St. Germain Elderflower Liqueur

Rating: 21/23 The bottle is incredibly unique. The ornate shape and colors combined with the odd contents make me think that someone unearthing this in 50 years would grimace and say "they had terrible tastes back in the day." Nose: Floral, fruity, sweet, and slightly tart. No alcohol, but the sweetness isn't sickly either. I get lychee and a bit of lemon, but I know there's more there. It's enticing and refreshing, and it draws me in. I could nose this for ages. There's honey in there as well - how did I miss that at first? I'm sure that this smells very much like elderflower, but I'm not sure what elderflower actually smells like. It's a fantastic nose. Palate: Tart, but sweet. Floral (some rose water, but not entirely), honey, the faintest vanilla, lychee, lemon. Nothing artificial and no sense that sugar was just dumped into this. There's maybe some nuttiness like toasted almond mixed with walnut, but not much. A bit of melon too and perhaps a tiny bit of grape jelly. No alcohol either. It's fantastically refreshing and incredibly complex. Viscous and sugary, but not as much as I remembered. Finish: The floral and fruity flavors linger for ages with the tartness grounding everything so that it isn't sickly sweet. The palate is better, but this is a finish that I could savor for ages. It's terrific. So, this is super viscous and sweet. It's kind of too much to drink on its own, but it goes great with some sparkling water. Add a little gin in there and you've got yourself a tasty and refreshing summer cocktail. Liqueurs can be hard to rate because I need to assess them both in terms of mixing and neat, whereas for most spirits I just rate them neat. In this case, neat is simultaneously out the window, but also sort of reduces to the mixed case. What do I mean by this? I mean that this isn't like many liqueurs that are used to add a flourish or fill out well-established cocktails (e.g. how orange liqueur fills out a margarita, but is not a dominant flavor). In this case, the liqueur is best playing a dominant role with a light spirit pairing with it and increasing its proof. I'm sure that there are some fruity cocktails that this enhances, but I don't have a whole canonical list in front of me, so from experimentation I've found that this works with variations on soda and light spirits. Yeah, I've seen some recipes for things like punches with lots of fruit juice and a little bit of St. Germain, but it's fantastic enough in the cocktails I've tried that I don't feel a need to try all of those to rate it. So the complexity, balance, and quality of the flavors are all top notch. This is an awesome liqueur, particularly now that I've figured out what to do with it. mixed into a toned-down state so that it is sippable without being overwhelming (e..g mixed with water), this is a big step up over the likes of Grand Marnier and Pierre Ferrand Dry Curacao. It's hard to find other liqueurs to compare with this. Therefore, I'm sort of arbitrarily slotting this into the 21 bucket. Amazing! It could be as low as a 19, but I can't see it going below that. Really, I think it's at least a 20. I can imagine a 22 as well, but when I sip it I think "this is amazing, but I'd get sick of it if I tried to sip it all day", so it isn't a 23.

Appearance: Light yellow. Smell: Lychee syrup with hints of peach liqueur, citrus peel, jasmine, and muscat grape juice. Taste: Intense yet refreshing sweetness based on lychees, honey-water, and elderflower. The sweetness is complemented by elegant acidic notes, primarily grapefruit and a touch of sweet lemon. There's a subtle spice, like lemon and ginger tea, and the overall sweet character is more like honeysuckle nectar than sugar syrup. The texture is thick but doesn't feel heavy on the finish. Aftertaste: Medium/long. Lychee, peach, gooseberry, and grapefruit. The aroma is quite simple and very direct. I suspect all the subtle sweet notes I detected are just different aspects of elderflower. The palate is crisp, assertive, and straightforward, with a character similar to a tart, fruity young white wine. Complex liqueurs like Benedictine and Chartreuse were originally made to be drunk straight, either as remedies or for enjoyment, though most such liqueurs now end up in mixed drinks. In contrast, I'd categorize this elderflower liqueur with other precisely focused liqueurs like triple sec and maraschino, which were specifically created as cocktail components to add a single, distinct spice flavor in mixed drinks. This can be enjoyed on its own, but if you do, I strongly suggest serving it chilled, straight from the refrigerator or even the freezer. This enhances its crispness and balances the sweetness. I also love the very cool art deco bottle, and it's almost tempting to award it an extra quarter-point just for that. "Very Good": 87/100 (4.25 stars)

