The 10 Best Cocktails to Make with St-Germain

Although it has become almost synonymous with elderflower liqueur, St-Germain has a relatively short history when considered in the pantheon of French liqueurs like Chartreuse and Benedictine.

In the early 2000s, Robert J. Cooper, an heir of Charles Jacquin et Cie, Inc., a spirits and cordial producer in Philadelphia, approached his father with the idea of launching an elderflower liqueur like the ones he had tried at cocktail bars in London. By Cooper’s own account, his father told him, “I’ll hire you back in a year when you fail.” The young entrepreneur struck out on his own in 2007 and launched St-Germain, its name and Art Deco bottle inspired by the Paris neighborhood of St-Germain-des-Prés, which was popular among writers and artists during the Belle Époque era.

A savvy businessman, Cooper worked with bartenders to develop a liqueur that could easily be mixed into cocktails, and St-Germain’s launch fortuitously coincided with the craft cocktail revival, when many bartenders sought to experiment with new ingredients. By 2008, the product was ubiquitous in bars around the country. Cooper sold St-Germain to Bacardi Ltd. for an undisclosed sum in 2012, though he passed away in 2016 at the age of 39. Although many imitators have entered the market since St-Germain’s splashy debut, the brand remains arguably the most popular example of elderflower liqueur. 

A sweet floral liqueur, St-Germain is said to be made with elderflower petals that are harvested in the Savoie region of France and hand-picked during a three- to four-week period in the springtime when they’re at their peak aroma and flavor. Its light-golden hue comes from elderflower pollen, and although the liqueur is sweetened, it eschews artificial flavoring or coloring. Each bottle is labeled with the number of petals that were used to make the liqueur. 

At 20% ABV, St-Germain can be sipped on its own, ideally chilled, as an aperitif. It can also be enjoyed in the St-Germain Cocktail, sometimes called the St-Germain Spritz, which simply tops the liqueur with dry white wine or Champagne, club soda, and a lemon twist. 

Because it’s relatively sweet, St-Germain often pulls double duty in cocktails, imparting both sweetness and a distinct floral and honeysuckle flavor profile. Bartenders may swap out simple syrup for St-Germain, or split the sweetener between the two. While St-Germain’s floral flavor makes it a natural match for gin’s botanicals, it’s versatile enough to work with a range of spirits and serves.

Here are 10 of the best cocktails to make with a bottle of St-Germain.