17 Refreshing St-Germain Cocktails
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Before we share our list of St-Germain drinks with you, we realize you may have landed here without knowing what the French elderflower liqueur actually is—although I guess we kind of just told you. To give a little more detail: The elder plant, which has a wide geographical distribution, bears large clusters of small white flowers in late spring, when they’re hand-picked by folks who work for the award-winning label. The flavor—think honeysuckle and pear—is then distilled. (Apparently, each bottle of St-Germain contains the essence of 1,000 fresh elderflowers.) And, by the way, the name St-Germain is for St‑Germain‑des‑Prés, a historic cultural district in Paris.
Okay, should we move on to the cocktail recipes? Here are our best drinks with St-Germain.
Photo by Ted Cavanaugh.1/17St-Germain Spritz
This fresh spritz is one of those St-Germain drinks that we like to serve for brunch. The liqueur has an ABV of 20 percent, so with the mixture of prosecco and club soda, this ends up being a relatively low-alcohol cocktail.
Photo by Joseph De Leo, Food Styling by Lillian Chou2/17Paradise Apple
Imagine a St-Germain cocktail with bourbon, white wine (riesling works best), apple cider, lemon juice, and fig-infused honey syrup. It’s chilled, strained into a stemmed cocktail glass, and gets a garnish of a thin apple slice. Now, go make it.
Photo by Joseph De Leo, Food Styling by Drew Aichele4/17Player Piano
This delightfully fruity drink is just equal parts rhum agricole, elderflower liqueur, Aperol, and fresh lime juice. Find Bittermens 'Elemakule Tiki Bitters at speciality stores or online.
Cedric Angeles5/17The Long Hello
Who needs a garnish—lemon twist, herb sprig, or what have you—when you’ve got a Bundt pan-formed ring mold of ice with pear and apple slices suspended within it?
Jamie Chung6/17The Widow’s Touch
Two dashes of Angostura bitters go a long way in balancing this St-Germain drink. Bitters, for those who don’t know, are a bar cart essential that transform cocktails in a dash (or two). And you can even cook with Angostura bitters too.
Photo by Daniel Krieger8/17Boathouse Punch
One thing needs particular attention in this large-format St-Germain cocktail: the ice. Fill a 1- to 2-quart storage container with hot water—it freezes into clearer ice—and stick it in the freezer 24 hours before the party. Add the beautiful, giant cube to your punch bowl right before the guests arrive.
Christopher Baker9/17Stone-Fruit Sangria
A splash of soda water is the last, enlivening step to this elderflower liqueur cocktail. Before that, you’ve got some cooking to do. Yes, you can cook your way to a cocktail! (We offer enough low-effort cocktail recipes; a little extra step here and there will keep your skills and tastes fresh. That’s what we tell ourselves, anyway.)
Danny Kim12/17Sparkling Tarragon Gin Lemonade
You want to keep the lemon peel on when you slice and muddle the citrus fruits for this drink; the slight bitterness helps balance the flavors. Speaking of flavor, if you want a side of sweet with your lemonade, may we recommend this Lemon-Elderflower Pound Cake, also made with St-Germain?
Photo by Peden + Munk13/17Rosé Spritzer
Can we call an easy, breezy, four-ingredient spritzer a classic cocktail at this point? While it may not have a space in the ranks of the margarita, the mojito, and the like, if it’s a classic in your household, that’s really all that matters.
Gieves Anderson, food styling by Anna Hampton14/17White Noise Spritz
This simple, slightly bitter cocktail is the perfect aperitif before a meal. It packs the structure and flavor of a classic cocktail, without the high alcohol content.
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Photo by Mia Wasilevich16/17The Last Tango in Modena
This isn’t exactly a bubbly elderflower cocktail; it’s a foamy one, and it’s fussy, too. You’ll need egg whites, an iSi cream whipper, a cocktail shaker, and the ability to shake hard. And if you commit, you’ll see: The fuss is worth it.
Kimberly Sentner17/17Night Flower
We can’t have a list of St-Germain cocktail recipes without at least one of them having “Flower” in its name. The one’s pretty versatile: You can have it without alcohol, or you could add two ounces of either St-Germain or vodka to each drink.
