Cocktail & Other Recipes By Spirit Vodka Cocktails

Elderflower Fizz

By
Alex Frane
A man with dark hair and beard with a long mustache and glasses leans against a gray wall. He is holding a cocktail and wearing a blue shirt with white dots.
Alex Frane
Alex Frane is a freelance writer who has been writing about food, drinks and local culture since 2013, with a primary focus on spirits, cocktails, and bartending. He has interviewed dozens of bartenders from across the country, and visited some of the country’s top cocktail destinations.
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Updated 08/29/22
A narrow Champagne flute holds a bubbly yellow drink garnished with a sprig of thyme. It glows brightly against a black background

Liquor.com / Tim Nusog

Elderflower liqueur and sparkling wine have long been a celebrated combination. The sweetness and floral aspect of the liqueur are beautifully highlighted by a dry, bubbly wine like cava or Champagne. The simplest take on this is the St-Germain Cocktail, a spritz made with the eponymous elderflower liqueur, club soda and white wine, and the Elderflower Fizz builds on that basic formula. The drink comes from bartender Trudy Thomas, who created it while at the Camelback Inn Resort & Spa in Scottsdale, Arizona. In the drink, St-Germain elderflower liqueur is joined by vodka, agave nectar and lime and is topped with sparkling wine.

St-Germain largely started the elderflower liqueur craze in the early part of the “Cocktail Renaissance” when it was introduced in 2007. It was jokingly referred to as “the bartender’s ketchup,” as the elegant bottles were found at cocktail bars across the country. Today, it’s not quite so ubiquitous, but still regularly found on cocktail menus. Furthermore, St-Germain has been joined by a number of other elderflower spirits, including the French Drillaud Elderflower Liqueur and the U.S. crafted St. Elder Elderflower Liqueur. While the Elderflower Fizz specifically calls for the original, you can substitute others to your tastes and preference.

The Elderflower Fizz calls for using Gruet sparkling wine as its bubbly. The New Mexico winery is well known for its affordable, Champagne-style wines. The Brut is a solid choice for this cocktail, as the dry, sparkling wine is an excellent value for using in cocktails. For even more depth, though, the Blanc de Blanc offers an elegant and robust flavor profile for only a little more expense. Gruet rosé, while lovely, should be avoided to maintain the clarity of the drink’s color.

For her spritz, Thomas uses Square One Organic vodka, a bottling from an organic, woman-owned and operated distillery in Virginia. If you can’t find it available near you, most other mid-price vodkas will fill in nicely.

Ingredients

  • 1/2 ounce Square One Organic vodka
  • 1/2 ounce St-Germain
  • 1 ounce lime sour (2 parts lime juice, 1 part agave nectar)
  • 1 teaspoon agave nectar
  • Gruet sparkling wine, to top
  • Garnish: thyme sprig

Steps

  1. Add the vodka, St-Germain, lime sour and agave nectar to a shaker with ice and shake until well-chilled.

  2. Strain into a Champagne flute.

  3. Top with the sparkling wine.

  4. Slap a thyme sprig once between your palms to release its oils. Use it to gently stir the drink, then leave it in as a garnish.