When a cocktail or a spirit has a story, it can enhance the whole experience. What you end up with in your glass is not simply a vehicle to a good time, but a chance to experience a piece of history. I love it.
Sharing an awesome cocktail recipe from the Bosscat bar in CA-the “Kentucky Orange Blossom.” 2 oz Buffalo Trace Bourbon 1/2 oz Elderflower Liquor 1/2 oz Sweet Vermouth (Cocchi Vermouth Di Torino) 2 dash orange bitters Big ice cube Orange peel
Here's one of my own inspired by a drink called revolver. Jamaican revolver. 45ml Jamaican rum 10ml coffee liqueur 10ml frangelico liqueur 2 dash orange bitters Stir and pour over rocks Garnish with orange peel or 3 coffee beans
Great video! Just one thing to note, for “eau de vie” (the macerated elderflower) the “eau” is pronounced like the letter O. Translates to “water of life”
Thank you! St Germain has been a fun spirit for me to play around with. It has a cult following in my area(Sacramento, Ca) due to the Shady Lady here in town coming up with a drink called the “White Linen.” It’s a great cocktail that I think you and the viewers would enjoy. 1 1/2 oz of London dry gin- pretty sure the Shady lady uses Hendricks 1/2 oz of st germain 1 oz lemon juice 1/2 of of simple syrup Shake with 3/4 thin cucumber slices Strain into a Collins glass and top with Soda water. Gets garnished with a lemon wedge or some fancy cucumber number. Beats the heat up here in Sac, bet it’ll do the same for you in LA. Cheers!
We have almost the exact same thing here in Australia, except we called it the “merry magpie”. Middle cucumber 45ml gin 15ml st germain 30ml lemon 5ml sugar Egg white Shake and double strain into a coupe. Garnish with a cucumber ribbon. Still one I make at home in summer. Great cocktail!
Great topic this one !! Elderflower translation in french is "Sureau" where Sur- means Bitter or Sour. When you taste the berries you can really have this mouth watering feeling. So for the tasting part this is obvious for a french native speaker. And I have already made my homemade Sureau liqueur adding about 100gr of washed flower without the green stems into 1l of white alcohol 40% (Rhum or vodka) add the peel of one citrus and 1 vanilla bean (it is really pairing well). Let it sits for about 1 week and then double or triple filter it. In a final touch lower the alcohol content by adding water or fresh elderflower sirup. Ok it did turns out sharing my recipe instead of just thanking you for the content ahah.
Just saying, "sur(e)" means "sour" or "tart" but not bitter, I just wanted to correct this information sorry (Désolé ! xD Je continue en anglais) I've made a liqueur from elderBERRIES (recipe from my Grandma), I juice the berries, and add the juice in a pan. You add the same amount of "candi" sugar by weight and you cook this for about 20 minutes on medium heat. Then add the same volume (= to the juice) of Rum (or Vodka) and cook a couple minute on high heat while continuously stirring. And then let it gets to room temperature. (To make it even more syrupy, sometimes I add a stick of black licorice and melt it in the liquid while cooking !) It's so different from the flower taste, but it's also really nice and super interesting ! (Also gave my recipe, but I feel like this fruit is underrated !)
I came up with a cocktail for my mom who hates the taste of alcohol using this. Basically an aviation but sub St Germain for the Maraschino, and do 50/50 St Germain and Creme de violette. Bombay sapphire works best, but any softer gin works well
You may have just "solved" my issue. We're working on a new menu for the bar this summer and I knew I wanted to make a lychee / watermelon combination cocktail. I was struggling with the sweetener but elderflower might just tie it all together!
@@EvraOne You might have to play off the sweetness that St. Germaine brings to the table, but purely from a flavor perspective, it should totally provide you with the lychee flavor you are seeking.
I watched this video last night. Today I was at my local Goodwill and found a St. Germain Carafe to make 5 St‑Germain Spritz and I'm so excited because I've never had St. Germain and now I'm excited to add it to my beginner bar and try it in this thing with some friends. Thank you for this video, I loved it!
One thing that I will note is that St. Germain ages. The flavor changes as it gets older. It starts brassy and bright but as it gets older, it deepens to a sweeter, more acid forward flavor. I have noticed this after about 1 year on the shelf. The color of the bottle you were using looks to be more on the aged side. For me, this means using fresh for more floral/citrus drinks (Grapefruit/Lemon/Gin) and older for more robust or sweeter drinks (Peach/Pear/Mezcal/Bourbon). Something to think about if you are making a recipe and it comes out "off".
I love St. Germaine, so thanks for this. One thing I didn't hear you mention is that it oxidizes pretty fast once you open it. If you have a big bottle and only make a few cocktails you may notice the taste will change and color will darken as it gets older. for this reason, I buy the smaller size bottles and keep them in the fridge.
The Soul Clench is one of those drinks that I immediately knew I would love based on the ingredients, and I went ahead and made it within minutes of watching this video. It's an extremely boozy drink, with two ounces of liquor and two more ounces of liqueur and vermouth, so I had the thought halfway through drinking it to lengthen it with some soda water. This also helped balance out a bit of the sweetness and made for a very refreshing drink which I hope to remember when Summer rolls around.
