By
George Brozowski
Pure
serendipity and then some; I Got an invite to attend the 4th
annual Can-Can Cocktail Classic and actually even managed
to attend. I knew that Buckeye vodka (read my rave here) was
one of the sponsors but was unaware of the other two featured
spirits that evening. Lo and behold, one was Hendricks Gin
which I consider to be the best gin on the planet (read
my rave here) and the other was something called
St-Germain Liqueur, which I had never heard
of and consequently was very eager to try
It
would all go down in a funky old bar called Japp's in the
heart of Cincinnati's funky Over-The-Rhine district. Over-the-Rhine
is believed to be the largest, most intact 19th century, urban
historic district in the United States with over 900 contributing
buildings. It reminds me of Bourbon Street in New Orleans
and it really is just like stepping back into the 1800's.
Japp's was originally opened in 1879 as a wig sewing shop
by a German family and only recently opened under the original
name as the bar it is today. I am definitely adding this place
to my list of hangouts.
When
I entered Japp's I was introduced to the 3 lovely mixologists
for the evening and the St-Germain Rep, Jennifer.
At first they thought I was with Buckeye so I was given the
red carpet treatment. Man, you Buckeye boys sure know how
to influence people and win them over.
My
favorite bartender was covered head to toe in tattoos and
sounded like a young Goldie Hawn. At any rate Jennifer and
I commandeered the end of the bar and began to hold court.
It was then I noticed that of the three featured drinks that
evening, all of which contained St-Germain,
two contained Buckeye Vodka and the third had Hendricks Gin!!
Molly
Wellmann from Japp's made "The
Flowering Tree" with Buckeye Vodka, St-Germain,
fresh grapefruit and Crème de Violette. Susy Mulroy
from La Poste & The Comet presented "The
Summer Affair" with St-Germain, Hendricks Gin,
Prosecco, fresh strawberries, cucumber and thyme. Jeannie
Murray of Jean-Robert's Table featured a "Summer
Fling" made of Buckeye Vodka, St-Germain, Baker
Bird Winery Chardonelle and fresh peaches. Susy got my vote
with her "Summer Affair". The bountiful botanics
in the Hendricks paired beautifully with the flowers and fruits
in the St-Germain and combined to make a
truly wonderful cocktail.
Well,
needless to say I ordered up tastes of everything and we ended
up with 7 or so drinks in front of us. Jennifer flatly stated
that gin was not her drink but condescended to try the Hendricks
after I told her that I thought it was the best gin in the
world. Her eyes lit up and she took another sip and declared
she had never tasted anything like it before. I finally got
to taste the St-Germain and it was love at
first sip but I'll get into that in a moment.
Right
about that moment Jim Finke, the CEO of Buckeye Vodka comes
prancing through the bar dispensing Buckeye T-shirts and tidings
of comfort and joy looking for all the world as happy as a
skinny and clean shaven Santa Claus on Christmas morning.
He finally arrives at the end of the bar and marvels at all
the glasses in front of me. Well DUH we were tasting and it
wasn't just me but he disparages me anyway by saying my speech
was already slurred. Silly boy, he has yet to see me shit
faced, falling down drunk but even then my elocution is superb.
At any rate he jumps into tasting some of the treats and finally
arrives at the Hendricks Gin. As with Jennifer, I tell him
that in my professional, bloated, narcissistic, over the top
opinion it is the best gin in the world. He then gives me
that slightly slanted look that silently states that I am
full of shit. He tries it anyway and his eyes light up and
he tilts his head in the other direction and that eat shit
grin melts away and he nods and thoughtfully says, "I
can make Gin this good". Well you know he just might
be able to because after all Gin is just vodka that has been
confused by a bunch of botanicals and they already have an
excellent base vodka to start with.
"This
is your mission, Jim, should you decide to accept it. As usual,
should you or any member of your Buckeye Force be captured
or killed, the secretary will disavow any knowledge of your
existence. This tape will self-destruct in five seconds. Good
luck, Jim." He also agreed that the St-Germain
was just as good and indeed distinctly unique.
There
were also 9 delectable gourmet tidbits offered at the back
of the bar but by the time I got back there all that was left
were a pretzel stick and some shots of tomato watermelon gazpacho
with avocado crème that was to die for. That pretzel
wasn't half bad either.
Now
let me focus on the St-Germain. What in the
world is this stuff? Well, to start with, it's a Double Gold
Medal winner at the 2007 and 2008 San Francisco World Spirits
Competition. It's a liqueur made from the blossoms of elderflowers
that are handpicked in the foothills of the Alps and then
distilled in France into a 40 proof liqueur. The bottle is
beautiful and baroque in style with many facets and it reminds
me of a tall, elaborate and detailed column in a French cathedral.
The liquid inside is transparent and a very pale yellowish
greenish that appears rich and dreamy.
The nose is floral and fruity with hints of apples, peaches
and pears and a touch of honey and is capped with bright citrus
highlights. There was something mysterious in that nose and
I bet it was the essence of elderflowers but since I have
never experienced elderflowers before, I can't say for sure.
There's also an underlying earthy sweetness to the aroma that
I find very pleasant. It really reminds me of one of my favorite
cocktails, a green apple martini. It is rich and thick on
the palate and very pleasant and very smooth and sweet but
not cloying.
The
nose translates to the tongue without losing anything in the
interpretation. This stuff is simply wonderful. As I described
previously it pairs very nicely with Gin or Vodka and dances
hand in hand with fruit and other spices. I even tried it
in one of my favorite champagnes and it paired cleanly and
the combination gave the bubbly an interesting taste profile.
It also enhanced a mediocre Chardonnay and transformed it
into a delicious drink. I do believe this St-Germain
liqueur will become part of my permanent bar and
I really can't wait to see how it will resuscitate some of
my old favorites and make them interesting again. It's around
$30.00 per bottle but well worth the price as a little will
go a long way, enjoy.
For
more Rants & Raves click
here.
http://www.stgermain.fr/