and lime—envelops the palate in a fragrant smokiness. Rich, dark fruit drifts around the edges.

Chartreuse can bring a lot to a cocktail. After all, monks use some 130 botanicals to create the liqueur. Green chartreuse is notable for its potent, bittersweet herbal savor and fresh citrus. Yellow is more floral, with a spicy sensation. In Dry Topics, yellow chartreuse resonates with the herbaceousness of gin, allowing a vanilla-scented cured cherry to seep over the palate. Vermouth lends a raspy finish.

Next Door is bringing a venerable liqueur back into the cocktail conversation. But one more color is important: Look for the red light. 

Next Door is next to Hula’s, 622 Lighthouse Ave., Monterey. instagram.com@next_door_monterey.