St. Germain Elderflower Liqueur

As I am getting a little long in the tooth, I’ve had the opportunity to see many a great marvel in my lifetime. I’ve seen my TV go from black and white, to colour, to remote control, to digital, to high definition. I’ve gone from turning phone numbers on a dial, to pushing phone numbers on a pad, to saying a name into a tiny portable phone virtually anywhere in the world to contact virtually anyone, anywhere in the world. I’ve gone from travelling to the town library to get information, to browsing the internet at home, to browsing my phone in my pocket. And now I’ve seen an artisanal liqueur live up to its pre-release hype.

St Germain Elderflower Liqueur was released sometime this year to quite a bit of online hype. “Beautiful, art deco bottle!” “Complex, subtle flavours!!” “Made in an artisanal, carefully crafted, French manner!!!” ” Vintage bottling!!!!” “The perfect liqueur!!!!!” (I’ve now run out of exclamation points).

Well, I’ve just received my shipment of the stuff, and after searching thesaurus.com for the proper hyperbole, I’ve come up with: WOW!

As you can see by the picture I’ve taken, it is indeed a beautiful bottle (and two dimensions do not do it justice). Thick glass, beautiful shape and colors and over a foot tall, this package is majestic!

Looking at the label one can see that not only are the bottles individually numbered, but also dated, thereby making this a vintage release. The theory is that as they pick the elderflowers fresh and use them right away, different seasons will yield different crops, which will affect the final product. More on that later. On the back of the label, almost hidden, it says “Fresh, hand selected elderflowers impart a crisp mélange of flavors with hints of citrus and tropical fruits. Très curieux, n’est-ce pas?” Very curious, indeed.

The thing that blew me away (well ok, everything about this product blew me away) was not only was it beautiful, but it tasted great. Not overly sweet (for a liqueur) I got subtle flavors of lychee, peach and citrus: complex and not cloying. (The funny thing is that after tasting, I read the little booklet that comes with the bottle which states that it is “Neither peach nor pear, lychee nor citrus…”) In reality it is all those things, and reminded me a little of Giffard’s Litchi-li, only a more delicate, elegant version. This is a versatile liqueur, and its uses are limited only by one’s own imagination and skill. Obvious pairings are wine-based aperitifs/vermouths, gin, pisco, cachaca, tequila blanco, and sparkling wine.

As if all that wasn’t enough, I read further on to discover some of the methods used in the making of this spirit. First of all, the elderflowers are hand-picked in the Alps. They are then taken, by bicycle, to market, where they are purchased by the distillery. In a matter of days, all the elderflowers for a year’s supply of St Germain are picked, by hand, by 40 to 50 men! In this day and age of technology, I find such a feat incredulous at best. Nonetheless, let’s just say that no detail was overlooked in production of this fine liqueur. The only downside to all of this, is that it severely limits production. They are only able to produce a certain amount of the spirit each year, and that amount will be limited by how good the year’s crop is. Let’s pray for no brush fires, as I don’t know how I would react if I ran out of this fine product with no replacement in the near future in sight.

Below are a couple of recipes that I created upon receiving the bottle. Please get a bottle yourself and let me know what you think of my creations.

LA BICYCLETTE

1 ½ oz Plymouth gin
¾ oz sweet vermouth
¼ oz St. Germain
2 dashes peach bitters

place all into an iced mixing glass and stir
strain into a cocktail glass
garnish with a lemon twist

and….

L’AMOUR EN FUITE

1 ½ oz Plymouth gin
¾ oz Lillet
¼ oz St Germain
absinthe rinse

place all into an iced mixing glass and stir
strain into an absinthe-rinsed cocktail glass

Drinks and photo by:
Jamie Boudreau
www.vesselseattle.com

~ by Jamie Boudreau on June 13, 2007.