W hat have you been drinking this summer ? In years past, the fashionable choice seems to have been prosecco, Provence rosé or Aperol. This year, however, it seems the Hugo Spritz is our new favourite.
For those who don’t know, it is a cocktail with elderflower liqueur called St-Germain, Prosecco and sparkling water. See below for the recipe.
“St-Germain is massive, crossing all age groups – parents, daughters and sons. It has been enjoying incredible growth over the last decade,” says Jimmy Redmond of Redmonds in Ranelagh, Dublin 6. Redmond first heard of it eight or 10 years ago: “A woman rang me asking if I stocked a liqueur called St-Germain. I told her I’d never heard of it but found a bottle for her.” Since then, sales have grown every year, and he sells many bottles.
St-Germain is a relative newbie on the drinks scene , having been invented as recently as the early 2000s. It is made using elderflower petals gathered by hand in the Savoie in France. There must be lots of elderflowers in Savoie as sales of St-Germain, named after the Parisienne neighbourhood of Saint-Germain-des-Prés, have grown exponentially. The liqueur is owned by Bacardi, with a 70cl bottle costing €49.
Oisín Davis of GreatIrishBeverages.com is a fan but makes his own elderflower cordial. “After first sampling the Hugo Spritz about a decade ago in London, I’ve since enjoyed my fair share,” he says. “They are best served with a dry prosecco for a more balanced cocktail.” Davis highlights elderflower’s “ wonderful versatility ” in cocktails and mixed drinks, saying it brings “a floral, sweet and sharp bright flavour”.
“I’ll always make a batch or two of wild Irish elderflower cordial every year and will mix some vodka with it to make an elderflower liqueur,” he says.
Gabriel Cooney of Grapevine in Dalkey, Co Dublin, says the business doesn’t sell “that many spritzes”, but it nonetheless offers a range.
“We do three – Hugo, Aperol and limoncello. Aperol is still the most popular, and its distinctive appearance means it spreads – once we sell one, we sell a run of them. Is it this year’s thing? I’m not sure; Provence rosé, on the other hand, we can’t keep it in stock.”
If you fancy making your own Hugo Spritz, the recipe on the St-Germain website is as follows: