What is your favorite elderflower cocktail? 🤩 Check out Darcy’s channel to learn more about the science behind drinks: www.youtube.com/@Artofdrink/videos Join the Cocktail Times newsletter: www.kevinkos.com/ If you like what we do, you can also support the channel here: 👕 Merch: my-store-11171765.creator-spring.com 🎩 Patreon: www.patreon.com/cocktailtime 🛒 My Store: kit.co/KevinKos 🌍 Web Page: www.kevinkos.com/
I have tried three in my life. One from Germany, one from France, and one from BC in Canada. The one from BC was by far the cheapest, had the least added sugar, and overall I feel the best of the three
This is crazy, I was literally planning on making this, I just bought dried elderflower. Was gonna try to wing it but now I have a step by step guide, love it!
Another method I've found for separating little flowers or berries from their stems is to use a fork. Slide the stems in between the tines of the fork and gently pull away the flower or berry from the stem, almost like you're combing them out of the stems. I made great use of this method to pick lilac flowers.
After messing around with a rose cordial and lemongrass for a cocktail, it was missing another element. My beverage director and I ended up adding .50 ounces of elderflower liqueur, and it's our best selling cocktail on the menu to date.
@@KevinKos thanks! It was interesting how the sweetness of the liqueur assisted in the perceived acidity of the cocktail. For context, my beverage director mentioned the situation in some Champagne houses where low dosage Champagnes were typically not very interesting due to the lack of sugar, and it turns out that the perceived acidity, amongst other things, of Champagne was more noticeable once dosage was added as opposed to little or none.
Jeeeeez, fam. What amazing content you guys make. Props! Recipes for home made liqueurs is an amazing way to expand your home bar cheaply. I often find myself wanting to try new cocktails, but not willing to spend the buck on liqueurs that I won't be using as much. This could easily be a series and starting with Elderflower Liqueur is a perfect one. Thanks a lot, crew! 🙏
🥂 Bohemian Bicycle wildly popular now for years at a local restaurant - Bohemian Bicycle - 1 ounce Bombay Sapphire - 1 ounce St. Germain elderflower liqueur -1/2 to 3/4 ounce lime juice, club soda - 1 leaf fresh basil - Love the suit!
Kevin, I only recently discovered this channel as someone who has just started delving into mixology and it is an absolute gold mine. The information, from simple basics to homemade and no waste, the aesthetic between your dapper self, the set, and music, the excellent camera work and editting (thanks Sasha you do an amazing job), and just the right amount of humor make for unbelievably quality content. Eagerly looking forward to more, keep up the good work and cheers❤
Рік тому+1
Thank you so much for the kind words! It means a lot and we'll keep working hard to deliver!
Thanks! I've been trying to find a diy elderflower liqueur recipe that keeps that floral aroma and fresh taste forward. This will work wonderfully! Oh, and I love mine with Hendrick's, soda and lime 💚
I hadn’t heard of the Hugo until I visited Slovenia. They are delicious and very refreshing, and it seemed like everyone was drinking them there and especially in Croatia. Loved them so much that I bought a bottle of St Germaine and planted some mint as soon as I got back. Excellent vid! 🥂
I love this recipe and have made it several times. Huge thanks to Kevin for figuring out the recipe!! My only change is I think the elderflower is vastly insufficient - I doubled it, and was very happy. I quadrupled it (!!) and was blown away. My favorite elderflower cocktail might be that (4x) on the rocks! (I also trimmed the sugar by 25%). It provides a richness and depth that goes way beyond StGermaine.
I just made like 3 liters of it. It is delicious. I need to find people to share or barter with it. I put some blossoms in mine and made like an elderflower snow globe. The fancy powders are keeping the color well so far. I suspect there is a big difference in strength of flower from place to place. I doubled the flower for a few batches but lost track of which ones.
I don't have any elderflowers near me, so I would not be able to make my own, however this video has inspired me to go out and buy a bottle of St Germain and use it in a few cocktails.
Great video... as always! My little tip... There are many Elderflower cordials and i use them in my cocktails at home. In England there many choices, but the best by a big margin is Green Bottle Elderflower Cordial... Not their mixed elderflower cordials, the straight one. I tried many fancier brands but this one is the best after taste testing! By the way.. I have been looking everywhere locally ( South of France) for flowering elderflower, but no luck finding it yet. If i do find it i will make elderflower Champagne which i hear is excellent!
