St. Germain - elderflower liqueur and cocktail staple

St. Germain provides a template on how to successfully introduce a new liqueur. Pick an ingredient that hasn't been used much before. Design a mythology around it (this from the marketing pamphlet hung on the bottle - "In the foothills of the Alps, but for a few fleeting spring days, this man will gather wild blossoms for your cocktail."). Put the liqueur in a stylish, somewhat retro bottle. Win a prestigious award (best of show in the San Francisco World Spirits Competition, 2007). Soon bartenders get excited about it, and voila - a modern classic.

St. Germain certainly is a useful ingredient to have in your bar, but you may find like I did that a bottle lasts a long time. Why? Because it's really not a sipping liqueur, as compared to what is, in my opinion, a more versatile liqueur such as amaro. St. Germain is quite sweet and floral, with notes of muscat grape, melon, and lemon. It's really best as an ingredient in a cocktail, and even then you often don't need a lot of it. I bought 2 bottles 3 years ago, and I'm just now getting to the bottom 1/3 of the first bottle.

Here's a really nice cocktail recipe adapted from Food & Wine Cocktails, 2008.

Long Live the Queen
1 3/4 ounces gin
1/2 ounce St. Germain
1/4 ounce Simple Syrup (you can make simple syrup by shaking together 1 cup water and 1 cup sugar until all the sugar dissolves)
2 dashes of peach bitters
4 mint leaves

Shake in a cocktail shaker with ice and serve.

St. Germain is widely distributed in Washington State.

Domaine de Canton French Ginger Liqueur

This cognac-based liqueur has won an impressive number of awards and high ratings, including the double gold medal (best of show) at the 2008 San Francisco World Spirits Competition. It has a strong ginger flavor, with the bite of a not too sweet gingersnap. It's a tasty sipper all by itself, and it has the extra benefit of being a good digestif since ginger is well known for its ability to aid digestion. I've tried it at various times after a heavy meal, and it certainly does seem to help. The bamboo-shaped bottle is quite distinctive as well.

Here's an excellent cocktail recipe adapted from the 2010 Food & Wine Cocktails book. Since the Canton Ginger liqueur is fairly strong, it's here used as an accent rather than a main ingredient.

Thamyris

2 oz gin

1/2 oz Cynar

1/4 oz Domaine de Canton French Ginger liqueur

1/4 oz St. Germain elderflower liqueur

Shake it all together with ice and garnish with a orange twist if desired.

The Domaine de Canton is currently available at select liquor stores across the state, though only on a temporary one-time basis.