Summers With St. Germain
"Man, I get written up in Bon Appetit easier than I get on Mona's Apple!" Spirit declared over July 4 weekend at my uncle's house in Sag Harbor.
"Psshhh. That's ridiculous," I said with a roll of my eyes, though knowing he was right. I haven't written about Spirit's creation St. Germain since his hit alcohol was the life of a First Fridays at the Guggenheim a couple of years ago.
When I see his elderflower liqueur sitting pretty and tall on a bar shelf, I get a certain sense of pride and glee.
"Oh great! You have St. Germain!"
"Uh-huh..."
"My friend created it!"
"Uh-huh..."
"As in, he INVENTED IT!?" I'll think to myself. Why doesn't anyone believe me?
The inquisitive (rare) bartender will follow up with more questions and in the absence of a cocktail menu, I'll ask what drinks are offered with it. But more often than not, the bartender plays too cool for school and either a) thinks I'm some bimbo tripping on elderflower, b) believes I'm seeking some sort of hook-up or c) he/she's too proud to admit they aren't 100% aware of St. Germain and all its capabilities.
When my mom and I spotted St. Germain at the Octagon Bar in U2's hotel in Dublin The Clarence I shrieked out loud. Who knew it'd crossed the sea to the land of Eire. I wouldn't have been surprised to see it at a tabac in France, but even the Irish are drinking it? Fabulous. I ordered a mojito with a splash of St. Germain and it was excellent. The bartender wasn't quite sure what to make of me (or it), but overall it was a success. My mom hadn't even tried it before (don't kill me, Spirit, I have no idea how this is possible) and she became a fan from the first sip.
Spotted! St. Germain at The Clarence Hotel in Dublin
Spirit is married to my dear friend CalGal. They met while we were spending our post-college, partying days in Aspen. How does someone go about inventing a liqueur? Spirit grew up in a family of distillers and he knows the industry inside and out. In keeping the family tradition alive he's now, with the help of CalGal and a small New York-based team, pushed St. Germain to a level of astounding success. It's pretty much how I judge a bar. Got St. Germain? If not, it's probably low on hotness and not worth returning to.
Over the July 4 weekend, Spirit successfully turned on several more people to the sweet flavor of St. Germain. CalGal and Spirit joined me, my uncle and several of his friends for a cocktail hour in honor of our nation's independence. Spirit walked in with an enormous tub of ingredients and went to work in the kitchen while CalGal and I sat around a table and exchanged niceties with new friends.
Our drink consisted of champagne, soda water, ice, St. Germain and a twist of lemon. (Click here for the official recipe.)
"This is delicious!" said the mother of two.
"I don't even drink champagne, but I love this drink." said the French divorcee.
"I could get hooked on this," said my uncle with his eyes wide open in shock that he was enjoying the beverage.
"I know, right? It's the perfect summer drink."
CalGal and Spirit were the hits of the party. My uncle's very tough to impress/win over and at the end of the night he invited the generous couple back to dinner.
"Am I invited?!" I teased. "Like WHOA!" I told CalGal.
Everyone wanted to hear more about Spirit and CalGal's histories, personal and professional, and most of all they wanted the inside scoop on St. Germain and the drinks you could make with it. My favorites are the champagne cocktail we drank that night, adding it to a glass of dry, white wine (or a mojito) or tossing it into a gin and tonic.
St. Germain as pre-dinner cocktail - to the left of my plate. Tear. Almost gone.
Spirit shared a new recipe with the party I'd never thought of. Sangria flora. I heart sangria, though I drink more red than white, but after I read this, I may have to convert to white sangria. So you can get in on the fun of St. Germain during the last weeks of summer that are sure to fly by quicker than the Tour de France peloton, here is the recipe:
Sangria flora
1 bottle of New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc (dry white wine)
1/2 bottle of St. Germain
1 box (small) raspberries
1/2 box strawberries
4-5 peaches (white ideally)
1 bunch of white grapes and any other fruit you like
Make 30 minutes before serving.
I stole the recipe from my uncle's house so I could type this up.
"Umm, umm, are you going to bring that back?" He asked. Rats. I thought I'd snuck it out without him seeing.
"Yes, yes, of course, Uncle B-. I just want to type it up officially on my blog, which you will just have to read."
"OK, OK, well just make sure to bring it back. I'm going to make it for my next dinner party."
Spirit, I think we have a new permanent guest at the bar cabinet in Sag Harbor. Mt. Gay, this is St. Germain, St. Germain, this is Mt. Gay.
"Psshhh. That's ridiculous," I said with a roll of my eyes, though knowing he was right. I haven't written about Spirit's creation St. Germain since his hit alcohol was the life of a First Fridays at the Guggenheim a couple of years ago.
When I see his elderflower liqueur sitting pretty and tall on a bar shelf, I get a certain sense of pride and glee.
"Oh great! You have St. Germain!"
"Uh-huh..."
"My friend created it!"
"Uh-huh..."
"As in, he INVENTED IT!?" I'll think to myself. Why doesn't anyone believe me?
The inquisitive (rare) bartender will follow up with more questions and in the absence of a cocktail menu, I'll ask what drinks are offered with it. But more often than not, the bartender plays too cool for school and either a) thinks I'm some bimbo tripping on elderflower, b) believes I'm seeking some sort of hook-up or c) he/she's too proud to admit they aren't 100% aware of St. Germain and all its capabilities.
