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How to Drink French Fluently: A Guide to Joie de Vivre with St-Germain Cocktails
A cocktail book celebrating French conviviality with recipes featuring St-Germain liqueur.
Bring an effortless French sensibility to any occasion with the transporting flavor of St-Germain, the captivating elderflower liqueur beloved by bartenders everywhere. How to Drink French Fluently contains more than 30 cocktail recipes by some of the top names in the bartending world including Jim Meehan, Jeffrey Morgenthaler, and Julie Reiner. Organized by time of day, with suggestions for brunch, aperitifs, and nightcaps, How to Drink French Fluently also includes information on pairing cocktails with food, the low-proof cocktail movement, and other entertaining tips and anecdotes sure to stimulate joie de vivre. Recipes include the ethereal East of Eden (an elegant brunch drink with gewurztraminer syrup and egg white), the refreshing and tropical Nudie Beach (a daytime sipper with honeydew and passionfruit), and the cozy Turn Down Service (a soporific pairing of scotch and tawny port).
Bring an effortless French sensibility to any occasion with the transporting flavor of St-Germain, the captivating elderflower liqueur beloved by bartenders everywhere. How to Drink French Fluently contains more than 30 cocktail recipes by some of the top names in the bartending world including Jim Meehan, Jeffrey Morgenthaler, and Julie Reiner. Organized by time of day, with suggestions for brunch, aperitifs, and nightcaps, How to Drink French Fluently also includes information on pairing cocktails with food, the low-proof cocktail movement, and other entertaining tips and anecdotes sure to stimulate joie de vivre. Recipes include the ethereal East of Eden (an elegant brunch drink with gewurztraminer syrup and egg white), the refreshing and tropical Nudie Beach (a daytime sipper with honeydew and passionfruit), and the cozy Turn Down Service (a soporific pairing of scotch and tawny port).
- GenresCookbooks
160 pages, Hardcover
Published June 6, 2017
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June 16, 2017
I received this book as a digital advance reader copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
St Germain is one of my favorite liqueurs: I love the way it smells as well as the way it tastes. So I was very excited to see that there was a book dedicated to it. Of course, when I mentioned to my mother that I was going to request a book with 30 St Germain recipes, her response was “What do you need so many different St Germain recipes for?” In her mind, my father’s standard St Germain cocktail – St Germain, light white wine, club soda – was all that anyone ever needed. I, on the other hand, was intrigued by the world of new possibilities.
According to the Introduction, the aim of the book is “to take you on a tour of joie de vivre – from the first meal of the day to the last sip of the night - with St-Germain keeping pace every step of the way.” Although “joie de vivre” is not necessarily defined in the Introduction, it is well described. It is that spirit capable of pulling one away “to a time and place where the present moment is the one that matters most.”
I love the way that this book is organized according to a daily chronology of drinking: brunch, daytime, aperitif, dinner, nightcap. Of all the possible ways to organize – by season, by primary flavor profile, by date invented, et cetera – this seems to be the most useful as I most definitely am aware of what time of day it is when I reach for my bottle of St Germain. Within each chapter are four to ten cocktail recipes from big city bartenders across the United States, as well as ephemera about drinking during that time of day. Of general interest to me were pages such as “Rules of the Brunch Drink,” “The Day Drinker’s Palate,” “Rules of the Aperitif Cocktail,” “Pairing Cocktails with Food,” and “Anatomy of a Nightcap.” The “Rules of the Brunch Drink,” for example, were very simple: give the people what they want, brunch drinking is session drinking, put refreshment first, and don’t expect a cure. The “Rules of the Aperitif Cocktail” were strikingly similar: get low in alcohol, don’t sweat the details, get outside, sharing is caring.
Each chapter begins with a substantial introduction that describes the history behind the association of drinking with that particular time of day, as well as introducing the family of cocktails to follow. For example, the introduction to the Brunch chapter discusses the first appearance of the word brunch in print in 1895. And who could forget the comment in the introduction to the chapter on Nightcaps: “Which is why the first rule of the nightcap is that there is no s in nightcap.” I love the vocabulary used in this book; it is not for the faint of heart! Words like “portmanteau,” “euphemistically,” and “ingratiated” are the norm in the author’s writing style.