My favorite cocktail to feature elderflower is the bring it home by melodie Buell. Bring It Home (slightly modified) 2 oz Plymouth (Gin) Or Haymans .75 oz Lemon Juice .5 oz Elder Flower Liqueur .5 oz Orgeat (Almond Syrup) Simple, delicious.
I don’t know if it even has a name, but I make what’s basically a gin/elderflower sour, minus egg whites. 1.5 oz gin, 1 oz St Germain, 1/2 oz lemon juice. Garnish with lemon twist, serve in rocks glass with ice. Delicious, refreshing, and really highlights the St Germain.
One thing I noticed about St. Germain is that it does age over time and it goes darker and more bitter - and not in a good way - likely oxidization. I bought 2 bottles when they were on sale and during a renovation they sat in a box for over a year, maybe even 18 months. By the time I opened it I noticed it tasted a bit off. As I drank the bottle it got even more dark, bitter and not as delicate flavoured. So don’t let it sit in your bar cart for a long time… maybe one year max unopened, and maybe 6mos once opened. Not sure if refrigerating helps (since it is grape based) but it might.
I just got a bottle of this while looking for Absinthe, since my local store only had absinthe liqueurs in stock, and St Germaine had an interesting looking bottle. Holy god is this stuff amazing.
I’ve had St. Germaine on my bar cart forever! I’ve never had a use case for it until now. Thanks so much! Love the historical context in all of your vids.
I like st germain on crushed ice and with soda. Here's my go to specs - 1/2 lemon 1/2 st germain 1/4 simple 1 dry vermouth 1 beefeater (my fav mixing gin) Serve on crushed ice or collins with soda (splash sparkling for that spritz vibe) When serving tall on crushed I do peychauds for color a La a QPS.
If you make an Elderflower syrup & acid adjust it with citric acid; it tastes remarkably complex & has that slight wine-note just like Snt Germain. It can make an interesting variation to a recipe using Snt Germain. In the off season you can make it from high quality French elderflower puree/jam.
For my silver tequila margaritas I often sub in St. Germaine instead of triple sec. Works fantastic. Tequila and the elderberry are both herbal and pair nicely.
In my experience, very cold or “dry” ice is best for stirred drinks as it’s a gentle preparation method. Using that same ice in a shaker however often results in slushy ice since it usually fractures and becomes brittle once in contact with anything warmer than itself (not great for aerating/controlling dilution). Same concept for serving over a block of clear ice - I typically like to let it sit out and temper for a while so it maintains that crystal clear structure in the glass
Had no idea it's only from 2007! I too was blown away by elderflower when I tried a friend's homebrew elderflower champagne a couple years ago and thought this could be the next big hipster thing, but I guess the hipsters were way ahead on that lol
That bottle of St Germain it’s been open for a while with that color I’d say that taste more like a fortified wine like a vermouth and also because chain supply the new bottles has a bright yellow color compare with the past years. I don’t know if there’s any suggestions on their web site but it’s preferably to finish the bottle within 3 months to actually taste the elderflowers
I often mix it with Suze, Select or Lillet Blanc and soda with an orange wedge, or put it in a Porto Tonico (1 part St-Germain, 2 parts dry Port, 3 parts Tonic Water) - I have never heard of the first drink you made by name but I make almost the exact same thing, though Ferdinand Saar gin goes particularly well with IMO. Also, I think that any drink that calls for Maraschino can take St-Germain just as well. Btw the first word in eau de vie is not “you” it almost rhymes with glow or throw but it comes more from your nose.
St. Germaine is my favorite liqueur and I make sure to always have it on my bar cart. It's a beautiful bottle and a delicious liqueur. I love to add a splash of it to my Manhattans :)
Recently used it to make a cocktail for a spring seasonal at the bar I work at, very happy with it. Always looking for a way to incorporate St. Germain, it's such an excellent liqueur.
Interesting timing. I'm down to my last couple of ounces of Ketchup from the bottle I bought when it was all the rage over a decade ago. (It's a little extra syrupy now, sort of like that bottle of Kahlua you found under your wine-drinking parents' sink when you were 16.) Much of what has disappeared from the bottle in recent years has gone into Paris is Burning cocktails, although I recently did a round of improved martinis that look much like that Means of Preservation less the celery bitters. (That's definitely next on the list.) That smoky sweet mix of mezcal and pineapple is one of my favorites. I am particularly fond of Melissa Yard's mezcal pineapple sour, which is well beyond the tropical-adjacent space occupied by Paris is Burning.
Speaking of bartenders ketchup - a bar near me keeps a 50/50 mix of vodka and st germain in their well to make highballs with any time someone asks them to make something up when they're slammed. They just ask some questions to find out what mixer would work for their palate and can knock out something in two seconds that tastes fancy
Thanks for another great video! For the “Means of Preservation” cocktail, could I replace the celery bitters for something else? It’s not really available around me. I presentable have Angostura and Orange bitters. Thanks in advance
ABV in San Francisco currently has a drink called Gin & Celery, not sure if there's any relation to Means of Preservation but your video definitely reminded me of it. It doesn't have St. Germain, but it's incredibly good. PS in the French theme "O de V" not "U de V"...
