In a Wall Street Journal story about how vodka is “dead,” I read this line trumpeting vodka‘s replacement:
“But the go-to cordial of the day is St-Germain elderflower liqueur, used in as many of the new Food & Wine book drinks as vodka is.”
The book that Eric Felten of Wall St. Journal was referring to is Food and Wine Magazine’s “Cocktail’s 09” that will come out soon.
I rarely make mixed drinks.
But I was intrigued by elderflower and needed a cocktail for my wife Anne’s 49th birthday celebration, so I bought a bottle of “St. Germain” at Dobby’s Worldwide in Palatine for about $25 (on sale, which was cool).
Europeans have used the elderflower leaves and blossoms for years in folk medicine as a cure-all. The blossoms of the elderflower, which is a small perennial tree, are picked in the French Alps and are combined with sugar and citrus to make a liqueur that’s 20% alcohol (40 proof) and tastes light, sweet and kind of floral. The St. Germain brand comes in a sleek looking tall bottle.
We made the Pear Tree Martini drink below (from the St. Germain site) using pear vodka, St. Germain and lime juice. I added more lime juice and less St. Germain, so that it tasted less sweet. It was great and a big birthday hit.
There are drink recipes for elderflower on the St. Germain site and a bunch more here.
Tags: elderflower cocktail
