The first time I tried elderflower liqueur was in a restaurant in Toronto. I wish I could remember the restaurant but I have not been very good at documenting vacations unfortunately. I really need to keep a travelogue just so that I can remember the details of the trip. I do know that we had a great time there and ate really great food. And the people were incredible.
We also hit the University of Toronto. One of the things we like to do while on vacation is, if possible, find the local university, find the bookstore, and buy t-shirts for our grandsons (we have picked up some pretty cool stuff... better than the touristy shirts, right?). It's also fun for me because I work for a university.
We also made the day trip to Niagara Falls. Very touristy. Very fun.
But back to the liqueur. It's hard to describe. It's flowery, sort of like lavender, but not. It's sort of sweet, sort of tart, sort of citrusy, and very flowery. Unlike a lot of liqueurs, it's not too sweet. It's actually lovely straight up as a digestif.
I finally picked up a bottle of it and decided to experiment. This cocktail is very refreshing, not too girlie. If you try it, it might just become part of your Friday night cocktail rotation.
Elderflower Martini
Makes one cocktail
Ingredients
2 ounces vodka
1 ounce elderberry flower liqueur (I used St. Germain)
1 T lime juice
Sprig of mint
Instructions
Chill a martini glass in the freezer
Fill a martini shaker or large glass with ice
Add the vodka, liqueur, and lime juice
Shake and strain into the martini glass
Top with the mint sprig
Enjoy!
