If you’ve ever ordered a ‘Hugo Spritz’, you’ve tasted it: St-Germain. It’s a proper top-shelf liqueur.
It’s French, and lives in an iconic Art Deco bottle and is considered (by almost everybody) the undisputed king of elderflower. It is wonderfully floral, subtle, but – at £30 for a 50cl bottle, it is undeniably expensive.
St-Germain prides itself on being crafted from fresh, wild elderflowers hand-picked in the French Alps during a fleeting few weeks each spring. It’s a lovely story. But you can capture that exact same magic in your own kitchen – using Elderflower growing in your garden!
Making your own elderflower liqueur isn’t alsways budget hack; it’s an opportunity to create a superior product, but something you can share with your friends.
You can interchange the ingredients, dial the sweetness to perfection and infuse it with a character – your character – that the store-bought products can’t match.
In our version, we are upgrading the Elderflower Liqueur with a high-quality dry gin.
Why Gin?
We’re a gin company, first and foremost, so why not gin? Our gin is infused with Elderflower foraged from the Pentland Hills in Edinburgh, so our spirit will produce a wonderfully balanced flavour.
Elderflower itself is already wonderfully aromatic. Scents of honey, litchi, and fresh green fields. Summertime! When you steep elderflowers in gin, you aren’t just soaking them in alcohol; you are marrying two complementary botanical profiles. The gin provides structure and sophistication that vodka lacks. It makes a richer, deeper, more “premium” finished liqueur.
Some Costs and some breakdowns.
Here’s how the economics stack up for roughly 1 litre of finished liqueur:
Elderflowers: £0. (Foraged from common Sambucus nigra bushes in late spring).
750ml Gin: £15 – £35. (Something simple like Beefeater, Tanqueray, or a good local craft gin like ours).
Sugar & Lemon: < £1
You are getting one litre (st germain is 50cl) for just over half the price of one store-bought bottle. If it isn’t a bargain, it’s an upgrade.
How to make your home-made Elderflower Liqueur (and St Germain Alternative?)
A note of caution: Elderflowers are safe, but the green stems, leaves, and bark contain small amounts of toxins that can cause stomach upset. We emphasise removing those stems. Please be careful!
What you’ll need.
A large (2-quart) glass jar with a tight-fitting lid.
A fine-mesh sieve.
Cheesecloth or coffee filters.
Clean glass bottles for storing the finished Elderflower Liqueur.
Your Botanical & Ingredients
25–30 large, fresh elderflower heads. (Gathered on a sunny day, ideally, when the pollen is most potent).
750ml Bottle of Dry Gin.
1 cup Granulated Sugar (to make simple syrup).
1 cup Water (for simple syrup).
Zest of 1 Lemon (peeled in wide strips, avoiding any white pith).
The process.
1. The Harvest and Prep
The most critical step is processing the flowers.
Gently shake the flower heads to dislodge any small insects. Do not wash the flowers. The flavour and aroma are in the yellow pollen; water will wash it away!
Using scissors, meticulously snip the tiny individual blossoms away from the main green stalks. You want as little of the green stem material as possible in your infusion. This takes patience but prevents any bitter or grassy notes.
2. Infusion
Place the cleaned blossoms and the strips of lemon zest into your large, clean glass jar. Pour the entire bottle of gin over the blossoms. Gently press down on the flowers to ensure they are fully submerged. They should look suspended in the clear liquid.
3. Steep
Seal the jar tightly and place it in a cool, dark cupboard (light can degrade the colour and flavour). Let it steep for 3 to 4 days. Give the jar a gentle swirl once a day. Taste it on day 3; it should be intensely floral. Do not steep much longer than 4 days, or you may start to extract green, vegetal notes.
4. Strain and Sweeten
After the steeping is complete:
Strain the liquid through a fine-mesh sieve lined with cheesecloth or a coffee filter into a clean bowl. Sieve gently; squeezing the pulp too hard can cloud the liqueur. Discard the spent flowers and zest.
Make your simple syrup: Combine the sugar and water in a saucepan, heating only until the sugar dissolves. Let this cool completely to room temperature.
Slowly add about half of the cooled simple syrup to your infused gin. Taste. Continue adding syrup until you reach your preferred sweetness. Remember, a liqueur is meant to be sweet, but you want the floral and gin botanicals to shine.
5. Bottling and Storage
Transfer your finished liqueur into clean bottles. While St-Germain is shelf-stable, your homemade version, having less sugar and a lower overall ABV once diluted, is best stored in the refrigerator. It will keep for 6 months or so.
Some Cocktail Ideas – Drinks with St Germain Elderflower Liqueur
This gin-forward elderflower liqueur shines in any application calling for St-Germain. Here are some ideas!
The Hugo Spritz: 2 oz Prosecco, 1.5 oz Homemade Elderflower Liqueur, splash of soda water. Serve over ice with a sprig of fresh mint and a lime slice.
Elderflower Gin & Tonic: Substitute 0.5 oz of your gin with 0.5 oz of your new liqueur in a classic G&T.
The French 77: A sophisticated blend of gin, lemon juice, elderflower liqueur, and champagne.