Making your own Liqueurs is a great way to budget your bar. I make my own Limoncello and Curacao, you can tweak it to your own flavor profiles, and you can build an arguably better product for a literal fraction of the price. I love seeing this kind of stuff on UA-cam. It also makes great gifts as a by the way ;)
This looks amazing thank you so much for sharing this delightful drink I’m growing elderflowers in my garden for their amazing flavors now and just finished making a cordial with some…blessings wished
This is so wonderful, appreciated, and elevated. Delicate indeed! Marvelous presentation as well, you are a delight! Thank you kindly and for sharing such wonderful techniques and preserving/sharing historic and French culinary and liqueur arts
🥂 I am a forester by trade and every year I give out hundreds of our native elderberry shrub. Many of the folks I work with are super nice and would absolutely let me collect their elderflowers so I will be super excited to try this!
I actually made this liquer following your recipe today! It tastes really great but the next time i'd probably tone down the sugar a little bit, i'm excited to use it in some cocktails tomorrow though!
I've been getting disillusioned with liqueurs lately due to the high cost of neutral spirits. Watered down Everclear has off flavors you need to overpower compared to your average vodka, but most vodkas that are good enough to use for infusions are in the $20-25 range for a 750ml. A lot of good-to-great liqueurs are in that range already without the work and chance of me screwing it up. Shrubs, however, you can't buy at the store for the most part and offer a lot of room for cheap experimentation.
I just made it using dried elderflowers! 🥂 Dried flowers made it darker but the taste is still delicious! What is the expected shelf life of the liquor? Thank you so much for the recipe!
I just made a butch and it turned out pretty good, (i did it with sealed jar inside pot with water on the stove and check the temperature every few minutes) and it turned out pretty balanced although the elderflower taste a bit heavy i guess because i used dried flowers wich usually a bit stronger in taste than fresh flowers. Maybe i should have dialed the dried flower down in comparison to the fresh ones..?🤔
I remember picking elderflowers as small kid in the early 70s and my mum making elderflower wine. It seemed otherworldly to me, the demijohns and all that. Never felt tempted to try it as it always smelt slightly cat pissy to me and I'm not a huge wine fan. I may try this though.
The story of how St. Germain came to be is also hilarius🥂. Oh and of course you went and made your own, might as well flex on the rest of the Anglophones that Slovenians can do it themselves better. Lepo se imejte Kevin, Sašo, Robi, in Fantomska roka.
Fun fact: in Poland the Elderflower tree is called Lipa and July is named Lipiec - hence it was picked in July - so always remember to pick it according to your own climate cause picking it in May/June in Poland might end up with poisoning. Fun fact nr 2: in Czech June is called Lipiec :D
🥂 I always appreciate the content. The super juice is still a game changer for me and some of my friends. My home cocktail and cooking game has been forever changed.
🥂St. Germain is one of my favorites, and it started this "hobby" of mixing drinks. As a newbie, it made me feel like a hero since it really does make everything taste better. I still use it to save my screwups and to fix lousy bottles of white wine. I opt for St. Elder which is about half the price of St. Germain, and actually tastes a bit better IMO, but I'd like to try making my own. Looking forward to trying your recipe with dried elderflowers. Getting fresh ones here isn't really possible.
Just whipped up 2 large batches of this after going on an elderflower hunt yesterday - came out amazingly well! It's a very intense an 'fresh' elderflower taste compared to St Germain.
For the best extraction of plant aromatics with ethanol, is this not best done with as high a proof solution as possible and at sub zero temperatures? So rather than diluting the vodka and using sousvide, best to just add aromatics (flowers and lemon zest) to vodka in a freezer, leave for 24h then filter and add remainder of ingredients?
Yes, you could do this ways too. I haven't tried it yet, but it would be a great experiment However I doubt I would get the liqueur with the same potent eldelflower taste as this one.
In Switzerland elderflower syrup is super popular and it was my favourite one as a kid and every spring so many people make their own. When I make a Hugo at home I just do Prosecco + elderflower syrup :)
Awesome film! No fresh elderflowers near me, but i always have St. Germain on hand! Since you've used Ikea ingredients in the past, I wonder if you've looked at using their elderflower concentrate as an alternative, and what you thought. The taste of the syrup by itself is amazing. To get 20% abv, it looks like a simple 1:1 with vodka.
