IN THE foothills of the Alps, for but a few fleeting spring days, this man will gather wild blossoms for your cocktail.

The blossoms in question are elderflowers, the man un paysan, and the cocktail a stylishly simple creation made with St-Germain, the first liqueur in the world created in the artisanal French manner from freshly handpicked elderflower blossoms. Our story, however, does not end there.

AFTER gently ushering the wild blossoms into sacks and descending the hillside, the man who gathers blossoms for your cocktail will then mount a bicycle and carefully ride the umbels of starry white flowers to market. Vraiment.

There are no more than 40 or 50 men such as he, and in a matter of days they will have gathered and bicycled to us the entirety of what will become St-Germain for that year. You could not write a better story if you were François Truffaut.

TO PUT THIS IN CONTEXT, we can safely say that no men, paysan or otherwise, will be wandering the hillsides of Poland this spring gathering wild potatoes for your vodka. Likewise, we know of no Bavarians planning to scour the German countryside in search of exotic native hops and barley for your beer.
    Yes, in this day and age St-Germain is exceedingly special and rare. Consequently, we are able to hand make only very limited quantities.

AND WHAT OF THE TASTE of St-Germain?
It has been said that Paris is a mélange curieux, a curious mixture of flavors, styles and influences.
So it is with St-Germain.

Neither passionfruit nor pear, grapefruit nor lemon, the sublime taste of
St-Germain hints at each of these and yet none of them exactly. It is a flavor
as subtle and delicate as it is captivating. A little like asking a hummingbird
to describe the flavor of its favorite nectar. Très curieux indeed, n'est-ce pas?