Sunday, September 23, 2007
Food, Wine, Beer & Spirits

You don't send me elderflowers

St. Germain liqueur unveiled

Cocktailing just gained a sexy new madam with St. Germain. CREDIT: Courtesy of St. Germain

Lillet Blanc lovers will know what to do. For the rest of you, here’s some recommended mixing: St. Germain and Champagne St. Germain and soda French 77 1 part St. Germain ¼ part fresh squeezed lemon juice Top with Champagne and garnish with a twist The St. Germain Cocktail 2 oz Sauvignon Blanc 2 oz St. Germain Top with soda and garnish with an orange slice

By Jason Tesauro and Phineas Mollod

In 1975’s classic film “Monty Python and the Holy Grail,” later transformed into Broadway’s “Spamalot,” King Arthur and his knights go off on a jolly search for you-know-what. Few conventions are left unskewered as the satire boils over, ridiculing the romanticized image of King Arthur’s chivalrous world and its treatment of serfs and villagers, and of course, taking the opportunity to offer a taste of Anglo-French repartee. In one drastically over-quoted scene, a French castle guard berates Sir Galahad:

French Guard: “Your mother was a hamster and your father smelt of elderberries!”
Sir Galahad: “Is there someone else up there we could talk to?”
French Guard: “No, now go away or I shall taunt you a second time—eh!”

Until now, the smell of elderberries brought to mind the above. But with the release of St. Germain, a gorgeous liqueur made from French elderflowers macerated in eau-de-vie, cocktailing just gained a sexy new madam. Each bottle is vintage dated and individually numbered, reflecting the small harvest of starry white umbels freshly picked by bohemien farmers and bicycled to a distillery in the Alps. Pink grapefruit, passion fruit and lychee nut on the nose, and pure ecstasy on the tongue. Truth be told, from package to palate, this spirit is nearly flawless. However, while the distillers solved the sweetness by using cane sugar instead of cloying substitutes, when mixed into cocktails or with white/sparkling wine—as St. Germain is intended—the potency is diluted to but a Porto-strength 20 percent ABV (alcohol by volume). This is great news if you’d like to slug back a slew of them, but expect to run through a bottle a night if you’re entertaining more than four thirsty adults. To mitigate the pedestrian ABV and put designated drivers back to work, we recommend our original cocktail, which adds back a few liver-streaking percentage points:

The Elder Monk
1 part St. Germain
1 part Green Chartreuse
Top with club soda.
Garnish with citrus rind and a moment of silence.

After a snortful, we caught up with third-generation distiller Robert Cooper, head of Cooper Spirits International and creator of St. Germain.

Q Elderflowers are an intriguing choice for a primary ingredient. Does St. Germain represent the revival of a classic cocktail botanical, or a wild experiment?

A Elderflower is a traditional health tonic used in the Savoie region of France, where the flowers are harvested. There are several top bartenders who have been using elderflower cordials or syrup as a secret and delicious ingredient for years. I fell in love with the taste eight years ago and embarked upon an arduous journey of creating a classic French-style liqueur made from fresh blossoms.

We both wished St. G had a little more potency. Given that it’s a spirit meant for mixing, was there ever a discussion about raising the ABV?

The ABV level is a function of creating a perfectly balanced liqueur with particular attention to the sugar content. The liqueur deliberately has a low sugar level (only 18 percent as compared to other liqueurs, which are typically north of 30 percent). The low sugar content allows for it to be consumed alone as a dessert liqueur, but most importantly allows for it to serve as a co-base to spirits in cocktail—co-base meaning consumers and bartenders can add a half ounce to a cocktail, and it will be perfectly balanced, whereas most liqueurs would be cloying and overly sweet.

Lastly, what do you drink when you're not drinking St. Germain?

I drink St. Germain in cocktails! The versatility of St. Germain mixing with virtually every spirit allows me to continue to discover new recipes. Mixologists love the product, so I have the luxury of being able to test new cocktails all the time. SP

Phineas and Jason are the authors of “The Modern Gentleman” and “The Modern Lover.” E-mail them at booze@sundaypaper.com.