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The St Germain Spritz is a delightful blend of elderflower liqueur, sparkling wine, and soda water. It’s perfect for sipping on patios, enjoying at brunch, or anytime you crave a lightly sweet and bubbly co*cktail!
Here’s a light and refreshing co*cktail that’s vying for summer’s best drink: the St Germain Spritz! It’s floral and bubbly, full of delicately sweet flavor and effervescence.
Why we love it: There are lots of spritz co*cktails, from the popular Aperol Spritz to the bitter Campari Spritz. But I must say, we like this one even better (we do have a soft spot for St-Germain!). It’s easy to drink, perfect for poolside sipping, brunch, or with an afternoon book. Oh, and it takes 3 minutes to mix up, making it one of our top summer co*cktails.
Ingredients in a St Germain spritz
The St Germain spritz is variation on the popularAperol spritz, an Italian aperitif. The spritz was invented back in the 1800’s in Italy as a way to water down sparkling wine, but it wasn’t until the 1950’s that the Aperol spritz took the form it has today. The St Germain spritz simply swaps in this elderflower liqueur for the Aperol in this classic formula. Here’s what’s in a St Germain spritz:
- St Germain: This popular elderflower liqueur tastes light, sweetly floral, and fragrant. It’s quite popular and easy to find at most liquor stores.
- Sparkling wine: Either Prosecco or champagne work here, though Prosecco is most traditional. We tend to prefer Prosecco since it has great flavor and it’s more economical, pricewise.
- Soda water: Use club soda or unflavored sparkling water (we use our SodaStream to make it at home).
🍾Tip:A 750 ml bottle of Prosecco is 25 ounces, enough for 8 drinks. If you’re making 2 drinks, a mini bottle is perfect—it holds 187 mL or about 6 ounces!
How to make a St Germain spritz
The St Germain spritz is so easy to make: there’s no real technique involved at all! Just stir ingredients and top with bubbles. Here are the basic steps (or skip to the full recipe):
- Step 1:Stir 2 oz St Germain in a glass with ice to make it cold.
- Step 2:Add 3 oz Prosecco and 1 oz soda water.
- Step 3:Squeeze in juice from a lemon wedge and serve. Garnish with a thyme sprig if desired!
Variation: the Hugo spritz
The Hugo spritz is a popular variation on the St Germain spritz that’s essentially the same drink! Simply add a garnish of fresh mint and a lime wedge to the glass.
More about St-Germain liqueur
We’re big fans of St-Germain, a liqueur that’s made with elderflowers, the small white flowers of an elderberry plant. The flavor is light, sweetly floral, and fragrant—though it’s hard to truly describe the flavor you taste it! It adds a unique smooth finish to the flavor of co*cktails.
The vintage-looking bottle makes it seem like it has hundreds of years of history. But St-Germain was actually invented in2007 (here’s thestory behind it!).
How to pronounce St-Germain?
The name is French, so say “Sahn-jer-MAHN” with your best French accent.
The spritz ratio
The classic spritz ratio is present in all spritzes, from Aperol to this amaro spritz. The basic idea is3 parts sparkling wine, 2 parts liqueur, 1 part soda water. Once you’ve memorized this ratio, you can use it to make endless variations of spritzes. Use any type of liqueur, from Italian bitters to…of course, St Germain! Here are a few more spritz recipes to try:
- The Aperol Spritz(aka Spritz Veneziano) is the original, made with Aperol!
- Try a bitter and bubbly Campari Spritz.
- The Amaro Spritz works with any Italian amaro: try dark, sweet Meletti for its caramel notes.
- The Lillet Spritz is light and breezy, starring Lillet Blanc.
- The citrusy and carefree Limoncello Spritz stars this popular Italian liqueur.
Aperol SpritzCampari SpritzHugo SpritzLimoncello SpritzAmaro SpritzLillet Spritz
Step it up: try clear ice!
Take your St Germain spritz to the next level with clear ice! It’s homemade artisan ice that’s crystal clear, with none of the cloudiness of normal ice. Once we started making clear ice, it took our drinks to the next level! All you need is 24 hours and a small cooler. Here’s toHow to Make Clear Ice.
A few more drinks with St Germain
We’re majors fans of this elderflower liqueur! Here are some of our favorite St Germain co*cktails to use up a bottle:
- The French Gimlet is a sophisticated take on the classic!
- This St Germain Cranberry co*cktail is sweet tart and perfectly balanced.
- An Elderflower co*cktail with Lemon mixes in vodka and fresh lemon.
- This St Germain Champagne co*cktail is a bubbly spin on a French 75!
- The Skeleton Key co*cktail pairs the liqueur with bourbon and lemon for a fun highball.
01
French Gimlet
02
Elderflower co*cktail with Lemon
03
St Germain Champagne co*cktail
04
Skeleton Key co*cktail
Frequently asked questions
What is St-Germain?
St-Germain is a French liqueur made from elderflowers. It has a light, floral flavor with hints of sweetness and pear.
What kind of sparkling wine should I use?
A dry sparkling wine like Prosecco or Champagne works best. Avoid anything too sweet, as it will clash with the floral notes of the St. Germain.
Is soda water necessary?
Club soda adds a refreshing touch and essential fizziness. However, if you don’t have it, a splash of plain seltzer water will work too.
What’s the best way to garnish a St Germain Spritz?
A lemon or lime wedge is the classic garnish. For a more floral touch, add a sprig of fresh elderflower (if available) or lavender. A slice of cucumber can also be a refreshing addition.
St Germain Spritz
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5 from 1 review
- Author: Sonja Overhiser
- Prep Time: 3 minutes
- Cook Time: 0 minutes
- Total Time: 3 minutes
- Yield: 1 drink 1x
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Description
Bubbly and floral, this St Germain Spritz is the ideal refreshing co*cktail! An easy way to use this elderflower liqueur, it takes only 3 minutes to make.
Ingredients
Scale
- 2 ounces (4 tablespoons) St Germain
- 3 ounces (6 tablespoons) sparkling wine, such as Prosecco or champagne, chilled
- 1 ounce (2 tablespoons) soda water
- Ice (try clear ice!)
- For the garnish: lemon wedge, fresh thyme, lavender or rosemary, and a straw if you’d like
Instructions
- Add the St Germain to a glass filled with ice and stir. Top with the sparkling wine and soda water.
- Squeeze in the lemon wedge and stir gently. Serve with fresh herbs, and if you’d like, a straw to minimize dilution!
- Category: Drink
- Method: Stirred
- Cuisine: co*cktails
- Diet: Vegan
vegan vegetarian gluten free
Published on / Last updated on
Categorized In:
- co*cktails
- Drink Recipes
- Recipes
About the authors
Sonja & Alex
Hi, we’re Alex and Sonja Overhiser, married cookbook authors, food bloggers, and recipe developers. We founded A Couple Cooks to share fresh, seasonal recipes and the joy of cooking! Our recipes are made by two real people and work every time.
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