Harvey Nichols Launches Exclusive Liqueur

St-Germain, the world’s first elderflower liqueur, is now available exclusively from Harvey Nichols Wine Shops nationwide, priced at £20. With only 10,000 bottles made each year, the Parisian inspired liqueur is a blend of freshly picked elderflower buds, macerated in eau-de-vie and distilled grape spirit.

St-Germain boasts a clean floral nose with hints of pear, peach and grapefruit zest. The palate is syrupy but not cloying and is wonderfully fresh, with rich elderflower and tropical fruit balanced by subtle lemon zest acidity. Drink over ice, mixed with all spirits and white fruit juices.

Sourced from the foothills of the French Alps, elderflower blossom is carefully handpicked by gypsies and transported down the mountainside on their bicycles. Harvest period is short as the elder shrub only flowers for several weeks in late spring. Once picked, the fragile flowers can quickly lose their freshness; therefore time between picking and distillation is kept to a minimum.

To yield maximum flavour, St-Germain’s founder Robert Cooper created a closely guarded maceration process to extract the delicate white blossom flavours. The elderflower infused spirit is then mixed with a hint of citrus, purified water and Caribbean cane sugar to enhance the natural flavour of the blossoms.

St-Germain's packaging reflects the artisan nature of its production - right down to the illustration of a bicycle carrying a gypsy and his flowers. The shapely eight-sided bottle was created as a tribute to the vibrant art deco period in St-Germain. Each bottle is finished with a heavy stopper and individually numbered and marked with the vintage year. Due to the varying nature of the flowers the flavour will vary slightly with each vintage.

Simon Difford, publishing editor of diffordsguide, suggests the following cocktail using St-Germain:

Ingredients:
5cl St-Germain, 5cl Sparkling wine (or dry white wine), 5cl Soda water

Method:
Serve in a tall glass with ice. Garnish with lemon twist.

For further information, visit Harveynichols.com.