St. Germain and Vodka Mojito

For this year’s 4^th of July, we spent a long weekend in Mammoth Lakes with a whole slew of good friends. On Saturday, our friends Jay and Colleen hosted a cocktail party with a twist (pun totally intended): a cocktail competition!

“Bring a cocktail in a pitcher to enter in the contest and an appetizer for everyone to enjoy.”  How cool is that?

Creativity exuded from the great collection of amazingly fun and talented folks, and we were even visited by a mammoth styled party crasher – a black bear…

Here is the recipe for my entry. I knew I wanted to use peppermint from my garden and St. Germain as a sweetener, but the actual recipe wasn’t conceived until about an hour before the party (you know me, living on the edge).  St. Germain is an artisanal liquor made in France from the hand-picked blooms of the Elderflower.  It has this incredibly unique flavor that is a little bit fruity and a little bit floral, but somehow isn’t quite one or the other. The best I can describe it is it’s the kind of thing you taste and without quite knowing why, say “oh my gosh, that’s amazing!”

I didn’t win the competition (no time to invent a creative backstory, and I didn’t quite realize that presentation would be such an integral part of the contest), but I did get voted as the “one you want to drink all night long.” I heartily agree!