Thanks! That's a great idea! I would need to try this out. On its own, the cordial tastes excellent, but I think mixing it with vodka would yield a much less elderflower taste.
@@KevinKosI’ve had success mixing the Ikea drink concentrate with a smaller amount of higher proof alcohol to maintain the flavor concentration. Everclear worked well, and my personal experiment was Wray and Nephew. While not broadly useful in drinks, the elderflower rum is still a novel liqueur to have on hand.
🥂 Step 1: get wild elderflower...welp doubt I could do that. Definitely would not be cheaper to buy all the equipment required to make this, but its a cool idea.
Amazing Kevin ! I await the video of Suze artisanal gentian liqueur, or Italicus, as they are extremely difficult to buy here, your recipes are the best, greetings from Brazil ! 👊🏼🇧🇷
🥂I was meaning to get some more St. Germain since mine is all oxidized as it is a rarely used ingredient for me. I was hoping to find a cheaper alternative and here it is! Now I just need to figure out where to source some elderflowers in Nebraska. I used to know of some wild spots when I lived in a different state, but I'll do some hunting at the state park this weekend. When I make this, I'll decant it into the St. Germain bottle ... nobody needs to know... haha! Great video, Kevin and team!
This video came just in time. Thank you! I already planned on making elderflower liqueur this year. But I wouldn't have known to add citric and ascorbic acids and sodium citrate. I don't have a sous vide but I think cold extracting for two or three days will do. I made the batch today and I'm really curious how it will turn out.
@@CynesNoob1 I mixed everything but water and sugar into a mason jar. I figured without heat maybe there's a better extraction when it's higher proof alcohol and not already dissolved sugar in it. Mixed (shook) really well and it sits for two days now. I guess tomorrow I'll strain and add water and sugar. I am thinking of mixing water and sugar separately first so I can heat it to make the sugar dissolve faster. Then cool and mix in with the (strained) rest.
@@KevinKos After three days I strained and finished it and it tastes really great! It's still not as clear as yours in the video but I guess some sediments will still sink to the bottom in the next days. I have never tasted St. Germain so I can't really compare (yet). But I am sure my homemade one will shine in some summer drinks this year. Thanks again.
as someone who's... geographically challenged, I appreciate the homemade swaps I know chartreuse is extremely complex, but I wonder if it would be possible to make an approximation of it(or maybe you've already done one?)
@@KevinKos Yes me too. Its my favorite liquor and its really difficult to find these days. Inco, witch is where all the restaurants is doing there shopping cant even get it :(
4:00 I swear, I've been making a batch of what we call "Champagne des fées (Fairies' Champagne ?)" and I had the exact same jar than you with water, sugar, elderflowers and lemon wheel. But mine didn't oxydize like yours, just a few flowers floating at the same. I stirred the mixture 1 to 2 times a day, but my jar was almost full to the top, I think you just had too much air inside the jar, maybe with more liquid or in a smaller container it wouldn't have oxydized like this ! :D
At my liquor store, Absolut vodka is like $20-25 for a 750ml so I don't know how you're getting a cost of $5 for your liqueur that uses 2/3 of that bottle...
I thought I could make this. But… 1. Where find elderflowers? 2. Vacuum seal. 3. Crazy machine heater things. Probably it’s cheaper just to buy it. 😅 but cool!
Hello, I love your channel!! I was wondering if i could use my chemex and a coffee filter instead of a cheese cloth or muslin for making clarified cordials featured in the mojito and gin basil smash videos. Thanks!!
Personally I believe prosecco to be a sub-par pairing. Since southern tyrol produces mostly "Sekt" and due to the slightly colder climate compared to the rest of italy it is often dryer than your average italian sparkling wine. I also think if you do a sparkling wine mixer, you should go for sekt/champagne rather than prosecco as you get more bubbles due to the higher pressure. Great video though, elderflower syrup has probably one of the best cost-to-taste ratios.
Hey Kevin you ever use Pavan. I'm interested to hear your thoughts on the flavor and how it compares to St. Germain and Italicus. All three make cocktails better and do a bang-up job in a spritz.
I know traditionally this is done with European black elderflower, but I wonder if I can forage some local Mexican elderflowers here in California, which are in bloom
Living in the US midwest, I have no idea if elderflower even grow around there, and if so, where to forage them. I do however see commercially available elderflower extracts for sale. Would you have any idea if there would be any chance of success using one of those? If so, would you have any guidance on getting started?
