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St. Elder Elderflower Liqueur
About St. Elder Elderflower Liqueur
St. Elder Elderflower Liqueur is produced by St. Elder Artisanal Liqueur – a Massachusetts based spirits company that produces a handful of liqueurs such as Elderflower, Pamplemousse, and Blood Orange. Each of their liqueur products is handcrafted and made in small batches, with the aim of creating a pure, fresh flavor that can be used in cocktails.
This particular bottle of Elderflower Liqueur is made using natural elderflower blossom extract from the American Elder tree. It is infused into an unspecified base spirit, and the final product is bottled at 40 proof.
Bottle Specs
❖ ABV: 20%
❖ Distillery: Undisclosed (Somerville, MA)
❖ Aging: N/A
❖ Price Point: lower moderate price
Tasting Notes
❖ sweet citrus
❖ floral honey
My Tasting notes
The nose notes of this liqueur were very sweet and somewhat floral, with honey being prominent. With each sniff, the aroma gradually got softer.
I took my first sip, and there was a burst of sweetness, followed by a tart and bitter flavor that had a bit of a cough syrup quality. The floral notes were barely noticeable on the palate, but once again, the honey was prominent. The experience of tasting this liqueur straight was not super impressive, and I got the sense that it really needs mixers.
Cocktail
For my cocktail, I wanted to share a fun Halloween drink to celebrate the upcoming season. When I think about what a witch might drink, I imagine it would be herbal, just like her potions. The tonic water will also make this drink glow under a blacklight.
This is the current version of a cocktail recipe I invented back when I first started home bartending. Though, I must admit, I had to alter it quite a bit. The original version had everything but the kitchen sink in there – about 5 different liqueurs in smaller ratios. I guess at the time I was way too excited about my bottle haul. This version should be much more balanced. Hope you enjoy!
Drunken Witch's Tonic
recipe by Emmeline Gonzalez-Beban
Ingredients
- 2oz elderflower liqueur
- 0.25oz absinthe
- 0.25oz cinnamon schnapps
- 0.25oz honey syrup
- 1oz lemon juice
- 4oz tonic water
- 1 sprig rosemary (muddled)
Instructions
- Add all of the ingredients except the tonic to a shaker, and use a muddler to gently muddle the rosemary into the mixture.
- Add ice to the shaker, and shake until chilled.
- Double strain the mixture into a cocktail glass or a festive halloween drinking vessel.
- Top with 4oz of tonic water
Inside of a cocktail, this liqueur performed a bit better than when I sipped it on its own. However, I do feel like my straight tasting colored the experience of drinking the cocktail. A few days before my tasting, I did a test run of my cocktail recipe using St. Elder, and did not notice any cough syrup notes. However, this time those notes felt very noticeable against mixers. That was a bit disappointing.
That said, the other aspects of the liqueur felt well balanced with the other herbal notes. The elderflower was present yet subtle against the anise, which was predictably the most prominent. This cocktail was overall pleasantly bitter.
Bottom Line
RATING: 3/5
Overall, I think St Elder Elderflower Liqueur is satisfactory, but nothing too special. It’s a fine substitute when you’re not in a position to splurge on St. Germaine, but those who have tasted both will definitely notice a quality difference.
It simply does not leave me excited at the thought of recommending the bottle to others. Instead, it left me wanting to taste several more brands of elderflower liqueurs to see if there’s a better value out there at this price point. At the end of the day, it feels very middle of the road.
As always, drink responsibly.
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