Elderflower Cocktails: The Summer Spritz That Beats Aperol
By Kevin Pilley
What is the ideal cocktail to refresh you in the late summer and early autumn?
Something that will also reduce phlegm, stimulate your circulation, and purge you of stubborn constipation, as well as act as a gargle and a prophylactic for hay fever?
Something ready to hand from Yorkshire hedgerows – and nationwide.
Elderflower water was valued in the eighteenth century for whitening skin and removing freckles. It was thought to cure adder bites, skin eruptions, and “soothing the eliminative organs”.
Elderflower – in cordial, tonic, or liqueur form – is the perfect summer pour.
Whether it be a mocktail made with Yorkshire Wolds cordial and Raisthorpe apple and elderflower tonic, or something stronger. Forget all that homemade fruit syrup hassle. Forget Aperol. And all the high-summer Hugo hoo-ha.
A French Blonde — with a Yorkshire twist
French Blonde
Ingredients
- 1 oz Yorkshire gin (Whitby, Slingsby, Mason’s, etc.)
- ¾ oz St Germain Elderflower Liqueur
- ½ oz aperitif wine (or dry vermouth)
- 1½ oz fresh strained grapefruit juice
- 1 dash of lemon bitters
- Grapefruit twist for garnish (optional)
Directions
- In a cocktail shaker filled with ice, combine the gin, St Germain Elderflower Liqueur, aperitif wine (or dry vermouth), grapefruit juice, and a dash of lemon bitters.
- Shake well.
- Strain into your coupe glass.
- Garnish with a grapefruit twist (optional).
Why elderflower works
Elderflower cordial is another one of those “made since Roman times” things. The ancient Greek word for the shrub is sambū́kē, named after a whistle made from the pith of its twigs. It is also known as boontree or borrwood.
A Borewood Hugo doesn’t have a great ring to it.
Elderflower has long been believed to have medicinal benefits across a range of ailments, from tooth pain to swollen sinuses. It can be used as a salve – but, cocktails-wise, it also makes the most refreshing cool-downers.
From a simple spritz with sparkling wine or water to more imaginative cocktails of the Difford’s Guide kind such as Left Bank Martini (gin, dry vermouth, and Chablis), Sunflower (with absinthe and Triple Sec), In Seine (absinthe and bourbon), and a Rita + Ernest (blanco tequila and wine).
There are many elderflower liqueurs to choose from, such as Germany’s The Bitter Truth, Dutch Bols, New Zealand’s Rose Rabbit, Philadelphia Distilling, Delaware’s Bertina, and France’s Fair (from Cognac), Joseph Cartron (Burgundy), Gabriel Boudier, Edmond Briottet (Dijon), and Fiorente, made from elderflowers collected from the foothills of the Italian Alps. Fiorente is produced by Distillerie Francoli in Ghemme, Piemonte.
Quick mixes & modern classics
Flowergrass Swizzle
- 50ml elderflower liqueur
- 25ml lemongrass-infused vodka
- 15ml lime juice
Method: Pour over crushed ice.
Harvester’s Delight
- 5ml elderflower liqueur
- 15ml Chardonnay grappa
- 15ml lime juice
- Muddled grapes
Cambridge elderflower serves
Blossom hand-picked from the banks of the Cam River goes into Cambridge Distillery’s elderflower liqueur, which is excellent in a Royale (50ml liqueur plus 125ml Champagne) and an Elder Basil Collins:
Elder Basil Collins
- 50ml Cambridge Elderflower Liqueur
- 20ml lemon juice
- 10ml sugar syrup
- 100ml tonic
- Fresh basil
Method: Put all ingredients into a glass filled with ice. Stir and serve with basil leaves.
From the hedgerows
The UK’s hedgerows make some great elderflower tinctures, such as Mousehall in Sussex, The Lakes Distillery, Edinburgh Gin, and Belvoir.
Chris Fraser of Yorkshire’s Elmer Wood Distillery suggests an Elder Vine:
Elder Vine
Ingredients
- 50ml elderflower & elderberry liqueur
- 25ml Chardonnay wine
- 10ml Highland Park 12-Year-Old Whisky
- 30ml Y-Gin
- 17.5ml Supasawa
- Top-up with soda
Raisthorpe also flies the Yorkshire elderflower flag with its liqueur.
Northamptonshire/Cornish Jelley’s Honey and Elderflower Vodka is another useful cocktail component.
Courtside — an Edwards 1902 serve
English potato vodka Edwards 1902 also makes for a summertime Courtside cocktail:
- 45ml Edwards 1902 Vodka
- 15ml Edwards 1902 x Bottlegreen Elderflower Liqueur
- 45ml apple juice
- 15ml lime juice (freshly squeezed)
- 10ml sugar syrup
- Soda to top
- 1 strawberry (hulled)
- 3 raspberries
Method
- Muddle berries in the base of your shaker.
- Fill shaker with ice.
- Add all liquid ingredients except soda.
- Shake for 20 seconds.
- Fill glass with ice.
- Strain into glass and top with soda.
- Add berries and mint to garnish.
St Germain signatures
St Germain is still perhaps the best-known borewood. Its Pear Social cocktail was created to celebrate a collaboration with American fashion designer Anna Sui:
Pear Social
- 1 oz St Germain Elderflower Liqueur
- 1 oz Bacardi Coconut Rum
- ¾ oz cucumber-mint juice
- ¼ oz lime juice
- Bar spoon absinthe
Method: Combine all ingredients in a glass and top with sparkling wine. Garnish with mint, edible flowers, and nutmeg. To batch, multiply each ingredient by your number of guests and serve in a large vessel.
Orchard Cooler (lower alcohol)
- 1 oz St Germain Elderflower Liqueur
- 1½ oz cloudy apple juice
- 2¾ oz ginger ale
Method: Build in a highball glass filled with ice and stir gently. Garnish with a sprig of mint.
House favourite spritz
Mousehall Elderflower Spritz (Deliciously Refreshing)
- 50ml elderflower aperitif
- 100–150ml soda water
- Garnish with lemon & mint
Other serving ideas
- Drizzle over lemon sorbet or a fruity dessert
- Neat on the rocks
- Elderflower 75
Purchase from: www.masterofmalt.com
Kevin Pilley is a former professional cricketer and the ex-chief staff writer of PUNCH magazine. His humour, travel, lifestyle and food & drink work appears worldwide. He has been published by over 600 titles.