Fantastic work, you guys! Definitely going to try this! Possible video idea: maybe do this for Green Chartreuse (as it's gotten harder to find these days!!) Cheers guys!🥂
I saw St Germain online and thought it was pretty expensive. Plus it should be consumed within six months. How long do you recon your version will be staying true to its taste? 🥂as I watched till the end 😀
I love the labels you put on your bottles - how do you make them? I searched a bit but couldn't find if you already answered this in a different video. Awesome video, can't wait to try this.
What is your favorite elderflower cocktail? 🤩
Check out Darcy’s channel to learn more about the science behind drinks: www.youtube.com/@Artofdrink/videos
Join the Cocktail Times newsletter: www.kevinkos.com/
If you like what we do, you can also support the channel here:
👕 Merch: my-store-11171765.creator-spring.com
🎩 Patreon: www.patreon.com/cocktailtime
🛒 My Store: kit.co/KevinKos
🌍 Web Page: www.kevinkos.com/
Could you make a cocktail with Riga black balsam???
I have tried three in my life. One from Germany, one from France, and one from BC in Canada. The one from BC was by far the cheapest, had the least added sugar, and overall I feel the best of the three
Thanks Kevin!
A paloma with St. Germain is really awesome.
Pear martini
This is crazy, I was literally planning on making this, I just bought dried elderflower. Was gonna try to wing it but now I have a step by step guide, love it!
It's better and more in line with St.Germain if you can find fresh elderflower, but dried can yield great results too.
Mike, I am very interested in your recipe and your results. I don't have access to fresh flower as far as I know, but want to try this as well.
Would it be ok with dried flowers to macerate it as it won’t go bad? Don’t have sous vide yet :/ If you try, please let us know!
The algorithm has your number
Will it taste the same with dried flowers?
Heartily agree on not jiggering the soda. I put my cocktails on a kitchen scale, tare, and add soda by weight. No loss of bubbles and accurate pour.
Another method I've found for separating little flowers or berries from their stems is to use a fork. Slide the stems in between the tines of the fork and gently pull away the flower or berry from the stem, almost like you're combing them out of the stems. I made great use of this method to pick lilac flowers.
That's a great idea! Thank you!
After messing around with a rose cordial and lemongrass for a cocktail, it was missing another element. My beverage director and I ended up adding .50 ounces of elderflower liqueur, and it's our best selling cocktail on the menu to date.
Nice!
@@KevinKos thanks! It was interesting how the sweetness of the liqueur assisted in the perceived acidity of the cocktail. For context, my beverage director mentioned the situation in some Champagne houses where low dosage Champagnes were typically not very interesting due to the lack of sugar, and it turns out that the perceived acidity, amongst other things, of Champagne was more noticeable once dosage was added as opposed to little or none.
Jeeeeez, fam. What amazing content you guys make. Props! Recipes for home made liqueurs is an amazing way to expand your home bar cheaply. I often find myself wanting to try new cocktails, but not willing to spend the buck on liqueurs that I won't be using as much. This could easily be a series and starting with Elderflower Liqueur is a perfect one. Thanks a lot, crew! 🙏
Our pleasure! Thank you!
🥂 Bohemian Bicycle wildly popular now for years at a local restaurant - Bohemian Bicycle - 1 ounce Bombay Sapphire - 1 ounce St. Germain elderflower liqueur -1/2 to 3/4 ounce lime juice, club soda - 1 leaf fresh basil - Love the suit!
Thank you for sharing! Cheers!
This sounds good. Over rocks or up? Not sure if you are describing a cocktail or martini style. Probably great either way.
@@drk321 served up in a coupe.
Kevin, I only recently discovered this channel as someone who has just started delving into mixology and it is an absolute gold mine. The information, from simple basics to homemade and no waste, the aesthetic between your dapper self, the set, and music, the excellent camera work and editting (thanks Sasha you do an amazing job), and just the right amount of humor make for unbelievably quality content. Eagerly looking forward to more, keep up the good work and cheers❤
Thank you so much for the kind words! It means a lot and we'll keep working hard to deliver!
Thanks! I've been trying to find a diy elderflower liqueur recipe that keeps that floral aroma and fresh taste forward. This will work wonderfully! Oh, and I love mine with Hendrick's, soda and lime 💚
Thank you Sarah-Cita! 🙌 Glad you find this useful and thank you for sharing your recipe!