Maybe it's because I didn't use a rhum agricole but with the jake walk, I found that the lime and reposado were dominant to the point of obscuring the St. Germain, the flavor of which is delicious and I want to taste it a little more. Initial thoughts are cut it down to 1/2 ounce lime juice and increase the St. Germain to 1 ounce.
@@Davidcorner111 60ml / 2oz Gin 30ml / 1oz Lime 15ml / ½oz ST-Germain (I find ST-Germain is a really intense flavor so I don't use a huge amount) Looks nice in a coupe or a champagne flute with a lime wedge 🥂
That Paris is Burning cocktail has to be a nod in some way to french electronic music/(filter) house music - being a main ingredient is St Germain, which is also the name of a famed french house musician.
I tend to avoid Saint Germain / elderflower liqueur after having a number of original “craft” cocktails in bars that tasted overly floral and cloying. Now I’m wondering if the the fault was with the bartenders’ recipes (unbalanced) rather than the liqueur itself. As you said, bartender’s ketchup, throwing it in when it doesn’t work with the other ingredients and/or in too large of a quantity. I’m considering buying a bottle for home and trying it myself in one of these cocktails.
bartender's absolutely do not call it that anymore. It was a popular term during the PDT-lead classic cocktail renaissance in the mid 2000s-2010s. You're seeing St. Germain a lot more now in ads and social media because Bacardi is dumping a ton of money into this brand right now.
Nah your iniitial inclinations are correct. St. Germain is cloyingly sweet and rarely improves a drink. If you're addicted to sugar/raised on Mt Dew like a lot of Americans, you probably associate the sweetness with some sense of comfort, but if you otherwise don't have a completely messed up palate you likely see it for what it is.
I find it interesting that St. Germain is known as bartender’s ketchup because if I had to pick one, I personally would say angostura bitters are based on my experience seeing others make drinks. Too one note? Add some ango. Doesn’t taste good? And ango. And totally agree about the ice. Fresh ice also cracks easier if you want some extra dilution.
Great video! I’ve been looking for a use for my St. Germain other than for a Hugo Spritz. Have you tried the Giffard elderflower liqueur and if so how does it compare in your opinion?
Thank you for this freaking video! I can’t get enough elderflower liqueur recipes. I only knew one of these recipes, so I’ve got several new ones to try! 🙌🙌🙌
Great video, what i would have wanted to see would be some alternatives because a bottle of st germain sets you back like 30 bucks. Is the Giffard Fleur de Sureau any good?
Dolin is the only vermouth I use. Everything else is too dry. Dolin Dry is almost like a sweet from Martini & Rossi. I normally go with the the Blanc variety.
Fabulous cocktails and video Leondro. These are all amazing and I really want to try them. Talk about fabulous. Was it in this video that there is a drink featured from Jillian Vose? She is now at Hazel and Apple in Charleston, South Carolina! She started the new bar with Sean Muldoon and it is supposed to be amazing. Two of the people from The Dead Rabbit are on to new ventures but everyone is on good terms! I can't wait to try the new places! You rock Leondro! Cheers!! 🙂
@@TheEducatedBarfly Oh for sure - there would be so many changes in the bartending/mixology business Leondro. I just happened to have read an article about this move and I followed it because I love The Dead Rabbit in Manhattan and Jillian Vose seems like a lovely soul! Actually the three owners all seem like terrific people!! I am so eager to make these cocktails!! Here I go!! It's after a crazy day like today that having a lovely cocktail and especially a new one I have never tried, is such a treat!! I hope the flooding in LA that I have seen isn't anywhere near you. It looks horrific. Cheers.
Thanks for the Pro Tip. But I’d love a little more detail on how exactly to keep that ice “dry”. I have a home bar that looks like yours (front bar, back bar) But my freezer is in a back storage room here in my basement (nearish to my bar). Should I use a Cambro tub of ice like you use every time I stir a cocktail, or would keeping the ice in an insulated ice bucket and lid do the same thing? I’d love to see that Pro Tip expanded a bit for the home bar enthusiast. Thanks for all you work and great cocktails.
Love these kind of videos! Quick question, how do you manage to break your ice so nicely in just a few taps? I have to slam them repeatedly with my barspoon and even then most of what I get is shards and chips of ice. Do you need to temper the ice before breaking with a spoon?
Actually it’s helpful when cracking Ice that it’s recently out of the freezer. Very cold ice is super brittle but just fyi you’ll have to stir a little longer to get the right dilution
Why is his st germain so dark? Mine is always more of a light champagne color. Is that cause he keeps it on the counter, while I keep mine in the fridge? We mix St G with Sauvignon blanc. It was a favorite from a bar I went to in my college days
Mezcal + gin + St Germain is a superb base. You can add anything to that and it’ll be amazing. I know, because I’ve been adding random shit to it for a few days now 😁 My favorite is Aperol and some lemon juice. That’s gotta be a thing, right?
