Elderflower Martini cocktail recipe

Refreshing and elegant, the Elderflower Martini is a floral take on the classic Dry Martini, with a vodka base. It has all the traditional flavours of the classic, together with the subtle sweetness of the elderflower (and we’ve used bison grass vodka to really amp this up), creating a harmonious blend of bloomin’ delicious flavours. You could, of course, use a regular vodka with crisp, neutral flavours, but we love it with a little extra oomph and the bison grass vodka does just that, bringing almost savoury vanilla notes.   

Many believe the origin of the Elderflower Martini is unknown, yet some say it was allegedly invented in New York City in the early 2000s by Jamie Boudreau. Inspired by the Classic Martini, Jamie wanted to create a slightly sweeter drink with more lifted botanical notes. Enter elderflower liqueur.

Elderflower drinks have gained momentum thanks partly to the original French liqueur St. Germain, AKA ‘bartender's ketchup’ for its ability to improve on most cocktails with a dash or two. But don’t let the nickname fool you – the flowers that make up this premium liqueur are often quite hard to come by. The elderflowers are delicately hand-picked in the Alps during their short time in bloom once a year, then taken by bicycle to market, where they are purchased by the distillery to create St. Germain, each bottle containing up to 1,000 of only the best-quality blooms. With such a sweet sense of tradition, it’s not hard to see why its popularity continues to blossom.

With just a dash of this liqueur, the classic Martini is transformed into a flirty-flora cocktail that aperitivo aficionados can’t get enough of. Think savoury herbal flavours with a hint of bittersweetness – the Elderflower Martini harnesses the essence of the delicate small white flower while remaining true to the base spirit and vermouth of the original Martini we know and love. 

Once you’ve mastered our base recipe, there are a few variations to mix things up. 

While the original recipe calls for St. Germain, feel free to dabble with alternate elderflower liqueurs. Some recipes call for gin instead of vodka, and we’ve already told you why we love to use bison grass vodka, but if you really want to amp up the botanicals you could dabble with some rose vodka, elderflower gin liqueur, or elderflower vodka. Also worth keeping in mind is that elderflower isn't overwhelmingly sweet (for a liqueur), instead boasting complex yet subtle flavours of lychee, peach and citrus. So, to all you sweet-tooths out there, if you want to add a dash of sugar syrup, we say, treat yo’self.  

For a more sour edge, an easy way to trim back on the floral flavours in a regular Elderflower Martini is to add bitters or citrus. Simply add a splash of lime juice or orange bitters to help balance the delicate notes of elderflower and garnish with a lime twist. Or on the flip side, if you want to go full-throttle floral, feel free to garnish the cocktail with edible flowers instead. 

Whichever way you want to spin it, the Elderflower Martini is a chic showstopper that is sure to impress any guest with its delicate flower power.