I hadn’t heard of the Hugo until I visited Slovenia. They are delicious and very refreshing, and it seemed like everyone was drinking them there and especially in Croatia. Loved them so much that I bought a bottle of St Germaine and planted some mint as soon as I got back. Excellent vid! 🥂
I hope you enjoyed vacation in Slovenia and Croatia! Cheers!
🥂 It's hard to find St Germain here, so this is a great way to see what it's all about!
i stubled upon this channel by accident and i must say it added a new hobby for me which i didnt knew i was interested in.
keep it going!
I love this recipe and have made it several times. Huge thanks to Kevin for figuring out the recipe!! My only change is I think the elderflower is vastly insufficient - I doubled it, and was very happy. I quadrupled it (!!) and was blown away. My favorite elderflower cocktail might be that (4x) on the rocks! (I also trimmed the sugar by 25%). It provides a richness and depth that goes way beyond StGermaine.
That's awesome! So happy you use this recipe and make adjustments to your liking! Thank you for sharing it with us! Cheers!
It's really cool to have a professional teaching me stuff for free in the comfort of my bedroom
I just made like 3 liters of it. It is delicious. I need to find people to share or barter with it. I put some blossoms in mine and made like an elderflower snow globe. The fancy powders are keeping the color well so far. I suspect there is a big difference in strength of flower from place to place. I doubled the flower for a few batches but lost track of which ones.
🥂 thank you. Excellent video. I’m gently harvesting my elder flowers while watching!
Another great tutorial kevin. Just made my version with a little bit of roku gin and its a absolute gem in my bar. Thanks for posting this recipe
I don't have any elderflowers near me, so I would not be able to make my own, however this video has inspired me to go out and buy a bottle of St Germain and use it in a few cocktails.
Try an Artichoke Hold. I think it is my current favorite drink with elderflower liqueur
Cheers!
🥂Enjoyed the Elderflower collection field trip. Great fun!
Great video... as always! My little tip... There are many Elderflower cordials and i use them in my cocktails at home. In England there many choices, but the best by a big margin is Green Bottle Elderflower Cordial... Not their mixed elderflower cordials, the straight one. I tried many fancier brands but this one is the best after taste testing! By the way.. I have been looking everywhere locally ( South of France) for flowering elderflower, but no luck finding it yet. If i do find it i will make elderflower Champagne which i hear is excellent!
Thank you for sharing!
Making your own Liqueurs is a great way to budget your bar. I make my own Limoncello and Curacao, you can tweak it to your own flavor profiles, and you can build an arguably better product for a literal fraction of the price. I love seeing this kind of stuff on UA-cam.
It also makes great gifts as a by the way ;)
Cheers!
This looks amazing thank you so much for sharing this delightful drink I’m growing elderflowers in my garden for their amazing flavors now and just finished making a cordial with some…blessings wished
This is so wonderful, appreciated, and elevated. Delicate indeed! Marvelous presentation as well, you are a delight! Thank you kindly and for sharing such wonderful techniques and preserving/sharing historic and French culinary and liqueur arts
Thank you so much!
You've no idea for how long I've been waiting for this video.
Wonderful video as always. Elderflower is in bloom where I live, I plan on using your recipe this weekend! Cheers🥂
That's awesome, happy you still have it in season. Thanks and enjoy!
🥂 I am a forester by trade and every year I give out hundreds of our native elderberry shrub.
Many of the folks I work with are super nice and would absolutely let me collect their elderflowers so I will be super excited to try this!
That is awesome! Thank you for sharing!
I actually made this liquer following your recipe today! It tastes really great but the next time i'd probably tone down the sugar a little bit, i'm excited to use it in some cocktails tomorrow though!
Great to hear!
have made several shrubs but never a liqueur. could be a fun project for the summer. thanks as always, kevin.
I've been getting disillusioned with liqueurs lately due to the high cost of neutral spirits. Watered down Everclear has off flavors you need to overpower compared to your average vodka, but most vodkas that are good enough to use for infusions are in the $20-25 range for a 750ml. A lot of good-to-great liqueurs are in that range already without the work and chance of me screwing it up. Shrubs, however, you can't buy at the store for the most part and offer a lot of room for cheap experimentation.
Loved this!! Of to the garden store for an Elderflower plant!