This is fact..it spices up any drink in a good way EVERY DAMN TIME. When you need that lil extra to get your cocktail over the finish line St. Germain will get it there
It’s a lot like london dry gin with many of the same qualities but it has a light earthiness and roundness to it that is really great in cocktails and just for sipping
Hey how do you keep it without spoilage though? Every time I get it, it starts to burn when you swallow it after a few months. I put it in the fridge to slow that down but it still happens as I don't go through enough in time.
Hi Leandro! I've noticed that my St Germain tends to go off pretty quickly. Should i be storing it in the fridge? (My husband says no more liquor bottles in the fridge - they displace his entire. shelf. of. beer.)
Yeah the Paris is Burning is interesting. I wonder what playing around with the Gin could do? I mean I have some Citadelle which would connect well with the citrus but might run the risk of dissappearing in the overall flavour palette of the cocktail. But I wonder if something very heavy on botanicals like a Botanist Islay Gin or a more salty Gin like Mermaid Gin might add something to it? I would have tried it right now, if I had a pineapple😅 Unfortunately I only have store bought tropical juice and that might add too many distinct flavour.
Love the episode as always. One constructive critique. If you need to pronounce something in French, hit me up anytime. It's pronounced 'O' de vie. Love your stuff Leandro! Cheers.
Excellent cocktail suggestions, Leandro. Also, not to sound like an ass, but the company in Philly is "Charles Jacquin et Cie." ("Cie." is a French abbreviation for "Compagnie", so you would probably say "com-pahn-yee"). They make a ton of cordials, as I'm sure you know, though hard to find outside of the mid-Atlantic area.
It's stunning to me that St Germaine is only 15 years old. It's so ubiquitous that it feels like it's "always" been here
Couldn’t have said this any better. It’s timeless, like you said… it’s like it was always there.
I love these "how to use X" videos. I have so many random bottles I bought for one cocktail and now I don't know what to do with them. This is great.
I completely agree. I know they've done one on Fernet but would love to see more Fernet cocktails
Agreed!
There are apps that allow you to select everything you have available before providing a list of cocktails you can make with them.
When a cocktail or a spirit has a story, it can enhance the whole experience. What you end up with in your glass is not simply a vehicle to a good time, but a chance to experience a piece of history. I love it.
I just bought my first bottle because of you and I’ll never not have it ever again! I am in love with the beautiful floral flavor!❤
Sharing an awesome cocktail recipe from the Bosscat bar in CA-the “Kentucky Orange Blossom.”
2 oz Buffalo Trace Bourbon
1/2 oz Elderflower Liquor
1/2 oz Sweet Vermouth (Cocchi Vermouth Di Torino)
2 dash orange bitters
Big ice cube
Orange peel
Sounds good, I'll try it over the weekend.
Wow this drink caught me off guard. Thanks for the recommendation!
Here's one of my own inspired by a drink called revolver.
Jamaican revolver.
45ml Jamaican rum
10ml coffee liqueur
10ml frangelico liqueur
2 dash orange bitters
Stir and pour over rocks
Garnish with orange peel or 3 coffee beans
Nice! Bosscat right next to SNA?
@@brandony8691 That’s the one!
Great video! Just one thing to note, for “eau de vie” (the macerated elderflower) the “eau” is pronounced like the letter O. Translates to “water of life”
Came here to say this
And pamplemousse.... just say grapefruit my friend.
Thank you! St Germain has been a fun spirit for me to play around with. It has a cult following in my area(Sacramento, Ca) due to the Shady Lady here in town coming up with a drink called the “White Linen.” It’s a great cocktail that I think you and the viewers would enjoy.
1 1/2 oz of London dry gin- pretty sure the Shady lady uses Hendricks
1/2 oz of st germain
1 oz lemon juice
1/2 of of simple syrup
Shake with 3/4 thin cucumber slices
Strain into a Collins glass and top with Soda water. Gets garnished with a lemon wedge or some fancy cucumber number.
Beats the heat up here in Sac, bet it’ll do the same for you in LA. Cheers!
Only problem is that sounds like a very, very low proof cocktail.
We have almost the exact same thing here in Australia, except we called it the “merry magpie”.
Middle cucumber
45ml gin
15ml st germain
30ml lemon
5ml sugar
Egg white
Shake and double strain into a coupe.
Garnish with a cucumber ribbon.
Still one I make at home in summer. Great cocktail!
Great topic this one !! Elderflower translation in french is "Sureau" where Sur- means Bitter or Sour. When you taste the berries you can really have this mouth watering feeling. So for the tasting part this is obvious for a french native speaker. And I have already made my homemade Sureau liqueur adding about 100gr of washed flower without the green stems into 1l of white alcohol 40% (Rhum or vodka) add the peel of one citrus and 1 vanilla bean (it is really pairing well). Let it sits for about 1 week and then double or triple filter it. In a final touch lower the alcohol content by adding water or fresh elderflower sirup.
