Recipe: Elder Fashioned (serves one)
- 1 1/2 oz. bourbon
- 1/2 oz. St. Germain elderflower liqueur
- 2 dashes Angostura bitters
- 1 1/2 oz. club soda
- cherry
Stir the bourbon, St. Germain, and bitters in a shaker with ice. Strain into ice-filled cocktail glass. Add club soda and stir gently. Garnish with a cherry.
We saw the musical adaptation of Amélie at the LA Music Center a while ago, and the outdoor bar there was serving this Paris-themed cocktail. As the name suggests, it’s based on the Old Fashioned, combining whiskey, bitters, and a source of sweetness (the elderflower liqueur in this case). It’s also similar to the Scotch-based Elderflower Thistle. But what about the club soda? If we went further in that direction — say, mixing one part whiskey with two or three parts carbonated mixer — we’d end up in the category of highballs, home to such classics as the Scotch and soda and the Jack and coke. This recipe stays halfway in between, using a one-to-one spirit-soda ratio and keeping the bitters.
The result is light and refreshing but still flavorful, and not too sweet. We’re planning to pre-mix a batch and take it to a Memorial Day barbecue.
Mixed in LA 