i found this bottle of st. germain in santa barbara.
a friend's garden. no relation between the two except the colors are so nice together.
elderflower liqueur + club soda + a tall glass of ice + a lemon wedge.
when i read about it recently i knew i would like it. thirst quenching & very light. {plus i love the story of how it's made.}
imagine a drink the perfect flavor of summer garden. this is it.
more st. germain recipes HERE.
Beautiful, Mary Ann! These photos and colors ARE summer. I've been enjoying all the flavors of summer. Summer tastes wonderful! I hope they keep it on the menu for a long, long time.
Posted by: Sharon | Monday, August 01, 2011 at 11:02 AM
love bourganvillia (SP). It all looks so glorious. And i would never refuse so exotic sounding a drink.
Posted by: Monica Smith | Monday, August 01, 2011 at 11:11 AM
My husband used to make elderberry wine when we lived in Missouri, thirty-some years ago, now. Mixed half-and-half with soda and lots of ice it made a wonderfully refreshing summer cooler on those 98 degree/98 % humidity days. He used to get old oak whiskey barrels from the McCormick distillery to make the wine in; they always left just a little whiskey in the bottom which added both taste and potency to the wine.
Loved the bouganvillea petals on the wall--wish I could grow it here.
Have a happy week.
Posted by: Nancy | Monday, August 01, 2011 at 11:22 AM
There is a bottle of St. Germain just 4 miles away. I will have to visit it later today and maybe purchase. You make summmer look sweet.
Posted by: Michel Murphy | Monday, August 01, 2011 at 12:02 PM
Thanks for another lovely post and for sending me the link to your blog! I read the poem again and laughed just as much as the first time. I'd love to share one of those wonderful summer drinks with you .... too bad the Mitten is so far away from LA! nancy
Posted by: nancy t. | Monday, August 01, 2011 at 12:40 PM
Reading a wonderful book, Tracy Chevalier's, REMARKABLE CREATURES. There a passage where the women making elderflower cordial.
Posted by: Mary | Monday, August 01, 2011 at 02:35 PM
Oh my gosh, got to taste me some of that. And the bottle is gorgeous too. And the colors, and, and, oh everything. I love those succulents.
Posted by: barbara | Monday, August 01, 2011 at 03:18 PM
I think I just have to go get me a bottle of ST Germain! can i drink some even if it isn't hot here inSF?
Posted by: Pamela | Monday, August 01, 2011 at 05:37 PM
My son just gave me a bottle of that-I've been stirring a splash of it into chilled white wine-so yummy delicious it's hard not to guzzle. Or hard not to have another after I have not been able to keep myself from guzzling.
Posted by: SusanS | Monday, August 01, 2011 at 05:57 PM
Thanks to your link, I have found out that my neighborhood liquor store carries St Germain, at 0 miles from home, how can I not pick up a bottle and help support those cute little men picking elderflower blossoms to provide us with a taste of sweet summer!
Posted by: linda | Monday, August 01, 2011 at 08:09 PM
Wonderfully refreshing post in this heat- and loved the link to the story of the drink! Many thanks!
Posted by: Jilly Zaheer | Monday, August 01, 2011 at 09:32 PM
Sounds delicious and the bottle looks so cool...
Posted by: Renate | Monday, August 01, 2011 at 09:53 PM
You, ma'am, have far too much influence over me. No, that's not a complaint because I now have another delicious summer cocktail. Did your bottle come with the cool little booklet which is immediately going into a journal?? :)
Posted by: Jill | Tuesday, August 02, 2011 at 08:47 AM
hmmm. I will have do track down a non-alcoholic version of that. I used to have an elderberry hedge behind my house, y e a r s ago in England. I did fry up the flowers as in squash blossom fritters but it did not go down well with my family and too fiddly for me.
Posted by: Maureen | Tuesday, August 02, 2011 at 10:27 AM
Well lookee here...who knew. Ikea is my source http://www.thekitchn.com/thekitchn/ingredients-pantry/the-ikea-pantry-elderberry-flower-syrup-051599 My only worry is that the bottle of syrup may end up costing me around $300+. I know how a trip to Ikea ends us!
Posted by: Maureen | Tuesday, August 02, 2011 at 10:30 AM
Hey Mary Ann, on behalf of your Canadian craft monkeys, thanks for drinking "our" club soda. :)
Posted by: Cynthia of Cynful Creations | Wednesday, August 03, 2011 at 06:40 AM
I couldn't email you or see your email from your site. I would like to know if your class is really up? I noticed you had Aug 1st as the deadline. I just found your site and would like to do the class but it's the 3rd. Can I still purchase it?
Posted by: Cheryl Darrow | Wednesday, August 03, 2011 at 08:05 AM
Oh yes - that's a thirst quencher! Love the pretty bougainvillea/succulent photos too.
Posted by: Sharon | the teacup incident | Wednesday, August 03, 2011 at 04:48 PM
St. Germaine is great! I havent had it for about three years as ive been having babies but next year im treating myself to some. You can get some non-alcoholic cordials but theyre not as pretty looking. The bottle is also quite fun to sketch as the glass is so beautiful.
Posted by: Lianne | Thursday, August 04, 2011 at 08:05 AM
I can personally vouch for the Vieux Mot made with St. Germaine!
Posted by: jeanette, mistress of longears | Saturday, August 06, 2011 at 09:49 PM