Ok it did turns out sharing my recipe instead of just thanking you for the content ahah.
Just saying, "sur(e)" means "sour" or "tart" but not bitter, I just wanted to correct this information sorry (Désolé ! xD Je continue en anglais)
I've made a liqueur from elderBERRIES (recipe from my Grandma), I juice the berries, and add the juice in a pan. You add the same amount of "candi" sugar by weight and you cook this for about 20 minutes on medium heat.
Then add the same volume (= to the juice) of Rum (or Vodka) and cook a couple minute on high heat while continuously stirring. And then let it gets to room temperature.
(To make it even more syrupy, sometimes I add a stick of black licorice and melt it in the liquid while cooking !)
It's so different from the flower taste, but it's also really nice and super interesting !
(Also gave my recipe, but I feel like this fruit is underrated !)
@@Kevlar830 Thanks for the correction ahah and also thanks for the recipe !
I came up with a cocktail for my mom who hates the taste of alcohol using this.
Basically an aviation but sub St Germain for the Maraschino, and do 50/50 St Germain and Creme de violette.
Bombay sapphire works best, but any softer gin works well
St. Germain (and other elderflower liqueurs) always comes across to me as having a flavor very reminiscent of lychee.
Oh shit, I never would have drawn that similarity. Now that you say it I can see that.
Wow, just tried St. Germain my first time the other day and it tasted intensely familiar, but I couldn't place it. That's exactly it, thank you!
100%. The first time I popped it open, I didn't know what "elderflower" was, so I assumed it was a lychee liqueur.
You may have just "solved" my issue. We're working on a new menu for the bar this summer and I knew I wanted to make a lychee / watermelon combination cocktail. I was struggling with the sweetener but elderflower might just tie it all together!
@@EvraOne You might have to play off the sweetness that St. Germaine brings to the table, but purely from a flavor perspective, it should totally provide you with the lychee flavor you are seeking.
I watched this video last night. Today I was at my local Goodwill and found a St. Germain Carafe to make 5 St‑Germain Spritz and I'm so excited because I've never had St. Germain and now I'm excited to add it to my beginner bar and try it in this thing with some friends. Thank you for this video, I loved it!
Means of Preservation is an unbelievable cocktail! What a find! This is why you're the best cocktail channel in the game!
Thanks!
Love this liquor, bought it for Irish maids and it's such a lovely viscosity and flavor I pair it with other stuff like bubbly cider
One thing that I will note is that St. Germain ages. The flavor changes as it gets older. It starts brassy and bright but as it gets older, it deepens to a sweeter, more acid forward flavor. I have noticed this after about 1 year on the shelf. The color of the bottle you were using looks to be more on the aged side.
For me, this means using fresh for more floral/citrus drinks (Grapefruit/Lemon/Gin) and older for more robust or sweeter drinks (Peach/Pear/Mezcal/Bourbon).
Something to think about if you are making a recipe and it comes out "off".
Nice to know!
That's not true at all lol
I was going to say his looks almost scotch colored. I just bought a new bottle, and it’s almost clear with just a hint of yellow.
I love St. Germaine, so thanks for this. One thing I didn't hear you mention is that it oxidizes pretty fast once you open it. If you have a big bottle and only make a few cocktails you may notice the taste will change and color will darken as it gets older. for this reason, I buy the smaller size bottles and keep them in the fridge.
I've been using elderflower tonic as my default for a couple years now so I've been pretty interested in St-Germain. I guess I'll give it a try.
The Soul Clench is one of those drinks that I immediately knew I would love based on the ingredients, and I went ahead and made it within minutes of watching this video. It's an extremely boozy drink, with two ounces of liquor and two more ounces of liqueur and vermouth, so I had the thought halfway through drinking it to lengthen it with some soda water. This also helped balance out a bit of the sweetness and made for a very refreshing drink which I hope to remember when Summer rolls around.
I find myself doing similar more and more these days. I like standard boozy cocktails but it's nice to make more "friendly" versions sometimes
My favorite cocktail to feature elderflower is the bring it home by melodie Buell.
Bring It Home (slightly modified)
2 oz Plymouth (Gin) Or Haymans
.75 oz Lemon Juice
.5 oz Elder Flower Liqueur
.5 oz Orgeat (Almond Syrup)
Simple, delicious.
Would love to see this format, with a cocktail of each main base (whiskey, rum, gin, etc)
I don’t know if it even has a name, but I make what’s basically a gin/elderflower sour, minus egg whites. 1.5 oz gin, 1 oz St Germain, 1/2 oz lemon juice. Garnish with lemon twist, serve in rocks glass with ice. Delicious, refreshing, and really highlights the St Germain.
One thing I noticed about St. Germain is that it does age over time and it goes darker and more bitter - and not in a good way - likely oxidization. I bought 2 bottles when they were on sale and during a renovation they sat in a box for over a year, maybe even 18 months. By the time I opened it I noticed it tasted a bit off. As I drank the bottle it got even more dark, bitter and not as delicate flavoured. So don’t let it sit in your bar cart for a long time… maybe one year max unopened, and maybe 6mos once opened. Not sure if refrigerating helps (since it is grape based) but it might.
