St. Germain Elderflower Liqueur
For many years now, elderflower syrup has been a somewhat common ingredient for a variety of cocktails. At least in Europe, and specifically in London. I’ll often get calls or e-mail from some bar here in the states asking where they can get elderflower syrup for some cocktail they want to add to their menu. The recipe is always one that they’ve gotten from England or France.
While it is possible to find elderflower syrup here in the states, it isn’t easy, and I’m not quite sure why. You’d think that if there was a flavor which was a well-known ingredient in England, that it would be relatively easy to find here. I mean after all, I can usually find a jar of Marmite without looking too hard, so why not Elderflower?
Fortunately this issue will soon be all but forgotten. A new product is currently making its way into our markets which will not only solve the problem but do it with style.
St. Germain, is a brand new product which I think will quickly make dramatic inroads into the more passionate and stately bars across the country. It’s subtle but impressive flavor is one that hints at both floral as well as ever so slightly fruity notes, with a delicacy that can be easily overpowered if used improperly. You can think of it as sort of a floral peer to the orange flavored Cointreau, and I expect that in many cases one can be substituted for the other in many drinks, although the results will be noticeably a brand new drink. Like Cointreau, St. Germain is also quite delightful taken simply by itself.
It was at the recent London Bar Show that I was able to first sample this product. I was not only notably impressed with the product itself, but as you can see in the image here, the bottling is also equally stunning. Prices across America of course vary based on the different laws, taxes, red-tape, and loopholes which are encountered, but the price point for St. Germain Elderflower Liqueur should be just a dollar or two above Cointreau, which I feel is the right place for it to be.
On their website you can of course find a short list of recipes using their product. I naturally had to make my own attempt at coming up with something a little on the unique side. While still recovering from a cold that I picked up sometime during my London visit, I think I’ve come up with a cocktail which provides an interesting combination of flavors… we’ll see if I think the same thing about it in a few days when my taster is fully operational.
Elderthorn
- 1 oz cognac (or brandy)
- 1/2 oz St. Germain Elderflower Liqueur
- 1/2 oz Cynar
Stir with ice, strain into a cocktail glass.
Robert, thanks for this. We have a bottle, but so far the drinks we’ve made using the St-Germain booklet have been too sweet. We made champagne cocktails (sans sugar) using St-Germain as flavoring, and that was nice. But the Elderthorn seems like a better use of such an interesting flavor.