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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.
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.
You can substitute St-Germain with Giffard Fleur de Sureau Sauvage, St.Elder, and RoomeR Elderflower Aperitif. St Germain's delicately sweet, floral profile pairs well with lighter, citrus spirits like white wine, champagne, gin and vodka.
You can enjoy St Germain straight or over ice. It makes a great after-dinner drink, similar to Baily's Irish Cream. It offers sweet, balanced, floral notes with hints of fruit you might want instead of coffee or chocolate.
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.
It takes many pounds of flowers to produce a small amount of raw “liquor”. That is used to produce the flavoring used in cordials. Dried flowers are again smaller than the fresh, (all that water, you know) so it takes many flowers to make a pot of tea. If you take the flowers, there are no berries.
They're also packed with antioxidants and vitamins (A, C, B6) that help boost your immune system, reduce inflammation and protect your heart. Anecdotally, elderflower, often in the form of tea, has been used to reduce the severity of symptoms and length of time of the common cold.
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.
Germain Elderflower Liqueur with fresh cucumber and lime juice, gin, rosemary simple syrup and orange bitters. It's one of my most sought after co*cktails. Get this, you can even freeze it and use it to layer a shot. The newbies in the co*cktail world 9–10 will start out mixing co*cktails with St.
Pour the St‑Germain, vodka, freshly squeezed lemon juice and sugar syrup into a co*cktail shaker. 2. Add ice to the shaker and shake vigorously until the drink is nicely chilled.
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.
Elderflower liqueurs are delicately flavoured, aromatic and floral; they mix brilliantly with pretty much every spirit, both white and brown, even combining well with the strong flavours of mezcal, peated whisky and pisco. Elderflower tends to mix better with light-coloured fruits such as pear, apple and white grapes.
Elderflower has a woodsy and floral taste, and their sweetness comes out when elderflower is cooked. Photo courtesy of Shadi via Unsplash. Compared to elderflower, elderberry has a more intense taste: woodsy and floral, with a dark flavor that can be bitter and earthy when the fruit is consumed raw.
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.
The wild, natural sweetness of fresh, handpicked elderflowers gives St Germain a transformative flavour; indulgent, yet delicate with a fresh natural sweetness and notes of pear and honeysuckle.
St Germain Liqueur features a subtle yet delicate flavor, a fresh, quality taste and notes of peach, pear and grapefruit that are enhanced by the endless charm of the elderflower.
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