We have the strapline ‘love, share, enjoy’ for St Maur, and that’s what we set out to make our wedding day all about,” said Lady Yarmouth. And what better inspiration for the exclusive St Maur Valentine’s Cocktail. . .
St Maur’s Valentines’ cocktail
Our St Maur adventure started with a Champagne cocktail, created for a wedding day. So St Maur’s Valentines’ cocktail is a return to its roots, and a renewal of perhaps the most classic of Champagne cocktails, the French 75. The St Maur 75 though is a decidedly English drink: made with St Maur, dry gin, lemon juice, and sparkling English wine.
A new classic? Make it for two. Love it, share it, enjoy it, and let us know!
Recipe (serves two):
Ingredients
50ml St Maur
50ml dry gin
Freshly squeeze juice of one lemon
Dry English sparkling wine
- Shake the St Maur, gin, and lemon juice with ice in a cocktail shaker, or stir in a jug with ice.
- Moisten the rim of two flute glasses with creme de cassis and “ice” with caster sugar.
- Carefully strain the cocktail mix into the flutes, pouring equally between the two.
- Top up with a dry English sparkling wine.
- Garnish to decorate (we have used dry rose petals) and serve to someone you love to be with.
About St Maur
Multi award-winning St Maur is a small-batch premium elderflower liqueur handcrafted in Warwickshire, from responsibly sourced ingredients, with elderflowers gathered in ancient family-owned woodlands.
A versatile drink, St Maur is perfect for sipping or mixing. A beautiful aperitif on its own and sublime in brunch and pre-dinner cocktails, any time of the year.
It is the creation of The Earl and Countess of Yarmouth, William and Kelsey Seymour who first produced it uniquely for their wedding guests at Ragley Hall in Alcester three years ago before deciding to turn it into a full-time family business at the start of lockdown.
William is the eldest son of the Marquess of Hertford, and grew up at Ragley Hall, his family’s seat since the 18th century. But St Maur signals an exciting new direction for the Earl who, having stepped away from a life of aristocratic privilege, is driven by his vision to build not just a livelihood, but a ‘new legacy’ to be proud of for his two sons.
The couple are keen to give back to the environment too, including a commitment to pick no more than 30% of the wild elderflower blossom. St Maur advocates responsible drinking, and the choice of better quality.
“We wanted a drink that would capture the spirit of our wedding day. Drawing on old family recipes handed down to us, we created St Maur and we named it after our family heritage. We also gave it the colour of love,” said William.
Steeped in history, St Maur is the surname used by the family in medieval times and has ancestors who rode with William the Conqueror, but by the time Jane Seymour married Henry VIII the name had changed from ‘St Maur’ to ‘Seymour.’
The wild blossoms used to make St Maur are hand-picked by William and Kelsey and their friends and family in the shadow of trees which grew when their ancestors were young. The co-ordinates on the bottles will take you to Ladies Wood in the bucolic Warwickshire countryside, and to an elder grove where the elderflowers are picked early summer.
There’s also a red-legged partridge on the bottle, a bird successfully introduced to England in the 19th century by an ancestor Francis Seymour, the 5th Marquess, and now the brand’s mascot.
Described as ‘a little drop of England’s heart,’ this business is blossoming on the back of the couple’s own love story but is now growing – within the first 18 months of its launch, St Maur had already won four international industry awards – The Great Taste Award 2 Star rating; International Spirits Challenge Silver Award; The World Liqueur Awards ‘Best English Floral’ and, most recently, Gold at Las Vegas Global Spirits Awards.
William has also learned the art of mixology and launched cocktail masterclasses using St Maur, including the brand’s own take on the appropriately named English Martini, made with gin and fresh rosemary. COCKTAIL RECIPES – St Maur (drinkstmaur.com)
We have the strapline ‘love, share, enjoy’ for St Maur, and that’s what we set out to make our wedding day all about,” said Kelsey.
More St Maur cocktail recipes available here
