Elderflower Old Fashioned

April showers bring spring cocktails, as the saying goes. And the Elderflower Old Fashioned is a cocktail that really knows how to ring in the spring season.

The Old Fashioned is one of the pinnacles in the classic bourbon cocktail pantheon. In fact, this cocktail goes back all the way to the start of cocktails themselves around 1806. At that point in time, the Old Fashioned was simply called the “Whiskey Cocktail,” since it was brand new in the world. It wasn’t until 1880 that, “The Chicago Tribune” decided the cocktail had been around long enough and declared it the “old fashioned cocktail” in a print issue.

But if the Old Fashioned was old then, it’s certainly ancient now. Through the last century and a half, the Old Fashioned has managed to endure in one form or another. The Elderflower Old Fashioned is just the latest riff to pay homage to the classic.

The Elderflower Old Fashioned follows the traditional recipe of whiskey, sugar, and bitters, but makes a few twists of its own. For starters, the Elderflower Old Fashioned swaps bourbon for rye whiskey, keeps a dash or two of bitters, but tosses the traditional simple syrup away for a whole new bouquet of flavor with St. Germain. 

St. Germain is the leading maker of elderflower liqueur – a liqueur made from the essence of elderflower blooms. St. Germain may have the market now, but elderflower drinks definitely aren’t new. The elder plant, along with its berries and flowers, have been used for medical concoctions for thousands of years. Today’s elderflower liqueur probably won’t cure any major illnesses, but it certainly helps shake off the winter blues. 

The Elderflower Old Fashioned is a simple, easy, and delicious cocktail that’ll put your bar in full bloom.