I just got a bottle of this while looking for Absinthe, since my local store only had absinthe liqueurs in stock, and St Germaine had an interesting looking bottle. Holy god is this stuff amazing.
I’ve had St. Germaine on my bar cart forever! I’ve never had a use case for it until now. Thanks so much! Love the historical context in all of your vids.
Bro how
You are my favourite bartender. I love the history and the recipes. 🙏🏾
Thanks for the support!
I love St Germain, one of my favorite simple cocktails that always goes over well is Gin & Tonic + St Germain
I like st germain on crushed ice and with soda. Here's my go to specs -
1/2 lemon
1/2 st germain
1/4 simple
1 dry vermouth
1 beefeater (my fav mixing gin)
Serve on crushed ice or collins with soda (splash sparkling for that spritz vibe) When serving tall on crushed I do peychauds for color a La a QPS.
If you make an Elderflower syrup & acid adjust it with citric acid; it tastes remarkably complex & has that slight wine-note just like Snt Germain. It can make an interesting variation to a recipe using Snt Germain.
In the off season you can make it from high quality French elderflower puree/jam.
Definitely going to have to try the Soul Clench. I've never had pisco, but have made a drink with grapefruit juice, St. Germaine, falernum, and rum.
I always have a bottle of this in my bar. Love it for light summery drinks.
For my silver tequila margaritas I often sub in St. Germaine instead of triple sec. Works fantastic. Tequila and the elderberry are both herbal and pair nicely.
In my experience, very cold or “dry” ice is best for stirred drinks as it’s a gentle preparation method. Using that same ice in a shaker however often results in slushy ice since it usually fractures and becomes brittle once in contact with anything warmer than itself (not great for aerating/controlling dilution). Same concept for serving over a block of clear ice - I typically like to let it sit out and temper for a while so it maintains that crystal clear structure in the glass
Had no idea it's only from 2007! I too was blown away by elderflower when I tried a friend's homebrew elderflower champagne a couple years ago and thought this could be the next big hipster thing, but I guess the hipsters were way ahead on that lol
That bottle of St Germain it’s been open for a while with that color I’d say that taste more like a fortified wine like a vermouth and also because chain supply the new bottles has a bright yellow color compare with the past years.
I don’t know if there’s any suggestions on their web site but it’s preferably to finish the bottle within 3 months to actually taste the elderflowers
I often mix it with Suze, Select or Lillet Blanc and soda with an orange wedge, or put it in a Porto Tonico (1 part St-Germain, 2 parts dry Port, 3 parts Tonic Water) - I have never heard of the first drink you made by name but I make almost the exact same thing, though Ferdinand Saar gin goes particularly well with IMO.
Also, I think that any drink that calls for Maraschino can take St-Germain just as well.
Btw the first word in eau de vie is not “you” it almost rhymes with glow or throw but it comes more from your nose.
A bartender in New Orleans showed me this wonderful elixir about 12 years ago and I haven't looked back, its highly underutilized.
St. Germaine is my favorite liqueur and I make sure to always have it on my bar cart. It's a beautiful bottle and a delicious liqueur. I love to add a splash of it to my Manhattans :)
Recently used it to make a cocktail for a spring seasonal at the bar I work at, very happy with it. Always looking for a way to incorporate St. Germain, it's such an excellent liqueur.
Sometimes I'll put a 1/2 oz or so in my gimlets. Gives em a bit of a rounder flavor, taming the lime a little.
Interesting timing. I'm down to my last couple of ounces of Ketchup from the bottle I bought when it was all the rage over a decade ago. (It's a little extra syrupy now, sort of like that bottle of Kahlua you found under your wine-drinking parents' sink when you were 16.) Much of what has disappeared from the bottle in recent years has gone into Paris is Burning cocktails, although I recently did a round of improved martinis that look much like that Means of Preservation less the celery bitters. (That's definitely next on the list.) That smoky sweet mix of mezcal and pineapple is one of my favorites. I am particularly fond of Melissa Yard's mezcal pineapple sour, which is well beyond the tropical-adjacent space occupied by Paris is Burning.
Just picked up a bottle today without even realizing you posted this, great timing!
I’m getting caught up on your videos and they are so fun!! On my way to pick up a bottle of St Germain now, sounds so great
Thanks for watching
Speaking of bartenders ketchup - a bar near me keeps a 50/50 mix of vodka and st germain in their well to make highballs with any time someone asks them to make something up when they're slammed. They just ask some questions to find out what mixer would work for their palate and can knock out something in two seconds that tastes fancy
cool but kinda expensive innit?
Love this guy content .
He is awesome .
Great video. I haven’t used my Saint G in a long time. Will definitely be trying some of these
Love the "educational" style of your videos! Keep them coming.
Thanks!
Really great video, guys! Thank you.
Thanks for another great video! For the “Means of Preservation” cocktail, could I replace the celery bitters for something else? It’s not really available around me. I presentable have Angostura and Orange bitters. Thanks in advance
This stuff is really good in a gin & tonic, I usually go for 2 oz gin, 3/4 oz St. Germain, tonic to taste, and a lemon expression/twist.