The drink recipes in the time of day chapters are well-written and easy to follow. At the top left hand corner is a box that indicates the serving size of the recipe, and at the top right hand corner is a box that indicates the name and bar of the inventor. The recipe title is in the center of the page. The recipe headnote provides the inventor’s thoughts about the recipe. The ingredients are measured in ounces, with measurements in plain text and ingredients themselves in bold text. The recipe itself follows the ingredients list, starting with a garnish and then following with the method. Off to the left of the recipe is a small drawing of the glass that the drink should be served in. Overall, it is one of the easiest to follow cocktail books that I have read. The recipes for syrups at the end of the book were simply written in paragraph format so as to fit as many as possible on the page.
Given that there were 30 recipes with St Germain, I was concerned that many of the recipes would just notionally use the St Germain as an afterthought or an accent to make it into the book. That was not the case. The presence of St Germain in these recipes varied from just a ¼ ounce accent in a gin cocktail to 1½ ounces dominant liqueur in a royale cocktail. Without being too scientific about it, it seemed like most of the cocktails had about ¾ ounce St Germain. Quickly glancing through the Index, it seemed that gin was the most frequently used base spirit, with only one cocktail using vodka. Although while reading the book, it seemed to me like there were a lot of cocktails using Aperol; according to the Index, there were only three.
The full color photography is simply gorgeous. While most of the photography in the recipe chapters is of identifiable finished drink recipes, there is some filler photography.
In general, I believe that the book satisfies its aim. Reading it made me very happy. I started reading it on a Saturday morning with the intention of reading just a chapter, and I finished the entire book in under two hours. Even though it is a niche publication, I would most definitely buy it as a birthday or Christmas gift for my Francophile friends, depending on the timing of its publication.
Although I have marked several recipes to try from this book, I have yet to prepare any of the recipes. When I do, I will update this review.
UPDATE: Of the eight St Germain cocktails that I tested from the book, there were four that I would not care to repeat in the future and four that I would very happily repeat in the future.
A Scented Stretch and Flapper’s Delight both tasted so much like the dominant citrus juice in the recipe, to the point where the St Germain was undetectable. The Keystone Highball smelled and tasted like whiskey, even when a mild rye whiskey was used. It got better once the amount of St Germain was doubled. Finally, the Turn Down Service smelled and tasted like Scotch, almost to the exclusion of the St Germain and the port. But that could have been due more to the type of Scotch that I used than to any flaw in the recipe. I would not repeat any of these four cocktails in the future.
The book’s recipe for the classic St Germain Cocktail was excellent, even better than the very similar St Germain Spritz recipe from Epicurious that I tested last month. Despite the very odd bison grass vodka, the Tiger Beat was another terrific cocktail. The Lillet and St Germain were perfectly balanced and the lemon juice was very subtle. The Al Fresco Spritz was another good refreshing cocktail that didn’t allow the elderflower liqueur to be overpowered by the citrus component. This seemed to be the only batch cocktail in the book. Finally, the Grievous Angel was a sweeter strawberry cocktail that didn’t let the whiskey overpower the elderflower liqueur and the rest of the drink. I would happily repeat all of these four cocktails in the future.
St Germain is one of my favorite liqueurs: I love the way it smells as well as the way it tastes. So I was very excited to see that there was a book dedicated to it. Of course, when I mentioned to my mother that I was going to request a book with 30 St Germain recipes, her response was “What do you need so many different St Germain recipes for?” In her mind, my father’s standard St Germain cocktail – St Germain, light white wine, club soda – was all that anyone ever needed. I, on the other hand, was intrigued by the world of new possibilities.
According to the Introduction, the aim of the book is “to take you on a tour of joie de vivre – from the first meal of the day to the last sip of the night - with St-Germain keeping pace every step of the way.” Although “joie de vivre” is not necessarily defined in the Introduction, it is well described. It is that spirit capable of pulling one away “to a time and place where the present moment is the one that matters most.”
