After taking a deeper dive into the health benefits of elderberry syrup, I couldn’t wait to incorporate elderberry syrup into cocktails!
When I first heard “elderberry,” my first thought was the ever-lovely elderflower liqueur we all know and love as St-Germain, of course!
In the cocktail world, the floral liqueur made of a 1,000 elderflowers per bottle (oh, that exquisite bottle!) swept us all off of our feet. Everyone was swooning over St-Germain in their cocktails and bartenders proved to us that the enchantingly sweet, floral French-made liqueur, launched in 2007, mixed well with literally everything.
Yes, elderberry and elderflowers come from the same plant! The delicate little white flowers bloom on the bush that produces the berry.
I’ve never actually seen one, but can’t you just imagine gazing out over of fields of elderflowers in the French countryside while sipping a St-Germain cocktail? Dreamy.
So that’s one place to start when it comes to incorporating elderberry syrup into cocktails at home: terroir. (French for earth or soil) Ingredients that are grown and sourced in the same place tend to pair well together. (Think tequila and agave)
Given the jammy notes and deep hues of elderberry syrup, its seasonal timing is also spot on. Elderberry syrup starts hitting the shelves at Whole Foods and becoming top of mind in the winter months, just in time for increased stress levels and the holidays!
Elderberry syrup is most commonly used as a natural immune booster to ward off colds and flus just when everyone is so ready for a cranberry-hued cocktail in hand to make merry!
Its ability to be a coloring agent in cocktails (important stuff to mixologists and craft cocktail bars) also inspires.
Like its famously versatile floral liqueur, I’d say elderberry syrup will pair with most any spirit, but other than vodka (a neutral spirit), my inclination would be to pair elderberry syrup in my home bar with gin (flavored with botanicals) and in Champagne cocktails. {clink}
Be inspired to incorporate elderberry syrup into your cocktails and try this easy signature MPM recipe!
A toast to good health!