HAVE YOU EVER been sitting at a bar and noticed a really cool looking bottle that you’d never seen before?  Have you ever wanted to ask the bartender what it was, but were afraid that he’d look down his nose at you with disdain?  I know bartenders who would do that, so I don’t blame you for not asking.  Fear not.  Now you can ask me.  I had planned on starting this series a few months ago, but I never did, so today I’ll kick it off with an unusual looking bottle with a delightful liqueur inside called St-Germain.

St-Germain is an award winning liqueur made from the freshly handpicked flowers of Sambucus nigra – known as elderflower.  These wild blossoms grow in the foothills of the Alps and are very delicate.  In order to gather enough of the flowers during the 2-3 week window of blossoming, French farmers use specially rigged bicycles to deliver the elderflower blossoms to local depots.  Once picked, these fragile flowers are very short-lived.  Within a matter of a few days, they lose their delicate flavor and fragrance.

Freshness is the key to making St-Germain.  Most liqueurs made with elderflower are syrupy and non-alcoholic because they are extracted from freeze dried or frozen flowers.  Some refer to these beverages as cordials.  They are insanely sweet and very inconsistent.  Another difficulty with making liqueurs with elderflower is that traditional maceration processes yield very little flavor and other customary processes for extracting the nectar, such as pressing, cause the resulting liquid to taste bitter.

In order to create St-Germain, a new method of extracting the essence of the elderflower had to be invented.  Sadly, this method is a closely guarded family secret, so we may never know how it’s actually done.  Once extracted, the elderflower maceration is combined with eau-de-vie using an alembic still.  The next step is to blend the resulting spirit with a hint of citrus and a little sugar cane to enhance the elderflower blossoms’ natural flavor.  The finished product has a clean floral nose with hints of grapefruit zest, pear, and peach.  There are also notes of the fresh flavor of the elderflower which should remind you of honeysuckle.

St-Germain is very delicious by itself.  I like it chilled.  However, there are several cocktails that have this sweet liqueur as an ingredient.  My favorite is called The St-Rita.  It consists of 1 1/2 shots of Tequila Blanco, 1 1/2 shots of St-Germain, and 1/2-1/4 shot of freshly squeezed lime juice.  To make it, add all of the ingredients to a shaker along with ice.  Shake well and strain into a glass filled with ice.  A salted rim is optional.  Another option is to strain the mixture into a martini glass.

I’ve also created a drink with St-Germain as an ingredient.  If you’ve paid attention to my posts, you know that I always name my drinks after friends, but since I like to keep my friends anonymous in my posts, I’llcall my new drink The Summer Girl Cocktail.  The drink consists of 1 1/2 shots of St-Germain, 1 1/2 shots of Blue Curacao, and at least 4 ounces of Champagne.  To make it, add the St-Germain and Blue Curacao to a champagne flute.  Then top it off with the champagne.  Garnish the flute with an orange wedge.  It’s a very refreshing alternative to the Sunday morning mimosa.

So there you have it — a short, but sweet description of the mysterious bottle behind the bar.  I hope to continue revealing the secrets of the bottles from time to time.  Hopefully, I’ll cover the bottles that are of interest to you.