Lillet vs. St. Germain

My friend’s younger sister was here with us for 3 weeks. She is a college kid from Texas. Today she left on the 7 am and last night we gave her a low-key Monday night send-off.

A group of us had sushi at The Lookout. Then the brave continued on to Balance.

At Balance my friend ordered a drink he first encountered at Atria - a Casino Royale. He said it is the drink he has been looking for his whole life. Later he visited Alchemy, asked for the same drink, but they were out of one ingredient - Lillet. The bartender suggested - St. Germain.

Last night he ordered it from Balance and asked for the St. Germain instead of the Lillet.

A fun tie-in with the former story was - Saturday night - I had friends coming over to eat - I grabbed a bottle of Lillet, not having done my Lillet research, and thoroughly enjoyed it. So, last night a discussion of the two was easy to pursue and in the end we both decided that we prefer the St. Germain.

So, let’s talk about the two.

Both drinks are from France. Lillet is an aperitif and therefore should be served before dinner. St. Germain is a liqueur. Both bottles have great labels and would look good wherever they are placed.

Lillet is fun - it is made, in 12 months, from a variety of white wine cuvées, matured in oak, and fruit liqueur - primarily oranges from Spain, Morocco, Haiti, Tunisia and the Cinchona bark (or Quinine) from Peru, which gives it the slight bitterness - which is refreshing considering the sweetness of the drink. It comes from the Podensac area of Bordeaux and has been around since 1887 - started by two brothers by the name of Lillet.

St. Germain (no, not the DJ) is a liqueur made from Elder flowers. I must say it is completely refreshing, though sweet. The flower is a herbal remedy for many ails and can also be used to make cordial. Their site is great and they describe the taste better than I: A little like asking a hummingbird to describe the flavor of its favorite nectar. Trés curieux indeed, n’est-ce pas?

And during the same evening, I bumped into a Times’ colleague who was tasting a different French liqueur. After I taste it, it will be on this blog too. Next time…..