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

Ingredients

1 fl oz

Cognac (brandy)

1 fl oz

Bourbon whiskey

1 fl oz

Elderflower liqueur

3 dash

La Fée Parisienne absinthe

How to make

Glassware

Prepare

Select and pre-chill an OLD-FASHIONED GLASS.

Prepare garnish of skewered white grapes.

Method

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.

Flavour Profile

No alcohol

Medium

Boozy

Sweet

Medium

Dry/sour

Health & Nutrition

Alcohol content:

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

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.

Comments & Discussion

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Joseph Nelson Premium Member 5w

I was craving something new with Elderflower liqueur and this sounded unique. And unique it was!

The Elderflower dominates, as should be expected, and I mixed to the ratios given because that was what I wanted. I wouldn't have bothered if I wanted only a hint of Elderflower. This cocktail is strong, herbal, very sweet, and like nothing else I've had. I fully agree with Yuri Beloti's comment below that controlling the absinthe is key. I ended up at 2ml and it was perfect. Just the right amount of tone. You catch the aniseed on the nose and it plays in the back adding character.

Owen Daulton 8w

I don't mind a sweeter cocktail, but the other comments are correct - an equal part of St. Germain is too much. A little extra cognac helped, but even 90 proof rye didn't cut through very well. Still, not bad, and allows the fruit/nut cognac flavors to come through. I think that removing the absinthe and muddling the grapes could be nice- an absinthe spritz is almost always better than adding directly to the mixing glass.

Yuri Beloti Premium Member 9w

Great cocktail. But you really need to be careful with the absinthe. ‘3 dashes’ is relative – even 1 ml more can throw the drink off balance. It’s better to control the dashes using a jigger. Up to about 3 ml of absinthe the cocktail was pleasant, but I’d recommend being careful going much beyond that, because the absinthe can become dominant.

Simon Sedgley Premium Member 22w

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

Calvin Grant Premium Member 23w

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

Calvin Grant Premium Member 23w

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

Kyle 1y

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

Mookie Premium Member 1y

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 1y

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

Simon Difford Verified User Premium Member 1y

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

G. M. Genovese Premium Member 2y

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.