To add to the overall discussion elsewhere of the new Elderflower liqueur here are a couple of cocktail recipes that I've worked up using it.

First is the "Elderthorn", a drink I created to accompany the writeup I just posted over in my weekly column on "The Spirit World"

http://thespiritworld.net/2007/06/18/st-ge...flower-liqueur/


There was also a drink that I worked up for the "Spirited Dinner" down at Tales of the Cocktail, but it uses an ingredient that is "yet-to-be-announced", and so I can't publish that recipe yet. However last night I got together with Mr.H and Mrs.H and we messed around a little bit, and discovered that the recipe I was working on also works really well substituting gin in for the base spirit.

You may notice my proclivity towards "smaller" cocktails in the above recipes, each of these look wonderful in a small 3 to 4 oz cocktail glass. If you prefer your cocktails larger, just scale the up. The key is to pay attention to the ratios of the recipes. The first recipe is 2-1-1, the second recipe is 4-2-1
-Robert

I can vouch for these. Very nice. I really liked the St. Germain.

Now Mr. Hess, you have ALMOST reinvented the Magic Hour, my drink for the Meet the Authors event at Tales.

Drink name: The Magic Hour

Glass used: Stemmed cocktail glass

Recipe:
2 oz Tanqueray gin
3/4 oz St. Germain Elderflower Liqueur
1/2 oz fresh lemon juice
Shake well in cocktail shaker with ice.
Garnish with a lemon twist, but do NOT twist over the surface of the drink.

That version dates from the beginning of April.

Great minds think alike, necessity is the mother of invention, and curiousity is the illegitimate father of disgust.

You guys are spooky.

TOTC will definitely be one debaucherous weekend, eh?

I've messed around with the elderflower stuff since Tales, and it has a lot of applications. I am just not quite hitting that 'sweet-spot' perfect cocktail with it. Frankly, all the ones done at Tales at it's unofficial launch didn't impress me.

Anyway, I messed around with the falernum and it tonight, and found a couple nifty-nesses with it. Also, it goes well with a very dry gin, and light rums. The highly-citrus nose is nice, and a little usually goes a long way. I'll post a recipe when i find one I am really, really satisfied with.

I made a salad dressing with it Friday night and syrup for Belgian waffles Saturday morning.

So are we to assume that St. Germain Elderflower Liqueur does not mix well with Absinthe or are our mad mixologists working on this paradox as we speak

I picked up a mini bottle of this today just so I could try it.... really good stuff. I made a "The Magic Hour" (see above), I really liked it; I highly recommend that drink and this liqueur to anyone. Now I have to go get a full sized bottle.

I tried a splash in my absinthe to sweeten it instead of sugar. A bit unusual, but not too bad. The flavors could work well together depending on the absinthe. I'd think that a splash of absinthe might work well in a St. Germain-based cocktail, rather than the other way around.

I don't know whether that sounds like a waste of absinthe or of St. Germain. I like each individually too much to meld the flavors.

Sipping it now. I swear, I like it neat as a cordial, better than Perique. Damn tasty stuff it is.

After 5 Dogfish beers and a Corojo cigar, it freshens the palate for nighty-night.

I agree that it's very good neat.

And that's all I have to say about that.

'nuff said.