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Elderflower season is an exciting but short lived time. Every year I try to find some way to preserve the elderflower harvest so that I can enjoy them for a longer period of time. I’ve been wanting to try making elderflower liqueur (also known as St. Germain) for some time now. This year the local elder trees were absolutely loaded with elderflowers, so I decided to make this delicious elderflower liqueur!
Harvesting Elderflowers
Elderflowers appear before elderberries, and they arrive anytime between May through July, depending on your location and climate.
It’s important to consider that elderflowers turn into elderberries, so taking them will mean fewer berries on the tree. This usually isn’t an issue as elder trees are widespread and very prolific.
Regardless, do try and only take a few flowers from each tree if possible.
Read my post on foraging elderflowers and elderberries to learn more.
Insects love elderflowers, so be sure to give the flowers a few shakes before using to remove them. It also helps to let them sit for an hour or two outside to let any remaining bugs vacate.
The leaves, stems, seeds, and unripe berries of elder are toxic when consumed in large amounts, so remember that when making any kind of elderflower or elderberry preparation.
How to Make Elderflower Liqueur
Depending on the size of the elderflowers you collect, you will need about 20-30 whole flower heads for this liqueur recipe.
Although it’s a bit labor intensive, it’s important to cut the flowers off with as little stem as possible attached. This is because the stems contain a toxic compound and can cause stomach upset in large amounts in some people.
If you don’t have access to fresh elderflowers, dried elderflowers can also be used, just use about half as much as fresh.
Fill a quart jar with the elderflowers, leaving an inch or two of space at the top.
Pour a 750ml bottle of vodka over the elderflowers, then top the jar with lemon slices to keep the flowers submerged under the vodka.
Cover the jar with a lid and put it in a cool and dark place to infuse for 2-4 weeks.
When ready to use, strain out the elderflowers with a fine mesh sieve, then add the optional honey or sugar and stir well or shake to combine.
The elderflower liqueur can be consumed right away, or aged longer if desired. It will keep indefinitely!
Elderflower Liqueur co*cktail Recipes
Can I tell you how amazing this elderflower liqueur is? It is so incredibly good, and it makes a great summer co*cktail! I like to simply combine it with some sparkling mineral water, and in my opinion that’s all you really need.
If you want to get more fancy than that, here are some amazing sounding elderflower liqueur co*cktail recipes to try:
St-Germain is the world's first elderflower liqueur, made with hand-picked elderflower petals macerated in grape neutral spirit within 48 hours of being picked, sweetened with 180g sugar per litre, presented in its distinctive Belle Epoque-style bottle.
With its sophisticated and subtle flavor profile, elderflower also is increasingly used as a flavoring in craft sodas and nonalcoholic co*cktails. Cooper supposedly based the recipe for what he branded St. Germain on elderflower liqueurs he sampled at bars in London, though St.Germain's version is produced in France.
How long does St‑Germain last? As a natural liqueur made with fresh flowers, the color may slowly change over time due to natural oxidation (caused by light and air). We recommend that you consume St~Germain liqueur within 6 months after opening, and keep your bottle in a dry, cool space and away from bright light.
St‑Germain is a French liqueur made with fresh elderflowers, hand-picked once a year in the late spring. To accomplish its exquisitely 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 an elderflower liqueur. It is made using the petals of Sambucus nigra from the Savoie region in France, and each bottle is numbered with the year the petals were collected.
St-Germain is considered a cordial, which is a sweetened distilled spirit that's typically high in sugar. With 20% alcohol by volume (ABV), St-Germain also contains notes of pear, citrus and tropical fruits, according to the company.
Because it is very expensive to bring flowers to market. Cut flowers are a global business. They are grown on another continent, harvested by hand, and rapidly shipped long distances under refrigeration. Because flowers are delicate they require extra care and handling along the way.
According to the popular calorie tracking app and website, MyFitnessPal.com, there are about 11 grams of sugar and 103 calories in a 1 ounce serving of St. Germain.
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 co*cktail, sometimes called the St-Germain Spritz, which simply tops the liqueur with dry white wine or Champagne, club soda, and a lemon twist.
Beloved by bartenders everywhere, St-Germain's delicate floral notes and natural flavors of pear and honeysuckle make the liqueur a savvy addition to a number of co*cktails as well as a great stand-alone aperitif in simple spritzes.
Every lychee lover should beat a path to St. Germain's door. The floral aroma and flavor of lychee have long been seductive to wine lovers, as any person passionate about Gewürtztraminer* will attest.
You can also pretty much keep it around forever—either in a cabinet, on your bar cart, or in your fridge, it never really goes bad, even if it does start to change color.
Cooper, launched St‑Germain, the world's first elderflower liqueur in 2007. Inspired by Paris and its iconic quarter St‑Germain‑des‑Prés, St‑Germain sets a precedent as a modern liqueur made for co*cktails, and perfect for the aperitif.
St‑Germain is made using a natural infusion of hand-picked elderflowers. St‑Germain gets its signature golden hue from pollen and contains no artificial coloring or flavoring.
elderflowers are cis-rose oxide, nerol oxide, hotrienol, and nonanal. Other compounds that contribute to the floral odour include linalool and α-terpineol, whereas hexanal and (Z)-3-hexenol add grassy odours.
An extract of the flower is used to make medicine. Elderflower is used for swollen sinuses (sinusitis), colds, influenza (flu), swine flu, bronchitis, diabetes, and constipation. It is also used to increase urine production (as a diuretic), to increase sweating (as a diaphoretic), and to stop bleeding.
Elderflower cordial is a soft drink made largely from a refined sugar and water solution and uses the flowers of the European elder (Sambucus nigra L.). Historically, the cordial was popular in Northwestern Europe where it has a Victorian heritage.
Introduction: My name is Barbera Armstrong, I am a lovely, delightful, cooperative, funny, enchanting, vivacious, tender person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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