Continuing with the French theme, I am now comparing St. Germain Elderflower Liqueur and St. Elder Natural Elderflower Liqueur side-by-side. It is a bit early in the year for summery spritzes, but the weather has been unusually warm recently. First, St. Germain: Country of Origin: France ABV: 20% Price: $22.99 Nose: Dense, sweet, and potent. Lots of syrupy canned lychee, honey, and some grape and orange leaves. Fruity, floral, and fragrant. Palate: Very light in mouthfeel but syrupy in texture (if you can imagine resolving those two). Intensely sweet, with more lychee, citrus, and floral notes. Very easy drinking given the low proof. Finish: Medium-short. It has a candy-like fruity sweetness, similar to if a bag of Original Skittles were macerated in eau-de-vie. Verdict: For beginners (and this has no bearing on the actual tasting, which I try to avoid), but I must say the bottle design looks very elegant on the shelf. So, in terms of presentation, the extra ~$8 gets you a significant upgrade in appearance right away. Second, while this is excellent neat, it is also excellent as a mixer – it is the originator and makeover specialist of many a cocktail. Thirdly, it is delicious – it effectively provides depth of flavor and it is easily drinkable when you don't want to think about it much. 4.25 ~ Excellent

Elderflower liqueur, ever had it? This St. Germain was a gift, probably because of its beautiful, old-fashioned Paris-style bottle and label. I had no clue this brand debuted in 2007! St. Germain uses blossoms gathered from the French Alps during a 4-6 week springtime window. My first impression of the aroma was a mix of something medicinal and glowing woodland sprites showering enchanted dust over vast landscapes. Seriously. St. Germain has earthy and honey undertones, finishing with a faint, perfumed scent. My first sip brings a surprising tartness, quickly followed by the rich, damp honey sweetness detected in the aroma. The taste brings to mind lychees in syrup, with hints of floral and lemon notes. It has a silky, coating texture and a finish that's a little dry but matches the palate. I can imagine it as a nice chilled after-dinner drink, but I'd prefer to pair it with bubbly or gin in a cocktail. St Germain is definitely distinctive and appears adaptable for those who enjoy mixed drinks. 8/10

It has its applications, but a small amount is sufficient. To me, it is quite sweet, almost syrupy. The smell is very floral, and the taste resembles a combination of Martinelli's white grape juice and lychee. I find the supposed elderflower flavor to be rather subtle, less pronounced than the grape base. I generally like sweet things, but this is too sweet for me to truly enjoy it neat. Its strong flavor is useful in mixing, however. When I have another spirit that I like overall but has some undesirable elements in its flavor, I will occasionally add a dash of this. It masks the less prominent notes in the other flavor while the other spirit balances the sweetness of the liqueur, and this often results in a taste that is more "average" but still typically pleasant. It is very adaptable and can be mixed this way with all sorts of things. I am not a creator of complex cocktails but I could imagine this would work well in those too. My bottle of St. Germain will likely last me a long time, as using more than a small amount makes the resulting mixture too sweet.

A delightful liqueur. The nose is splendidly floral with notes of elderflower, lychee berry, and grapefruit. On the palate the spirit opens up into a sweet berry affair. It features sweet notes of lychee, cherry, apricot, and a slightly tropical finish reminiscent of the grapefruit in the nose. The elderflower is almost lost in the sweetness of the drink. If anything it is more like an elderflower honey liqueur. A delightful spirit that I'd pair with gin, a tequila, or perhaps a cognac when building a cocktail. It could also be excellent to do a St. Germain wash in a glass before building a cocktail, similar to an absinthe wash.