"...luckily, it's not the monks who make it.", this really is a video that only could've came out in recent times, brilliant.
😉 Cheers!
🥂 it’s always a great day when there’s a new Cocktail Time video! Looks like I’ll need to find some dried elderflower!
I just made it using dried elderflowers! 🥂 Dried flowers made it darker but the taste is still delicious! What is the expected shelf life of the liquor? Thank you so much for the recipe!
I just made a butch and it turned out pretty good, (i did it with sealed jar inside pot with water on the stove and check the temperature every few minutes) and it turned out pretty balanced although the elderflower taste a bit heavy i guess because i used dried flowers wich usually a bit stronger in taste than fresh flowers. Maybe i should have dialed the dried flower down in comparison to the fresh ones..?🤔
I remember picking elderflowers as small kid in the early 70s and my mum making elderflower wine. It seemed otherworldly to me, the demijohns and all that. Never felt tempted to try it as it always smelt slightly cat pissy to me and I'm not a huge wine fan. I may try this though.
This is unbelievable, I'm definitely going to try this thanks Kevin!
Hope you enjoy it!
@@KevinKos I made it and it's delicious! Thanks again for the recipe!
🥂very informational! Excellent video
The story of how St. Germain came to be is also hilarius🥂.
Oh and of course you went and made your own, might as well flex on the rest of the Anglophones that Slovenians can do it themselves better.
Lepo se imejte Kevin, Sašo, Robi, in Fantomska roka.
😂😂 Hvala enako!
🥂 Great tutorial and I have to try this while the elderflowers are still in bloom!
enjoy!
I'll try with Blanche d'armagnac !! Love it ! thanks
Excellent video Kevin cheers 🍸
😂 bartender ketchup! I never heard that one back in the day… we used to call peach bitters “chicken stock” for the same reason 👌 Salut 🍸
Fun fact: in Poland the Elderflower tree is called Lipa and July is named Lipiec - hence it was picked in July - so always remember to pick it according to your own climate cause picking it in May/June in Poland might end up with poisoning. Fun fact nr 2: in Czech June is called Lipiec :D
When you tossed that st Germain my heart dropped hahhaa
I had some safe hands over there 😀
I'm here from Reddit and it's amazing recipe! Gonna stay on this channel. Thank you!
Awesome! Thank you!
As soon as I bought my sous vide, I know I was put on this earth to make my own cordials!
🥂 I always appreciate the content. The super juice is still a game changer for me and some of my friends. My home cocktail and cooking game has been forever changed.
Nice! Thank you so much!
🍻 cheers, going to make myself and friends for sure
Love this channel, just found you on here, I like making whacky cocktails, not the classics but like trying them too! Ching ching Kevin! 🍹🥂
🥂St. Germain is one of my favorites, and it started this "hobby" of mixing drinks. As a newbie, it made me feel like a hero since it really does make everything taste better. I still use it to save my screwups and to fix lousy bottles of white wine. I opt for St. Elder which is about half the price of St. Germain, and actually tastes a bit better IMO, but I'd like to try making my own. Looking forward to trying your recipe with dried elderflowers. Getting fresh ones here isn't really possible.
Save this recipe for next year! Cheers!
Just whipped up 2 large batches of this after going on an elderflower hunt yesterday - came out amazingly well! It's a very intense an 'fresh' elderflower taste compared to St Germain.
Awesome! I am glad you like it! Thank you 🥂
Huge effort. Thank you for every detail
Un gran licor, pero demasiado caro a día de hoy. Se agradecen éstos homemade! 🤗🍹
For the best extraction of plant aromatics with ethanol, is this not best done with as high a proof solution as possible and at sub zero temperatures? So rather than diluting the vodka and using sousvide, best to just add aromatics (flowers and lemon zest) to vodka in a freezer, leave for 24h then filter and add remainder of ingredients?
Yes, you could do this ways too. I haven't tried it yet, but it would be a great experiment However I doubt I would get the liqueur with the same potent eldelflower taste as this one.
In Switzerland elderflower syrup is super popular and it was my favourite one as a kid and every spring so many people make their own.
When I make a Hugo at home I just do Prosecco + elderflower syrup :)
It's really a great way to use this wonderful gift of nature. I loved it since I was a kid as well. Cheers to Switzerland!
Great video, your content is always edifying and enjoyable 🥂
I appreciate that!
