St~Germain is a French liqueur made with fresh elderflowers, hand-picked once a year in the late spring. As the world’s first, finely crafted all-natural elderflower liqueur, its flavor is as subtle and delicate as it is captivating, evidenced in its sublime notes of peach, pear, and grapefruit, yet none of them exactly. Perhaps contributing to its elusive reputation is that of French savoir faire—an inconspicuous ingredient that is all at once essential to St~Germain’s endless charm.
The exceptional quality and taste of St~Germain is defined by the ephemeral elderflowers used to create it. To accomplish its exquisitely fresh and natural flavor, every bottle of St~Germain contains up to 1,000 of the very best elderflower blossoms, resulting in a finely crafted, perfectly balanced and refined liqueur.
St~Germain is made from fresh, ephemeral elderflowers harvested by hand once a year. The harvesting season lasts for approximately three to four weeks in late spring when the flavour and aroma of the flowers are at their peak. The quality and freshness of St~Germain depends entirely on the quality and character of the elderflower blossom.
Elderflower blossoms are extremely delicate, and are therefore treated with great care from the moment they are hand-picked to the moment they are bottled. If the blossom is damaged in any way, it could impact its aroma and flavour.
Adding to the challenge of delivering the blossom in perfect condition is the need for speed. It is important that the elderflower is as fresh as possible at the time it is macerated to ensure that its fresh aroma and flavour are captured in St~Germain.
As with any recipe, precision is essential for delivering consistent quality. St~Germain is made charmingly slow, utilizing age-old French techniques, starting with maceration. The traditional process of maceration is a dynamic one, infusing warm water with the aroma and flavour of the finest, freshest elderflowers over the course of several hours. The all-natural elderflower infusion is then carefully decanted and filtered to remove its flowers and stems. The quality, aroma, and flavour of each infusion is diligently inspected before it is blended with previous mixtures, the result of which creates the exact fragrance and flavour profile of the elixir that will eventually become St~Germain. The final 100% natural elderflower infusion is then skillfully blended with eau-de-vie de vin, water, sugar, and neutral grain spirit to, at last, create our beloved St~Germain.