How to Drink French Fluently

A cocktail book celebrating French conviviality with recipes featuring St-Germain liqueur.

Bring an effortless French sensibility to any occasion with the transporting flavor of St-Germain, the captivating elderflower liqueur beloved by bartenders everywhere. How to Drink French Fluently contains more than 30 cocktail recipes by some of the top names in the bartending world including Jim Meehan, Jeffrey Morgenthaler, and Julie Reiner. Organized by time of day, with suggestions for brunch, aperitifs, and nightcaps, How to Drink French Fluently also includes information on pairing cocktails with food, the low-proof cocktail movement, and other entertaining tips and anecdotes sure to stimulate joie de vivre. Recipes include the ethereal East of Eden (an elegant brunch drink with gewurztraminer syrup and egg white), the refreshing and tropical Nudie Beach (a daytime sipper with honeydew and passionfruit), and the cozy Turn Down Service (a soporific pairing of scotch and tawny port).CONTENTS


Index of Cocktails 6 Introduction 8


BRUNCH 13
The Brunch Life 18
Rules of the Brunch Drink 25

DAYTIME 33
The Day Drinker’s Palate 40
The Jazz Age Lawn Party 48

APERITIF 57
The Low-Proof Cocktail Movement 68
Rules of the Aperitif Cocktail 75
Aperitif Hour in America 82
Aperitif at Home 92

DINNER 97
Culinary Cocktails 104
Mise en Place 110
Pairing Cocktails with Food 116

NIGHTCAP 125
Anatomy of a Nightcap 137 
Building a Nightcap Bar 142

Syrups & More 150 


INDEX OF COCKTAILS

BRUNCH 
EAST OF EDEN, Jeffrey Morgenthaler, Clyde Common, Portland 21 
SEÑORITA SPRITZ, Lynnette Marrero, Llama Inn, Brooklyn 22 
TIGER BEAT, Marta Jean Evans, Longman & Eagle, Chicago 29 
GRIEVOUS ANGEL, Laurent Lebec, Big Star, Chicago 30 

DAYTIME 
SAN PANCHO, Caitlin Laman, Chicago 36 
SURF CITY SPRITZ, Dan Sabo & Harry May Kline, Ace Hotel Downtown Los Angeles, Los Angeles 39 
FOR REX, Neal Bodenheimer, Cure, New Orleans 44 
NUDIE BEACH, Brian Griffiths, The Broken Shaker, Miami 47 
FLAPPER’S DELIGHT, Julie Reiner, Clover Club, Brooklyn 51 
DA HORA, Ivy Mix, Leyenda, Brooklyn 52 

APERITIF 
RIVINGTON PUNCH, Natasha David, Nitecap, New York 63 
C VIDAL, Pamela Wiznitzer, Seamstress, New York 64 
LYSETTE, Franky Marshall, Le Boudoir, Brooklyn 70 
A SCENTED STRETCH, Greg Best, Ticonderoga Club, Atlanta 73 
AL FRESCO SPRITZ, Naren Young, Dante, New York 78 
QUI OUI?, Nico de Soto, Mace, New York 81 
THE SHINING PATH, Will Elliott, Maison Premiere, Brooklyn 85 
GENTLEMAN CALLER, Abigail Gullo, Compère Lapin, New Orleans 86 
THE ST-GERMAIN COCKTAIL, Robert Cooper 90 
TÊTE-À-TÊTE, Xavier Herit, Wallflower, New York 95 

DINNER 
VOODOO DOWN, Leo Robitschek, Eleven Madison Park, New York 106 
DARLIN’ DON’T REFRAIN, Micah Melton, The Aviary, Chicago 109 
KEYSTONE HIGHBALL, Julia Momose, GreenRiver, Chicago 113 
SMOKED TOMATO, Matthew Biancaniello, Los Angeles 114 
THE HUDSON GLACIER, Jay Bordeleau, Maven, San Francisco 118 
FIORE DI FRANCIA, Ezra Star, Drink, Boston 121 