I love the way that this book is organized according to a daily chronology of drinking: brunch, daytime, aperitif, dinner, nightcap. Of all the possible ways to organize – by season, by primary flavor profile, by date invented, et cetera – this seems to be the most useful as I most definitely am aware of what time of day it is when I reach for my bottle of St Germain. Within each chapter are four to ten cocktail recipes from big city bartenders across the United States, as well as ephemera about drinking during that time of day. Of general interest to me were pages such as “Rules of the Brunch Drink,” “The Day Drinker’s Palate,” “Rules of the Aperitif Cocktail,” “Pairing Cocktails with Food,” and “Anatomy of a Nightcap.” The “Rules of the Brunch Drink,” for example, were very simple: give the people what they want, brunch drinking is session drinking, put refreshment first, and don’t expect a cure. The “Rules of the Aperitif Cocktail” were strikingly similar: get low in alcohol, don’t sweat the details, get outside, sharing is caring.
Each chapter begins with a substantial introduction that describes the history behind the association of drinking with that particular time of day, as well as introducing the family of cocktails to follow. For example, the introduction to the Brunch chapter discusses the first appearance of the word brunch in print in 1895. And who could forget the comment in the introduction to the chapter on Nightcaps: “Which is why the first rule of the nightcap is that there is no s in nightcap.” I love the vocabulary used in this book; it is not for the faint of heart! Words like “portmanteau,” “euphemistically,” and “ingratiated” are the norm in the author’s writing style.
The drink recipes in the time of day chapters are well-written and easy to follow. At the top left hand corner is a box that indicates the serving size of the recipe, and at the top right hand corner is a box that indicates the name and bar of the inventor. The recipe title is in the center of the page. The recipe headnote provides the inventor’s thoughts about the recipe. The ingredients are measured in ounces, with measurements in plain text and ingredients themselves in bold text. The recipe itself follows the ingredients list, starting with a garnish and then following with the method. Off to the left of the recipe is a small drawing of the glass that the drink should be served in. Overall, it is one of the easiest to follow cocktail books that I have read. The recipes for syrups at the end of the book were simply written in paragraph format so as to fit as many as possible on the page.
Given that there were 30 recipes with St Germain, I was concerned that many of the recipes would just notionally use the St Germain as an afterthought or an accent to make it into the book. That was not the case. The presence of St Germain in these recipes varied from just a ¼ ounce accent in a gin cocktail to 1½ ounces dominant liqueur in a royale cocktail. Without being too scientific about it, it seemed like most of the cocktails had about ¾ ounce St Germain. Quickly glancing through the Index, it seemed that gin was the most frequently used base spirit, with only one cocktail using vodka. Although while reading the book, it seemed to me like there were a lot of cocktails using Aperol; according to the Index, there were only three.
The full color photography is simply gorgeous. While most of the photography in the recipe chapters is of identifiable finished drink recipes, there is some filler photography.
In general, I believe that the book satisfies its aim. Reading it made me very happy. I started reading it on a Saturday morning with the intention of reading just a chapter, and I finished the entire book in under two hours. Even though it is a niche publication, I would most definitely buy it as a birthday or Christmas gift for my Francophile friends, depending on the timing of its publication.
Although I have marked several recipes to try from this book, I have yet to prepare any of the recipes. When I do, I will update this review.
UPDATE: Of the eight St Germain cocktails that I tested from the book, there were four that I would not care to repeat in the future and four that I would very happily repeat in the future.
A Scented Stretch and Flapper’s Delight both tasted so much like the dominant citrus juice in the recipe, to the point where the St Germain was undetectable. The Keystone Highball smelled and tasted like whiskey, even when a mild rye whiskey was used. It got better once the amount of St Germain was doubled. Finally, the Turn Down Service smelled and tasted like Scotch, almost to the exclusion of the St Germain and the port. But that could have been due more to the type of Scotch that I used than to any flaw in the recipe. I would not repeat any of these four cocktails in the future.
The book’s recipe for the classic St Germain Cocktail was excellent, even better than the very similar St Germain Spritz recipe from Epicurious that I tested last month. Despite the very odd bison grass vodka, the Tiger Beat was another terrific cocktail. The Lillet and St Germain were perfectly balanced and the lemon juice was very subtle. The Al Fresco Spritz was another good refreshing cocktail that didn’t allow the elderflower liqueur to be overpowered by the citrus component. This seemed to be the only batch cocktail in the book. Finally, the Grievous Angel was a sweeter strawberry cocktail that didn’t let the whiskey overpower the elderflower liqueur and the rest of the drink. I would happily repeat all of these four cocktails in the future.
Displaying 1 of 1 review