Awesome film! No fresh elderflowers near me, but i always have St. Germain on hand!
Since you've used Ikea ingredients in the past, I wonder if you've looked at using their elderflower concentrate as an alternative, and what you thought. The taste of the syrup by itself is amazing.
To get 20% abv, it looks like a simple 1:1 with vodka.
Thanks! That's a great idea! I would need to try this out. On its own, the cordial tastes excellent, but I think mixing it with vodka would yield a much less elderflower taste.
@@KevinKosI’ve had success mixing the Ikea drink concentrate with a smaller amount of higher proof alcohol to maintain the flavor concentration. Everclear worked well, and my personal experiment was Wray and Nephew. While not broadly useful in drinks, the elderflower rum is still a novel liqueur to have on hand.
Thanks for sharing, will make this for sure! How long do you estimate it will stay good? Love this kind of content
it should be good forever but my advise is to use it in one year.
Another awesome video. 🥂
🥂 Step 1: get wild elderflower...welp doubt I could do that. Definitely would not be cheaper to buy all the equipment required to make this, but its a cool idea.
Amazing Kevin ! I await the video of Suze artisanal gentian liqueur, or Italicus, as they are extremely difficult to buy here, your recipes are the best, greetings from Brazil ! 👊🏼🇧🇷
Thanks for the video Kevin. Slainte! 🍻
Thanks for watching!
🥂 thank you for the inspiring cocktail ideas! Now I'm looking to see if there are any places to pick some elderflowers! 😊
enjoy!
Perfect! This will probably be my first liqueur that I will try to make at home!
Great video as always! 🥂
Thank you! Cheers!
🥂 Thanks and Greetings from Germany 👋🏻
Welcome!
Amazing! but can you also make it with jasmine flower?
Your voice is asmr dude. Quite charming, informative video. 👍🏻
I wonder if you could achieve more clarity in the final product with a charcoal filtering step like through a Brita filter?
🥂I was meaning to get some more St. Germain since mine is all oxidized as it is a rarely used ingredient for me. I was hoping to find a cheaper alternative and here it is! Now I just need to figure out where to source some elderflowers in Nebraska. I used to know of some wild spots when I lived in a different state, but I'll do some hunting at the state park this weekend. When I make this, I'll decant it into the St. Germain bottle ... nobody needs to know... haha! Great video, Kevin and team!
Hope you like the result 😉🥂
@@KevinKos absolutely loved it. It turned out spot on. Excellent recipe!
Can you explain your sugar rate calculation and abv calculation please
Excellent video!
Thank you! Cheers!
This video came just in time. Thank you! I already planned on making elderflower liqueur this year. But I wouldn't have known to add citric and ascorbic acids and sodium citrate. I don't have a sous vide but I think cold extracting for two or three days will do. I made the batch today and I'm really curious how it will turn out.
Let me know how it will turn out. Cheers!
How did you go about cold extracting it?
@@CynesNoob1 I mixed everything but water and sugar into a mason jar. I figured without heat maybe there's a better extraction when it's higher proof alcohol and not already dissolved sugar in it. Mixed (shook) really well and it sits for two days now. I guess tomorrow I'll strain and add water and sugar. I am thinking of mixing water and sugar separately first so I can heat it to make the sugar dissolve faster. Then cool and mix in with the (strained) rest.
@@4nduril1 Awesome, thank you!
@@KevinKos After three days I strained and finished it and it tastes really great! It's still not as clear as yours in the video but I guess some sediments will still sink to the bottom in the next days. I have never tasted St. Germain so I can't really compare (yet). But I am sure my homemade one will shine in some summer drinks this year. Thanks again.
I wonder if the extraction would be more efficient with pure vodka, adding water later?
as someone who's... geographically challenged, I appreciate the homemade swaps
I know chartreuse is extremely complex, but I wonder if it would be possible to make an approximation of it(or maybe you've already done one?)
Glad you like it! Noted for the Chartreuse 😉
@@KevinKos i would love to learn to make green chartreuse too
@@KevinKos Yes me too. Its my favorite liquor and its really difficult to find these days. Inco, witch is where all the restaurants is doing there shopping cant even get it :(
@@madsjorgensen5856 Where do you live? Here is it easy to find, I am in france so it is probably different
4:00 I swear, I've been making a batch of what we call "Champagne des fées (Fairies' Champagne ?)" and I had the exact same jar than you with water, sugar, elderflowers and lemon wheel. But mine didn't oxydize like yours, just a few flowers floating at the same. I stirred the mixture 1 to 2 times a day, but my jar was almost full to the top, I think you just had too much air inside the jar, maybe with more liquid or in a smaller container it wouldn't have oxydized like this ! :D
yes, that might be it! Thank you for sharing!
