How to Drink French Fluently A Guide to Joie de Vivre with St-Germain Cocktails [A Cocktail Recipe Book]

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).

DREW LAZOR is a food and drink writer and a regular contributor to PUNCH. His work has appeared in Bon Appétit, Condé Nast Traveler, and Lucky Peach. CAMILLE RALPH VIDAL is the global brand ambassador for St-Germain liqueur.

CONTENTS


Index of Cocktails 6 Introduction 8


BRUNCH 13
The Brunch Life 18
Rules of the Brunch Drink 25

DAYTIME 33
The Day Drinker’s Palate 40
The Jazz Age Lawn Party 48

APERITIF 57
The Low-Proof Cocktail Movement 68
Rules of the Aperitif Cocktail 75
Aperitif Hour in America 82
Aperitif at Home 92

DINNER 97
Culinary Cocktails 104
Mise en Place 110
Pairing Cocktails with Food 116

NIGHTCAP 125
Anatomy of a Nightcap 137 
Building a Nightcap Bar 142

Syrups & More 150 


INDEX OF COCKTAILS

BRUNCH 
EAST OF EDEN, Jeffrey Morgenthaler, Clyde Common, Portland 21 
SEÑORITA SPRITZ, Lynnette Marrero, Llama Inn, Brooklyn 22 
TIGER BEAT, Marta Jean Evans, Longman & Eagle, Chicago 29 
GRIEVOUS ANGEL, Laurent Lebec, Big Star, Chicago 30 

DAYTIME 
SAN PANCHO, Caitlin Laman, Chicago 36 
SURF CITY SPRITZ, Dan Sabo & Harry May Kline, Ace Hotel Downtown Los Angeles, Los Angeles 39 
FOR REX, Neal Bodenheimer, Cure, New Orleans 44 
NUDIE BEACH, Brian Griffiths, The Broken Shaker, Miami 47 
FLAPPER’S DELIGHT, Julie Reiner, Clover Club, Brooklyn 51 
DA HORA, Ivy Mix, Leyenda, Brooklyn 52 

APERITIF 
RIVINGTON PUNCH, Natasha David, Nitecap, New York 63 
C VIDAL, Pamela Wiznitzer, Seamstress, New York 64 
LYSETTE, Franky Marshall, Le Boudoir, Brooklyn 70 
A SCENTED STRETCH, Greg Best, Ticonderoga Club, Atlanta 73 
AL FRESCO SPRITZ, Naren Young, Dante, New York 78 
QUI OUI?, Nico de Soto, Mace, New York 81 
THE SHINING PATH, Will Elliott, Maison Premiere, Brooklyn 85 
GENTLEMAN CALLER, Abigail Gullo, Compère Lapin, New Orleans 86 
THE ST-GERMAIN COCKTAIL, Robert Cooper 90 
TÊTE-À-TÊTE, Xavier Herit, Wallflower, New York 95 

DINNER 
VOODOO DOWN, Leo Robitschek, Eleven Madison Park, New York 106 
DARLIN’ DON’T REFRAIN, Micah Melton, The Aviary, Chicago 109 
KEYSTONE HIGHBALL, Julia Momose, GreenRiver, Chicago 113 
SMOKED TOMATO, Matthew Biancaniello, Los Angeles 114 
THE HUDSON GLACIER, Jay Bordeleau, Maven, San Francisco 118 
FIORE DI FRANCIA, Ezra Star, Drink, Boston 121 

NIGHTCAP 
SAILIN’ ON, Karri Cormican, Wildhawk, San Francisco 132 
TURN DOWN SERVICE, Dan Greenbaum, Attaboy, New York 135 
MIDNIGHT BOUQUET, Meaghan Dorman, Raines Law Room, New York 138 
COOPER’S NIGHTCAP, Jamie Boudreau, Canon, Seattle 141 
LICKETY SPLIT, Kimberly Rosselle, Trick Dog, San Francisco 145 
DUBOUDREAU COCKTAIL, Jim Meehan, PDT, New York 146