At The Alter Of St. Germain

Yes, We Take Requests!

Le Comte de Saint Germain

It's true, readers! If you've ever received a bottle of something slightly outside your wheel house and need suggestions for how to best use it, let us know. Or, you could, as several of you have already done, gift us the offending bottle collecting dust on your shelf. But, as grateful as we are to recieve these gifts, we'd rather lead you to the proverbial 'waters' and hope that you take the opportunity to explore new drink solutions for that bottle instead. 

Or, perhaps you had an amazing cocktail out one night and are desperately trying to recreate this experience at home but can't quite figure out how. Such is the case with a former colleague of mine, Melanie, who could clearly remember it had St. Germain in it, and maybe some gin, but not sure what else. 

Listed below is not only my guess at what she had, but also a couple new recommendations, along with a quick lesson on what the heck St. Germain is anyway.

Popular Guy

If you've been out to a cocktail bar in the last few years, there was bound to be at the very least one drink with St. Germain listed among its ingredients. Created in 2007, this French elderflower liqueur has quickly become the darling of bartenders around the world. With a quick sip it's easy to see why it has garnered nicknames like 'nectar of the gods'. This sweet, herbal, and complex winner of awards can balance any number of bitter and/or dry components in a cocktail. It can dress them up standing in for your standard sweet vermouth, or even elevate a flute of brut champagne.

Likely, our dear friend Melanie probably ran into something like The Chunnel or a French Gimlet, both pairing the sweet herbal St. Germain with a juniper-forward dry gin. Where the French Gimlet sticks with lime juice, like the original, the Chunnel switches that out for a lemon and slightly less St.Germain.

The Chunnel

The Chunnel, connecting France and the UK the right way, with booze.

2 oz. Hendricks Gin
1 oz. St. Germain
3/4 oz. fresh lemon juice
Shake on ice and pour into chilled cocktail or coupe glass.

I found the Chunnel a bit too heavy on the sweet St. Germain, so the next night I tried my hand at balancing it out for my tastes and came up with the below.

Chunnel No. 2
1 1/2 oz. Gin Sul
1 oz. fino sherry - dry enough for balance
1/2 oz. St. Germain
1/2 oz. fresh lime juice
Shake on ice and pour into chilled coupe glass. Garnish with thyme sprig.

Seasonal Offerings

Autumn is full on here in DC now and if you are in the mood for something a bit more seasonal with your St. Germain here are two more options.

La Dolce Vita

La Dolce Vita, the sweet life indeed.

Created by Thomas Waugh from Death & Co., it's a play on the Old Pal, using St. Germain in place of the vermouth. It's boozy, a slow sipper, and reminds me of something like Little Italy or Boulevardier. (The original used a chamomile-infused Old Overholt.)
2 oz. Rye
3/4 oz. Campari
1/2 oz. St. Germain
Stir over ice, pour into tumbler with one large ice cube. Express and garnish with orange peel.

Skeleton Key

I couldn't resist this one as we get our kiddos ready for their favorite holiday of the year.

Skeleton Key, is that blood dripping down? Boo!

1 1/4 oz. Bourbon
3/4 oz. St. Germain
1/2 oz. fresh lemon juice
3-4 oz. ginger beer
8 dashes of Angostura bitters
Build the bourbon, St. G, lemon juice in a Collins glass filled with ice. Top it off with the ginger beer.
Dash the bitters on top and let it trickle down, giving it a spooky effect!

I hope we helped Melanie. Let us know in the comments if you have another fav St. Germain concoction, or any other request! We are sure to oblige in the near future.

By Julz Vivalo