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This St Germain champagne cocktail mixes elderflower liqueur with sparkling wine, lemon, and gin. It’s a sophisticated bubbly drink perfect for any occasion!
Here’s a drink that’s made for celebration: a St Germain champagne cocktail! It’s sophisticated and refreshing: floral, botanical, tangy, and bubbly all at once. The moment I took a sip of this one, I fell in love.
If you’ve never purchased a bottle of St Germain, now’s the time! This bottle of fancy liqueur should be part of your alcohol arsenal. I love this cocktail for holiday parties, New Year’s Eve, or celebrating a promotion or anniversary.
5 Star Reader Review
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ “I made the St Germain cocktail with a good Prosecco and it was great. It’s easy to make 3 or 4 at a time, so it’s good for either serving guests or downing a few alone. I’m saving this recipe.” -Marc
Ingredients You’ll Need
Despite its fancy sounding name, this cocktail is easy to make and only uses a few ingredients. There are lots of variations on this drink, unlike cocktails like the Classic Champagne Cocktail and French 75 that have standard definitions. This one is actually very similar to the French 75! What’s in this St Germain champagne cocktail?
- St-Germain elderflower liqueur: The star of this drink! See below for more about this floral liqueur.
- Gin: I like using a dry gin like Malfy.
- Fresh lemon juice: Fresh squeezed for cocktails, always.
- Simple syrup or pure maple syrup: It’s easy to make simple syrup at home
- Champagne or Prosecco: Any dry sparkling wine works.
Alex and I love making naturally sweet cocktails: we find that using pure maple syrup lends a gentle sweetness. Plus, maple syrup is always on hand in our refrigerator, because we use it in lots of our recipes. We use the maple syrup trick in many of our classic cocktails, from our gin fizz to classic daiquiri to whiskey sour. But of course you can use simple syrup instead if you prefer!
What Is St Germain?
St Germain is a liqueur made with elderflowers, the small white flowers of an elderberry plant. This flavor is warm and floral. If you’re into trendy cocktails, you’ve probably had a St Germain cocktail at a bar or restaurant. Fun fact: it was invented in 2007! (Here’s the story behind it.) It’s safe to say this newcomer to the cocktail scene has enjoyed massive popularity.
How do you say St Germain? First off, don’t say “Saint”. It’s actually pronounced “Sahn-jer-MAHN.” But however you want to say it to not sound too pretentious with your friends, go for it!
What to do with a bottle of St Germain? Aside from this St Germain champagne cocktail, there are many other flavors that pair well (gin, lemon, vodka, and cranberry). Here are all my St Germain Cocktail Recipes!
Tips For Making This St Germain Champagne Cocktail
Here are a few things to keep in mind when making this drink:
- Chill your glass and champagne. If you want an even more satisfying drink, chill your glass. Keeping the champagne properly chilled is important for preserving the bubbles.
- Pour the champagne slowly down the side of the glass. This helps it to not foam.
- No shaker? Use a mason jar or skip this step. If you’re in a rush, you can simply pour the ingredients into each glass: even better if you chill the gin and St Germain first!
How To Garnish It
Half of the fun of cocktails is the garnish! For this St Germain cocktail, you can use just about anything. Here we’ve shown it with fresh rosemary because we had some on hand, and it gives it a bit more of a holiday drink vibe. But you can also serve it with a lemon twist. Here’s how to make a lemon twist without any special tools.
Can You Make A Non-Alcoholic Version?
Yes! Making mocktails or 0 proof cocktails are great for including people who don’t drink alcohol, pregnant women, or kids. You can make a non-alcoholic version of this St Germain champagne cocktail with a few simple substitutes. Here they are:
- Champagne substitute: Use non-alcoholic sparkling cider, grape juice, or wine for the champagne (these days there are some nice non-alcoholic sparkling wine options).
- St Germain substitute: You can use elderflower juice from IKEA to substitute for this elderflower liqueur. Use this trick to make mocktail versions of all your favorite St Germain cocktails!
- For the gin: Use a non-alcoholic gin, or leave it out and add a little more sparkling water
Making A Batch For A Party
If you’re having a party, you don’t want to have to shake up each drink to order. Here’s what to do instead:
- Mix up an 8-serving batch by mixing 1 cup St Germain, 1 cup gin, ½ cup lemon juice, and ½ cup simple syrup in a pitcher. Chill in advance. When ready to serve, pour 3 oz into each glass before topping off with 3 oz champagne.
- You can also chill all ingredients beforehand and simply build the drink in each glass.
When To Serve It
The sophisticated St Germain champagne cocktail makes any occasion more festive! Here are some great times to serve it:
- Brunch drink (Mother’s Day, etc)
- New Year’s Eve drink
- Holiday drink or Christmas cocktail
- Bridal shower, bachelorette party or girls night drink
- Drink to celebrate an anniversary, promotion, etc!
- Romantic dinner or dinner party drink
St Germain Champagne Cocktail
This St Germain champagne cocktail mixes elderflower liqueur with sparkling wine, lemon, and gin. It’s a sophisticated bubbly drink perfect for any occasion!
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 0 minutes
- Total Time: 5 minutes
- Yield: 1 drink 1x
- Category: Drink
- Method: Cocktail
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Vegan
Ingredients
- 1 ounce St. Germain
- 1 ounce gin
- ½ ounce lemon juice
- ½ ounce simple syrup or pure maple syrup
- 3 ounces champagne (about 1/2 glass)*
Instructions
- Place the St. Germain, gin, lemon juice, and syrup in a cocktail shaker with ice. Shake 15 seconds until cold. Strain the liquid into a champagne flute.
- Top off the glass with champagne (no need to measure). Garnish and serve. (Note: You can also make a large batch of the St. Germain, gin, lemon juice, and syrup ahead if desired, then measure out 6 tablespoons per glass.)
Notes
*You’ll get about 8 to 10 drinks per 1 bottle of champagne. Make it non-alcoholic by using non-alcoholic sparkling wine.
Party variation: Chill the gin and St Germain beforehand and simply pour each into the champagne flute before topping off with champagne. Or, you can make an 8-serving batch by mixing 1 cup St Germain, 1 cup gin, ½ cup lemon juice, and ½ cup simple syrup in a pitcher. Chill in advance. When ready to serve, pour 3 oz into each glass before topping off with 3 oz champagne.
I made the St Germain cocktail with a good Prosecco and it was great. It’s easy to make 3 or 4 at a time, so it’s good for either serving guests or downing a few alone. I’m saving this recipe.
I had an artic kiss on an Alaskan cruise. It was vodka st germain and champagne. I see you use gin
I have some doubts about using non-alcoholic sparkling wine making something with gin and st Germain in it non-alcoholic.