Very good, Sir.
At my liquor store, Absolut vodka is like $20-25 for a 750ml so I don't know how you're getting a cost of $5 for your liqueur that uses 2/3 of that bottle...
Hi. My bottle is 1 liter. Also, you can use other, cheaper vodka.
🥂best cocktail channel on UA-cam 🥂
Thank you! 🫶
Oh no it is my favorite liqueur. Great to have a recipe-but where do I find elder trees? 🥂🥂🥂
🥂This was great! Thank you!
Glad you enjoyed it!
🥂I’ve yet to not reach the bottom of a glass you served me, and I’ve been binging, but I’m so very lazy lol🍻
Any recommendations for people who don’t have access to fresh elderflowers? Can I we dried substitutes of the elderflower? Cheers! 🥂
It's more similar to St.Germain if you use fresh elderflower, but dried ones can get some great results too.
I'm inspired! Thank you! Cheers 🥂
Awesome! Thank you!
I thought I could make this. But… 1. Where find elderflowers? 2. Vacuum seal. 3. Crazy machine heater things. Probably it’s cheaper just to buy it. 😅 but cool!
Thank you. Loved this video and just subscribed .
welcome aboard!
thank you for the content. Question, would it be better to add the sugar after straining?
Yes, that can be done too! Great idea!
Hello, I love your channel!! I was wondering if i could use my chemex and a coffee filter instead of a cheese cloth or muslin for making clarified cordials featured in the mojito and gin basil smash videos.
Thanks!!
There aren’t any fresh elderflowers in my country, could I use dehydrated and still get a good result?
Personally I believe prosecco to be a sub-par pairing. Since southern tyrol produces mostly "Sekt" and due to the slightly colder climate compared to the rest of italy it is often dryer than your average italian sparkling wine. I also think if you do a sparkling wine mixer, you should go for sekt/champagne rather than prosecco as you get more bubbles due to the higher pressure. Great video though, elderflower syrup has probably one of the best cost-to-taste ratios.
Thank you for sharing! Cheers!
Lemon balm syrup sounds intriguing.
Hey Kevin you ever use Pavan. I'm interested to hear your thoughts on the flavor and how it compares to St. Germain and Italicus. All three make cocktails better and do a bang-up job in a spritz.
Hi! I haven't try Pavan so far. I hope this will change soon. Thanks!
I know traditionally this is done with European black elderflower, but I wonder if I can forage some local Mexican elderflowers here in California, which are in bloom
I am unfamiliar with this one, but make sure to check multiple times if it's safe to consume.
great video as always
Glad you enjoyed!
Living in the US midwest, I have no idea if elderflower even grow around there, and if so, where to forage them. I do however see commercially available elderflower extracts for sale. Would you have any idea if there would be any chance of success using one of those? If so, would you have any guidance on getting started?
Yes, they do grow around here. We have planted them in our garden in central IL.
🥂 I wonder if there is a big difference between fresh flower vs. freeze dried. Great video, as always. Cheers!
Good question! That would be an interesting experiment!
I used dried flowers and the spirit came out a lot darker. Working to clarify it before I start testing it in cocktails
Great video! I tried the recipe to the exact standards, but the end result had a "cooked" flavor to it. Any idea what went wrong?
Fantastic work, you guys! Definitely going to try this! Possible video idea: maybe do this for Green Chartreuse (as it's gotten harder to find these days!!) Cheers guys!🥂
That one needs more testing, for sure. Maybe in the future 😊 Thanks!
Hello. Can this liqueur be made with dried elderflower without the sous vide method?
I saw St Germain online and thought it was pretty expensive. Plus it should be consumed within six months.
How long do you recon your version will be staying true to its taste?
🥂as I watched till the end 😀
I love the labels you put on your bottles - how do you make them? I searched a bit but couldn't find if you already answered this in a different video. Awesome video, can't wait to try this.
geni.us/SGOSQj Cheers!
@@KevinKos Awesome, thank you!