NIGHTCAP 
SAILIN’ ON, Karri Cormican, Wildhawk, San Francisco 132 
TURN DOWN SERVICE, Dan Greenbaum, Attaboy, New York 135 
MIDNIGHT BOUQUET, Meaghan Dorman, Raines Law Room, New York 138 
COOPER’S NIGHTCAP, Jamie Boudreau, Canon, Seattle 141 
LICKETY SPLIT, Kimberly Rosselle, Trick Dog, San Francisco 145 
DUBOUDREAU COCKTAIL, Jim Meehan, PDT, New York 146 

"A simple, straightforward read—complete with pretty, let-it-be-summer-already photos by Lizzie Munro—that intersperses short essays about each drinking period of the day (brunch, aperitif hour, the nightcap) with recipes from top bartenders to fit them."
—Dan Q. Dao, Saveur


Praise for St-Germain liqueur:

"I love working with St-Germain. It's the perfect sort of liqueur to experiment with."
—Gary Regan, author of The Joy of Mixology

"Maybe the best new liqueur released in the last two decades, St-Germain is a revelation due to its delicacy and its unique flavor."
—Spirit Journal

"St-Germain is a truly artisan product, produced with real craftsmanship."
—Audrey Saunders, owner of Pegu Club

"An instant classic."
—Jim Meehan, owner of PDT

DREW LAZOR is a food and drink writer and a regular contributor to PUNCH. His work has appeared in Bon Appétit, Condé Nast Traveler, and Lucky Peach. CAMILLE RALPH VIDAL is the global brand ambassador for St-Germain liqueur.RULES OF THE BRUNCH DRINK 


GIVE THE PEOPLE WHAT THEY WANT. The most persistent brunch-cocktail categories are popular for a reason: they work. There’s certainly room for creativity on the service side of the brunch bar, but working within the parameters of classic brunch drinks is a wise move. “No one wants to get into experimental drinks in the middle of the day,” says Xavier Herit of New York’s Wallflower. 

BRUNCH DRINKING = SESSION DRINKING. The leisurely pace of brunch usually means multiple rounds are in order. “You’d like people to have two, three drinks and enjoy—not have one and be done,” says Lynnette Marrero of Brooklyn’s Llama Inn. “You want to have sessionable drinks on the brunch menu.” 

PUT REFRESHMENT FIRST. Daytime cocktails can certainly pack a kick, but their blow should be tempered with the most versatile tools available to brunch bartenders, fresh in-season fruit and bubbles among them. “There’s a desire to not have these heavy, clunky drinks anymore. Citrusy, refreshing, sparkling cocktails tend to be very good at that time of day,” says Marrero. 

DON’T EXPECT A CURE. It makes sense that many brunch enthusiasts are in the market for liquid relief. Don’t get too wrapped up in this. “We just make a good drink, and try not to assign any sort of mythological healing properties to it,” says Jeffrey Morgenthaler of Portland’s Clyde Common. 




SAN PANCHO 

“MANZANILLA AND STRAWBERRIES ARE very good friends,” explains Caitlin Laman, a recent Mexico City transplant by way of San Francisco’s Trick Dog, who combines the two for her south-of-the-border spin on a simple Collins. Named after the Mexican moniker for San Francisco, CA (a common place-name in Mexico), the San Pancho swaps the typical gin base for manzanilla sherry to better balance the floral notes of St-Germain. Made tall with a measure of soda water, the San Pancho is designed for all-day drinking. 

1½ ounces manzanilla sherry, preferably La Cigarrera 
¾ ounce London dry gin 
¾ ounce St-Germain 
½ ounce strawberry syrup 
¾ ounce lemon juice 
1½ ounces soda water 

GARNISH Lemon wheel, strawberry fan, and mint sprig 

METHOD Shake all of the ingredients except the soda water with ice. Double strain into a Collins glass. Add ice, top with the soda water, and stir quickly. Garnish with the lemon wheel, strawberry fan, and mint sprig.