:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc()/The-Best-Cocktails-to-Make-with-St-Germain-FT-BLOG0824-67b5d2515d104edc9233157caeeec174.jpg?w=1024&resize=1024,1024&ssl=1 "The 10 Best St-Germain Cocktails")
St-Germain, a French elderflower liqueur, has been the darling of the craft cocktail scene since its launch in 2007. The sweet and floral liqueur is frequently referred to as “bartender’s ketchup” within the drinks industry based on its approachable flavor profile and easy-fix, duct tape capabilities in creating a crowd-pleasing cocktail.
The popular cocktail modifier was originally launched by New York City-based Cooper Spirits Company, led by the late Robert J. Cooper, heir to America’s oldest cordial producer, the Philadelphia-based Charles Jacquin et Cie.
Cooper was initially inspired by the elderflower liqueurs he had tried in Europe and when he brought the idea to his father, the product idea was supposedly rejected. Soon after leaving his family’s company in search of creating something of his own, the floral elixir in the sculptural Art Deco bottle hit the liquor shelves and back bars with a bang. Within a year, St-Germain was fully embraced by bartenders and a smash amongst consumers trying it for the first time.
The liqueur is named after Saint-Germain-des-Prés, the famed district in the 6th arrondissement of Paris, known for its cafe culture, and as a center for artistic and philosophical expressions.
What makes St-Germain work in cocktails
The flavor of elderflowers when made into an extract, syrup, or liqueur is uniquely floral, honey-like, and fruity with notes of lychee, pear, and sweet citrus.
St-Germain liqueur claims to have the essence of up to 1,000 fresh elderflowers, clusters of delicate white flowers from the elderflower tree, in each bottle. The flowers are hand-picked from the foothills of the French Alps and harvested in a short window of a few weeks in late spring. The result is a delicately sweet cordial with aromatics that range from slightly floral honeysuckle and rose to ripe peach and juicy grapefruit.
The liqueur is known for its versatility and can enhance and complement a variety of spirits from rich, perfumy gins, and earthy agave spirits to aged brown liquors. It is also a go-to spritz ingredient alongside sparkling wine and soda.
If you’re looking for ways to use St-Germain in a cocktail, we’ve selected some of our current favorites. Here are 10 of the best cocktails to make with St-Germain elderflower liqueur.
Photographer: Jen Causey, Food Stylist: Emily Nabors Hall, Prop Stylist: Claire Spollen
Currently very in vogue, the Hugo Spritz was created in Northern Italy in 2005. Combining St-Germain liqueur with Prosecco, seltzer, and a large bouquet of mint sprigs for garnish, the drink was originally made with lemon balm cordial instead of elderflower liqueur and called the Otto. With the name change came the tweak in ingredients and the rest is history.
This refreshing and floral cocktail has had a recent boost in popularity due to the rumor that it is one of Taylor Swift’s current favorites. The French Blonde features Lillet Blanc, a generous amount of freshly squeezed grapefruit juice, gin, elderflower liqueur, and a few dashes of lemon bitters for extra zest.
Matt Taylor-Gross / Food Styling by Lucy Simon / Props from HAY
Pisco, St-Germain, freshly squeezed lime juice, and lychee syrup from canned lychee combine to create this easy-drinking refresher. What makes this cocktail stand out is that it’s served over ginger beer ice cubes that, as they slowly melt, contribute to the drink with rich ginger spice and a sweet kick.
Frederick Hardy II / Food Styling by Margaret Monroe Dickey / Prop Styling by Christine Keely
This riff on a Whiskey Sour is sweet, tart, complex and frothy. The Arigato Sour is made with Japanese whisky, elderflower liqueur, the juice from kabosu — a small, citrus fruit similar to yuzu — plum gin liqueur, simple syrup, and egg white for a frothy, foamed top. Lime or yuzu can be subbed in the place of kabosu if it cannot be sourced.
Matt Taylor-Gross / Food Styling by Lucy Simon
This ruby red spritz from Los Angeles’ Motherwolf restaurant calls for St-Germain elderflower liqueur alongside bittersweet Sirene aperitivo, a red aperitif similar to Campari, and is topped with bubbly Prosecco.
This delicate Sangria from veteran bartender Lynnette Marrero has a base of tropical-fruit-inflected Sauvignon Blanc, with St-Germain elderflower liqueur and Cointreau. Strawberries, raspberries, peaches, oranges, and a pound of green and red grapes make up the fruit in this elegant Sangria punch.
Frederick Hardy II / Food Styling by Emily Nabors Hall / Prop Styling by Risha Carnes
This batched cocktail is a cross between a Negroni and a Spritz. Equal parts Campari, elderflower liqueur, and gin get an additional floral boost from orange blossom water. The drink is then topped off with dry sparkling wine and grapefruit slices for garnish.
Frederick Hardy II / Food Styling by Emily Nabors Hall / Prop Styling by Christina Daley
Clementine juice combines with smoky mezcal, elderflower liqueur, and sweet fizzy orange soda in this fruity punch. This large-batch cocktail gets an aromatic boost from Peychaud’s bitters and sliced tangerines, fresh kumquats, whole cloves, whole star anise, and fresh sage leaves are added as garnish, making this a perfect end-of-summer to fall cocktail for a crowd.
Greg Dupree / Food Styling by Emily Nabors Hall / Prop Styling by Christina Daley
This mezcal-based spritz, also made to serve a crowd, is sweet, smoky, and slightly spicy. Coconut water, dry vermouth, ginger syrup, mezcal, elderflower liqueur, sweet vermouth and brut Champagne combine together to create the Yax Cha, named after the Mayan word for mamey, a fruit that grows on the zapote tree in Mexico.
This herbaceous cocktail was created around Utah-based Waterpocket Distillery’s Long Lost Minthe, an unsweetened peppermint liquor with fresh mint and citrus notes. Grapefruit juice, elderflower liqueur, and fresh lime juice round out this aromatic sipper. A variety of botanical-forward spirits can be substituted for this hard-to-find spirit, including Fernet-Branca Menta and Dolin Genepy Le Chamois Liqueur.
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