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St. Germain


Nathan

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While it's a completely different flavor profile, I've taken the approach of viewing St. Germain as a similar cocktail component as maraschino liqueur, and develop new ideas accordingly....

That said, I've been enjoying a few repeat experiments with St. Germain and rye, most notably --

2 oz rye (Rittenhouse)

1/2 oz St. Germain

dash orange bitters (Regan's)

dash lemon bitters (Bitter Truth)

2 oz rye (Rittenhouse)

1/2 oz St. Germain

tsp Campari

1 oz rye (Rittenhouse)

1 oz reposado tequila (El Tesoro)

1/2 oz St. Germain

Christopher

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Give a Whiskey Smash a try substituting St Germain for the sugar syrup. You may need to blend a little elderflower cordial in to get the sweetness just right, but I think this really kicks the drink up a notch. The perfume of the elderflower is a nice layer with the tang of the lemon and the leather of the rye. Enjoying my second of the evening and am seriously considering a third.

-Mike

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I don't have any of my bottle left. The label said it would be a nice addition to a gin and tonic. I added it to a gin and tonic, thought it was delicious, and drank nothing but elderflower gin and tonic until the bottle was gone. Certainly worth a try, in my view.

Catherine

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Spec's doesn't have it, so I doubt anyone in Texas will. You can order it from Astor Wines in New York, among a few other places. If you're ever up in Austin I can also pour you 200 ml or so -- along with some other stuff I picked up in New York.

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Spec's doesn't have it, so I doubt anyone in Texas will. You can order it from Astor Wines in New York, among a few other places. If you're ever up in Austin I can also pour you 200 ml or so -- along with some other stuff I picked up in New York.

Thanks, Kent; might be worth a drive to Austin :wink:

Am I remembering correctly that St. Germain is made and/or imported by the same guys who deal with Chambord? So theoretically it should be the same distributors as well, even if they aren't actually carrying it in a given state.

-Andy

Andy Arrington

Journeyman Drinksmith

Twitter--@LoneStarBarman

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Actually, Charles Jacquin et Cie sold off the Chambord brand to Brown-Foreman in 2006 for a substantial chunk of cash, so no connection there any longer.

Robert Cooper, whose family owns Jacquin et Cie, is involved in St. Germain and Jacquin et Cie is importing the St. Germain for distribution in the US.

---

Erik Ellestad

If the ocean was whiskey and I was a duck...

Bernal Heights, SF, CA

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I have just discovered this delightful treat and am seeing it show up at more and more bars. Harry's, here in San Francisco, did a *great* version of a Gimlet with lime juice to cut the sweetness of the liquor. Fabulous.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Tonight's experiment:

Cherub's Kiss

2 oz. Plymouth gin

1 oz. St. Germain

.75 oz. Apry

splash fresh lemon juice

Fresh lemon twist

Shake and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Squeeze lemon twist over surface of drink and drop in. Enjoy.

A gin drink that anyone could enjoy. Sweet enough for the girly drinkers and powerful enough for the serious drinkers. A definite keeper.

Edited by KatieLoeb (log)

Katie M. Loeb
Booze Muse, Spiritual Advisor

Author: Shake, Stir, Pour:Fresh Homegrown Cocktails

Cheers!
Bartendrix,Intoxicologist, Beverage Consultant, Philadelphia, PA
Captain Liberty of the Good Varietals, Aphrodite of Alcohol

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  • 2 weeks later...

Two sugestions:

"Rusty Flower"

by Oliver Ebert, Berlin

5 cl Scotch Whisky of Choice

> 2 cl St. Germain Elderflower

Build over Ice Cubes in an Old Fashioned Glass.

"Comte de Sureau"

Negroni Variation by Yours Truely

4 cl Dry Gin of Choice

3 cl St. Germain Elderflower

0,7 cl Campari

Straight Up or On The Rocks. Orange Twist

Enjoy.

Gonçalo de Sousa Monteiro

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With most of a split of champagne left over after making the Prince of Wales cocktail from Imbibe!, I tried a French 75 variation last night, using St. Germain in lieu of the sugar. For two:

2 oz gin (Bombay)

1 oz St. Germain

1/2 oz lemon juice

top with champagne (sorry, didn't measure - just topped off each glass using the remainder of the split).

Fantastic.

"Martinis should always be stirred, not shaken, so that the molecules lie sensuously one on top of the other." - W. Somerset Maugham

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Does anyone know if St. Germain is distributed in Texas, and if so, by what company?

I checked with Rob Cooper, owner of St. Germain, and he said that they're with Glazer's, but still doing the paperwork, so it's not available for sale yet.

Soon, I'd think, though...

Ciao,

Marty

Marty McCabe

Boston, MA

Acme Cocktail Company

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Does anyone know if St. Germain is distributed in Texas, and if so, by what company?