When my mom and I spotted St. Germain at the Octagon Bar in U2's hotel in Dublin The Clarence I shrieked out loud. Who knew it'd crossed the sea to the land of Eire. I wouldn't have been surprised to see it at a tabac in France, but even the Irish are drinking it? Fabulous. I ordered a mojito with a splash of St. Germain and it was excellent. The bartender wasn't quite sure what to make of me (or it), but overall it was a success. My mom hadn't even tried it before (don't kill me, Spirit, I have no idea how this is possible) and she became a fan from the first sip.
Spotted! St. Germain at The Clarence Hotel in Dublin
Spirit is married to my dear friend CalGal. They met while we were spending our post-college, partying days in Aspen. How does someone go about inventing a liqueur? Spirit grew up in a family of distillers and he knows the industry inside and out. In keeping the family tradition alive he's now, with the help of CalGal and a small New York-based team, pushed St. Germain to a level of astounding success. It's pretty much how I judge a bar. Got St. Germain? If not, it's probably low on hotness and not worth returning to.
Over the July 4 weekend, Spirit successfully turned on several more people to the sweet flavor of St. Germain. CalGal and Spirit joined me, my uncle and several of his friends for a cocktail hour in honor of our nation's independence. Spirit walked in with an enormous tub of ingredients and went to work in the kitchen while CalGal and I sat around a table and exchanged niceties with new friends.
Our drink consisted of champagne, soda water, ice, St. Germain and a twist of lemon. (Click here for the official recipe.)
"This is delicious!" said the mother of two.
"I don't even drink champagne, but I love this drink." said the French divorcee.
"I could get hooked on this," said my uncle with his eyes wide open in shock that he was enjoying the beverage.
"I know, right? It's the perfect summer drink."
CalGal and Spirit were the hits of the party. My uncle's very tough to impress/win over and at the end of the night he invited the generous couple back to dinner.
"Am I invited?!" I teased. "Like WHOA!" I told CalGal.
Everyone wanted to hear more about Spirit and CalGal's histories, personal and professional, and most of all they wanted the inside scoop on St. Germain and the drinks you could make with it. My favorites are the champagne cocktail we drank that night, adding it to a glass of dry, white wine (or a mojito) or tossing it into a gin and tonic.
St. Germain as pre-dinner cocktail - to the left of my plate. Tear. Almost gone.
Spirit shared a new recipe with the party I'd never thought of. Sangria flora. I heart sangria, though I drink more red than white, but after I read this, I may have to convert to white sangria. So you can get in on the fun of St. Germain during the last weeks of summer that are sure to fly by quicker than the Tour de France peloton, here is the recipe:
Sangria flora
1 bottle of New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc (dry white wine)
1/2 bottle of St. Germain
1 box (small) raspberries
1/2 box strawberries
4-5 peaches (white ideally)
1 bunch of white grapes and any other fruit you like
Make 30 minutes before serving.
I stole the recipe from my uncle's house so I could type this up.
"Umm, umm, are you going to bring that back?" He asked. Rats. I thought I'd snuck it out without him seeing.
"Yes, yes, of course, Uncle B-. I just want to type it up officially on my blog, which you will just have to read."
"OK, OK, well just make sure to bring it back. I'm going to make it for my next dinner party."
Spirit, I think we have a new permanent guest at the bar cabinet in Sag Harbor. Mt. Gay, this is St. Germain, St. Germain, this is Mt. Gay.
posted by Mona at 10:00 AM
6 Comments:
I have an unopened bottle of St. Germain in my liquor cabinet; you have inspired me to bust it out this weekend! Sooo... just a couple splashes in a glass of champagne or white wine? I'm not big on making cocktails that have 5+ ingredients at home... the simpler the better when I'm the mixologist!
yes snarkydallas, it is that simple. and you can test it out, you know? try it with less one time, if it's too subtle add more to the next glass. you can't go wrong! it is DELISH! thanks for writing!
I've been looking for this liqour ever since we drank this in a hip restaurant/bar in Soho NY. It was awesome cocktail containing Prosecco wine with St Germain and little twist of lime.
I can't find it anywhere in Holland :-(
Any other good St. Germain recipes? I have a huge bottle and would like to use it up before I move... Martha Stewart's magazine had a yummy one (with fresh grapefruit juice among other ingredients), but I'm looking for others. Thanks!
hey AL, sorry for the delay... here are a few ideas: it tastes great with champagne and club soda - that's their signature drink actually. also tastes good with gin and tonics. you can put it in white wine. it's great in mojitos or white sangria. for a list of more check out their facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/abcnews?ref=ts#!/StGermain?v=app_4949752878&ref=ts or go to stgermain.fr for even more recipes. hope this helps! where ya moving?
Hoping St Germain becomes a summer classic and stays in cocktail-menu vogue forever :) I love it so much I've been experimenting with it as a non-cocktail ingredient, and used some of it to make some dreamy St Germain flavored marshmallows! Can't wait to see what he creates next...
http://www.ediblesociety.com/2010/07/st-germain-elderflower-marshmallows.html
Post a Comment
<< Home