ABV in San Francisco currently has a drink called Gin & Celery, not sure if there's any relation to Means of Preservation but your video definitely reminded me of it. It doesn't have St. Germain, but it's incredibly good. PS in the French theme "O de V" not "U de V"...
Maybe it's because I didn't use a rhum agricole but with the jake walk, I found that the lime and reposado were dominant to the point of obscuring the St. Germain, the flavor of which is delicious and I want to taste it a little more. Initial thoughts are cut it down to 1/2 ounce lime juice and increase the St. Germain to 1 ounce.
love the history dive, thanks Leandro and Marius! Really cool list of lesser known cocktails but all from that illustrious NYC scene!
Loving the Pro Tips at the end!
St Germain is one of my absolute favorites
"It can be used to make any cocktail taste good"
Me, drinking my fourth Elderflower Gimlet:
"... is that a challenge?"
Is that 2 st Germaine to 1 lime or do you have gin elderflower and lime?
@@Davidcorner111
60ml / 2oz Gin
30ml / 1oz Lime
15ml / ½oz ST-Germain
(I find ST-Germain is a really intense flavor so I don't use a huge amount)
Looks nice in a coupe or a champagne flute with a lime wedge 🥂
Hopefully this isn’t annoying, but if you were trying to say eau de vie, eau is is pronounced more like “O”
I had no idea what he was trying to say, thanks for the translation😂
Sounds annoying
@@marmolejo99 My apologies
And while we're at it "san ger-man". No Americans seem to be able to say St Germain.
@@marmolejo99 But he’s not wrong.
That Paris is Burning cocktail has to be a nod in some way to french electronic music/(filter) house music - being a main ingredient is St Germain, which is also the name of a famed french house musician.
I’ve made the soul clench. It’s really good. I’m trying that martini 🍸 today!
Pronunciation tip: Eau in French is pronounced like a long O sound (not U), so it would be "O de vie"
I tend to avoid Saint Germain / elderflower liqueur after having a number of original “craft” cocktails in bars that tasted overly floral and cloying. Now I’m wondering if the the fault was with the bartenders’ recipes (unbalanced) rather than the liqueur itself. As you said, bartender’s ketchup, throwing it in when it doesn’t work with the other ingredients and/or in too large of a quantity.
I’m considering buying a bottle for home and trying it myself in one of these cocktails.
yes people can really over do it. Try it yourself you will LOVE it
bartender's absolutely do not call it that anymore. It was a popular term during the PDT-lead classic cocktail renaissance in the mid 2000s-2010s. You're seeing St. Germain a lot more now in ads and social media because Bacardi is dumping a ton of money into this brand right now.
Nah your iniitial inclinations are correct. St. Germain is cloyingly sweet and rarely improves a drink. If you're addicted to sugar/raised on Mt Dew like a lot of Americans, you probably associate the sweetness with some sense of comfort, but if you otherwise don't have a completely messed up palate you likely see it for what it is.
Superb selection - 🎉
I find it interesting that St. Germain is known as bartender’s ketchup because if I had to pick one, I personally would say angostura bitters are based on my experience seeing others make drinks. Too one note? Add some ango. Doesn’t taste good? And ango. And totally agree about the ice. Fresh ice also cracks easier if you want some extra dilution.
Angostura is bartender’s pepper ;)
That it is!
This was interesting! Thank you
Great video! I’ve been looking for a use for my St. Germain other than for a Hugo Spritz.
Have you tried the Giffard elderflower liqueur and if so how does it compare in your opinion?
Thank you for this freaking video! I can’t get enough elderflower liqueur recipes. I only knew one of these recipes, so I’ve got several new ones to try! 🙌🙌🙌
Great video, what i would have wanted to see would be some alternatives because a bottle of st germain sets you back like 30 bucks. Is the Giffard Fleur de Sureau any good?
Finally, something that I have all of the ingredients for.
Dolin is the only vermouth I use. Everything else is too dry. Dolin Dry is almost like a sweet from Martini & Rossi. I normally go with the the Blanc variety.
This is great thank you.
Fabulous cocktails and video Leondro. These are all amazing and I really want to try them. Talk about fabulous. Was it in this video that there is a drink featured from Jillian Vose? She is now at Hazel and Apple in Charleston, South Carolina! She started the new bar with Sean Muldoon and it is supposed to be amazing. Two of the people from The Dead Rabbit are on to new ventures but everyone is on good terms! I can't wait to try the new places! You rock Leondro! Cheers!! 🙂
Awesome so hard to keep up with which Bartenders move where lol. Although I did know they started a new venture 😂
@@TheEducatedBarfly Oh for sure - there would be so many changes in the bartending/mixology business Leondro. I just happened to have read an article about this move and I followed it because I love The Dead Rabbit in Manhattan and Jillian Vose seems like a lovely soul! Actually the three owners all seem like terrific people!! I am so eager to make these cocktails!! Here I go!! It's after a crazy day like today that having a lovely cocktail and especially a new one I have never tried, is such a treat!! I hope the flooding in LA that I have seen isn't anywhere near you. It looks horrific. Cheers.
