The Elder Fashion Royale, from Phil Ward at Death & Co., was one of the earliest cocktail recipes to take advantage of St. Germain, an elderflower liqueur brought to market back in 2007. All these years later, it’s still a stunner: glittering straw-gold, nicely dry with a beautiful floral aftertaste.
Since the sparkling wine makes up more than half the drink, it’s important to use a good one! Ward calls for dry Champagne, but any good-quality, not-too-sweet sparkling white will work here.
Ward used Plymouth gin in his original recipe, but we’ve also had good results with aged gin, or a botanic-forward gin like Hendrick’s.
