Name: In-Seine
Total time: 4 min
Cuisine: Cocktail
Ingredients: 30 ml Cognac (brandy); 30 ml Bourbon whiskey; 30 ml Elderflower liqueur; 3 dash Absinthe

In-Seine
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Glass:

Serve in an Old-fashioned glass

Ingredients:
1 fl oz	Cognac (brandy)
1 fl oz	Bourbon whiskey
1 fl oz	Elderflower liqueur
3 dash	La Fée Parisienne absinthe

Read about cocktail measures and measuring

Prepare:

Select and pre-chill an OLD-FASHIONED GLASS.
Prepare garnish of skewered white grapes.

How to make:

STIR all ingredients with ice.
STRAIN into ice-filled glass (preferably over a large cube or chunk of block ice).

Garnish:

Garnish with skewered grapes.

Strength & taste guide:

No alcohol

Medium

Boozy

Sweet

Medium

Dry/sour

More cocktails with similar strength and taste profile

Review:

Elderflower liqueur mellows and boosts the brandy's floral notes, while dashes of absinthe balance sweetness and add aniseed notes.

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History:

Created in 2006 by yours truly at The Cabinet Room, London, England.

The name is a reference to the Parisian district of St-Germain, lying on the left bank of the River Seine, and a nod to the use of absinthe and its pre-war ban in France, partly due to the belief that it induced insanity.

More cocktails by Simon Difford

Alcohol content:

1.8 standard drinks
27.83% alc./vol. (55.65° proof)
25.4 grams of pure alcohol

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Difford’s Guide remains free-to-use thanks to the support of the brands in green above. Values stated for alcohol and calorie content, and number of drinks an ingredient makes should be considered approximate.

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Showing 10 of 18 comments for In-Seine.
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Simon Sedgley

23rd March at 13:57

Perhaps a lost opportunity to name a cocktail after the pre-eminent antipodean feminist, Germaine Greer. We call it the "Germaine".

Calvin Grant

19th March at 01:44

Insane how tasty this is. Thank you Simon and thank you St-Germain!

Calvin Grant

19th March at 01:58

Thank you to the folks who made St-Germain possible. It's among the greats.

Kyle

18th June 2025 at 01:41

I took the elderflower liqueur down to 2/3 oz. and it was perfect.

Mookie

5th June 2025 at 04:26

I used an extra dash of absinthe because a) I like absinthe and b) I was worried about the elderflower dominating the flavor profile, and it did not disappoint

Matheus Martins

9th October 2024 at 13:17

Would it work to serve it in a snifter glass without ice to enhance the aromas even more?

Simon Difford

10th October 2024 at 07:15

I'm not a fan of snifter glasses. It's a cocktail that benefits from a little dilution from the ice.

G. M. Genovese

8th April 2024 at 16:40

While I think the elderflower is a bit too dominant, I also think I'm confusing it a bit with/for the absinthe. My initial impression was that this was a unique drink, and definitely one of the few immediate and rare likes for drinks containing elderflower. Well done.

John CARR

22nd March 2024 at 11:57

I thought 30ml of st Germain was going to be too much, but the balance was perfect, with no one flavour predominating. Added some extra drops of absinthe over the top for extra aroma. (And I was strangely out of fresh grapes for garnish on this occasion.) Slipped down all too easily! I used Armagnac as it was to hand, but might need to go cognac shopping to try as written…