I checked with Rob Cooper, owner of St. Germain, and he said that they're with Glazer's, but still doing the paperwork, so it's not available for sale yet.

Soon, I'd think, though...

Ciao,

Marty

Thanks, I'll get with my Glazer rep and give them a heads-up. In the meantime a friend who was working on the west coast was able to get me the last two bottles found on the shelf of a Bevmo in San Diego, so I'll be getting in to that soon.

-Andy

Andy Arrington

Journeyman Drinksmith

Twitter--@LoneStarBarman

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IKEA has been selling elderflower syrup.  Do you think adding the syrup to drinks would make a passable substitute for St. Germain?

I've tasted them both... they're not identical, but the Ikea syrup does bring that pleasant elderflower tartness quite well. I'd use a bit less of the Ikea syrup than I would of the St Germain, for fear of oversweetening.

Christopher D. Holst aka "cdh"

Learn to brew beer with my eGCI course

Chris Holst, Attorney-at-Lunch

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IKEA has been selling elderflower syrup.  Do you think adding the syrup to drinks would make a passable substitute for St. Germain?

When I was at college, our local student-y cafe (Cafe Coco - looks like it's still there) used to serve "Elderflower Cocktails" - elderflower syrup, gin or vodka, soda water and mint. Not complex, but wonderful. We felt very sophisticated.

I haven't done a side-by-sde comparison, but when I tried St Germain recently it tasted identical to the Elderflower syrup they sell in UK supermarkets except for the alcohol, so if the IKEA product is the same, I'm sure you could substitute.

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  • 3 weeks later...

Yesterday I visited my local (enormous) liquor store which usually has about everything on the planet and I asked if they had St. Germain. The clerk responded, "No, but you're the third person this week to ask for it." The word must be getting out. Hopefully it will become more readily available soon.

"A woman once drove me to drink and I never had the decency to thank her" - W.C. Fields

Thanks, The Hopry

http://thehopry.com/

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  • 2 weeks later...

I find most st-germain cocktails too sweet, but was pleasantly suprised tonight with this simple one from Simon Difford:

The Stig

Glass: Martini

Garnish: Float wafer thin apple slice

Method: SHAKE all ingredients with ice and fine strain into chilled glass.

1 shot(s) Boulard Grand Solage calvados

1 shot(s) St. Germain liqueur

1 shot(s) Sauvignon Blanc wine

The calvados really works with tried and tested SG+SB combo.

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  • 1 month later...
that sounds awful

although 2 gin, .5 germain and .25-.5 of lemon juice sounds pretty good.  then maybe top with champagne?  or soda on the rocks for a summer quaffer....

I have been working on a recipe for St Germain and gin with a champagne float, and after making about 10 variations, I realized that the only thing keeping it from being a really kick ass drink was the champagne.

When I deleted the float, I was really happy with the rest.

I'll post it here soon...

-James

My new book is, "Destination: Cocktails", from Santa Monica Press! http://www.destinationcocktails.com

Please see http://www.tydirium.net for information on all of my books, including "Tiki Road Trip", and "Big Stone Head", plus my global travelogues, and more!

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Andy,

I finally got St. Germain at the bar today. Apparently, it finally got Texas approval. You should be able to get through your rep, or assuming they don't get back to you as soon as you want it, you might be able to head to Spec's. I got some there today, but the Spec's downtown in Houston has a wider selection than anywhere. Either way, it is in your reach!

Robert Heugel

Anvil Bar & Refuge - Houston, TX

http://www.drinkdogma.com

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My end-of-shift drink the last couple of nights has been Plymouth gin, homemade lime cordial, a splash of St. Germain and soda. A tall gin gimlet fizz with a splash of floral essence, if you will. Very refreshing, and undoubtedly something I'll be sucking down all summer.

Edited by KatieLoeb (log)

Katie M. Loeb
Booze Muse, Spiritual Advisor

Author: Shake, Stir, Pour:Fresh Homegrown Cocktails

Cheers!
Bartendrix,Intoxicologist, Beverage Consultant, Philadelphia, PA
Captain Liberty of the Good Varietals, Aphrodite of Alcohol

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Andy,

I finally got St. Germain at the bar today.  Apparently, it finally got Texas approval.  You should be able to get through your rep, or assuming they don't get back to you as soon as you want it, you might be able to head to Spec's.  I got some there today, but the Spec's downtown in Houston has a wider selection than anywhere.  Either way, it is in your reach!

Thanks, I was able to get a friend working in California last fall to pick me up a couple of bottles, but since then it's caused quite a sensation at work when I took it up there one day and let people try it. I still haven't gotten around to playing with it in cocktails much, but my boss will be tickled to know it's available now. Is Glazer, in fact, the distributor?

-Andy

Edited by thirtyoneknots (log)

Andy Arrington

Journeyman Drinksmith

Twitter--@LoneStarBarman

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