The Not St Germain Set

St. Germain became a mainstay at cocktail bars and bougie-boozy brunch spots in the late aughts, partially due to aggressive, effective marketing and flashy design, but also because the trinity of sweet-floral-fruity is super delicious and easy to apply in mixed drinks. So ubiquitous and useful was St. Germain that it became universally dubbed "Bartender's Ketchup" for how frequently it would get thrown into a drink to generally pleasing effect. The liqueur remains a beloved product, but since the further explosion of the cocktail boom, all kinds of similar alternatives have popped up or have been imported stateside for the first time, many of which provide a touch more complexity and juicy deliciousness (in our opinion, at least).

This set includes three lightly sweet alternatives:

Giffard Wild Elderflower Liqueur, the only real direct comparison to St. Germain in this set, comes off as a bit less cloyingly sweet than it's cousin, with more bright, fresh, floral flavor. Produced just outside the Loire Valley in France, the intensely aromatic elderflower blossoms are naturally dried and macerated in small batches to extract their fragrance and flavors, reminiscent of honeysuckle, muscat grapes, rose, lychee, and saffron. (750 ml)

Pomp & Whimsy Liqueura gin based liqueur, is made from 16 natural and whole ingredients including juniper, coriander, angelica, grapefruit, bitter orange, cucumber, lychee, raspberry, lavender and jasmine pearls. It captures the sweet floral and fruity lychee character of St. Germain, but in a deeper, more complex, and less sweet fashion. (750 ml)

An ode to the classic flavor pairing, Edinburgh Rhubarb & Ginger Liqueur delicately balances sweetness with warming spice. Spring-crop rhubarb and Oriental ginger marry with a gin base to create a liqueur that promises lively sweetness, sharpness and spice on the nose and palate, with a lingering warm finish. The liqueur is great in a variety of cocktails, its complex notes enhance punchier aromatics such as lemongrass, cardamom and candied ginger. (750 ml)