You really sold that Means of Preservation I can't wait to taste it
2007??! I assumed it was some storied, generations old brand from the 30s or something.
Great video!
The St Germain gin and tonic is simple but one of my favorite drinks. It goes so hard
Thanks for the Pro Tip. But I’d love a little more detail on how exactly to keep that ice “dry”. I have a home bar that looks like yours (front bar, back bar) But my freezer is in a back storage room here in my basement (nearish to my bar). Should I use a Cambro tub of ice like you use every time I stir a cocktail, or would keeping the ice in an insulated ice bucket and lid do the same thing? I’d love to see that Pro Tip expanded a bit for the home bar enthusiast. Thanks for all you work and great cocktails.
Keep the ice in the freezer. That’s the only way
Love these kind of videos! Quick question, how do you manage to break your ice so nicely in just a few taps? I have to slam them repeatedly with my barspoon and even then most of what I get is shards and chips of ice. Do you need to temper the ice before breaking with a spoon?
Actually it’s helpful when cracking Ice that it’s recently out of the freezer. Very cold ice is super brittle but just fyi you’ll have to stir a little longer to get the right dilution
@@TheEducatedBarfly thanks! Will try with "dry" ice next time :)
Why is his st germain so dark? Mine is always more of a light champagne color. Is that cause he keeps it on the counter, while I keep mine in the fridge?
We mix St G with Sauvignon blanc. It was a favorite from a bar I went to in my college days
Mezcal + gin + St Germain is a superb base. You can add anything to that and it’ll be amazing.
I know, because I’ve been adding random shit to it for a few days now 😁 My favorite is Aperol and some lemon juice.
That’s gotta be a thing, right?
If you like the pineapple mezcal combo - you should try making a tepache with a bit of spice and pair that with mezcal!
I made Saint Germain myself I mazerated self picked elderflowers in Vodka and added Sugar. I never had the real one because I can make my own.
I love that your shot glass looks like a mini version of your DOF glasses lol
This is fact..it spices up any drink in a good way EVERY DAMN TIME. When you need that lil extra to get your cocktail over the finish line St. Germain will get it there
Made a soul clench, kind of, maybe not really. didn't have the pisco though so subbed citadel gin, really great cocktail..
What is it in particular about Plymouth gin that makes it such a heavy recommendation in this application?
It’s a lot like london dry gin with many of the same qualities but it has a light earthiness and roundness to it that is really great in cocktails and just for sipping
Some new ones to try!
Hey how do you keep it without spoilage though? Every time I get it, it starts to burn when you swallow it after a few months. I put it in the fridge to slow that down but it still happens as I don't go through enough in time.
I always preferred the Giffard Elderflower Liqueur but can't seem to find it anywhere anymore...
Where can I find a list of books in the background? Im struggling figuring them all out.
Can you please share the link for your round storage container used for ice?
Hi Leandro! I've noticed that my St Germain tends to go off pretty quickly. Should i be storing it in the fridge? (My husband says no more liquor bottles in the fridge - they displace his entire. shelf. of. beer.)
It shouldn't go bad. We keep ours outside in the. shelves. Are you getting a lot of sunlight on the bottles?
@@TheEducatedBarfly No direct sunlight at all. Ambient room light only.
Beer fridge in the garage will solve most of his issues. 2nd hand runs about 100 bucks.
When you tell your girl " A little bit of ass on the back palette".
My coworkers and I always call St. Germain, Bartenders Ranch lol
Yeah the Paris is Burning is interesting. I wonder what playing around with the Gin could do? I mean I have some Citadelle which would connect well with the citrus but might run the risk of dissappearing in the overall flavour palette of the cocktail. But I wonder if something very heavy on botanicals like a Botanist Islay Gin or a more salty Gin like Mermaid Gin might add something to it? I would have tried it right now, if I had a pineapple😅 Unfortunately I only have store bought tropical juice and that might add too many distinct flavour.
Damn you, now i have to try another martini besides the vesper variation.Great video as always
Love the episode as always. One constructive critique. If you need to pronounce something in French, hit me up anytime. It's pronounced 'O' de vie. Love your stuff Leandro! Cheers.
How do you know I’m not trolling you guys? 😂
Think the celery bitters can be substituted for something else?
What to do with Lillette other then a vesper?
Think a couple few of these cocktails are gonna get made!
Excellent cocktail suggestions, Leandro. Also, not to sound like an ass, but the company in Philly is "Charles Jacquin et Cie." ("Cie." is a French abbreviation for "Compagnie", so you would probably say "com-pahn-yee"). They make a ton of cordials, as I'm sure you know, though hard to find outside of the mid-Atlantic area.
You’re not an ass. And I’m not French 😂
Great video! Can I just mention how beautiful the St. Germaine bottle is? I love to display it on my bar.
I've also heard ginger beer be called bartender's ketchup. Both are are bar essentials.
elderflower wine is to die for