Likeable

Robert Simonson wrestles with the question: Is Canton Ginger Liqueur too easy to like?

As I sipped it and mixed it and enjoyed it, I started thinking: this is too unproblematic. It began to remind me of the reaction I get when I drink St. Germain, the wonderful elderflower liqueur that is also quite new on the market and which I adore. But I'm always a bit suspicious about how utterly appealing it is to my and all other palates, and I feel the same about Canton. It's like that old line: Never trust anyone who doesn't have any enemies. St. Germain and Canton appear to have no detractors.

I haven't tried Canton yet, but I too have seen the universally positive reviews of the product and comparison with St. Germain. I've also been thinking about St. Germain a lot. When it was first introduced, every cocktail competition was littered with entries including the product. Bars that rotate cocktail menus regularly instantly put up to three drinks with St. Germain on the menu. I've come to expect to see one out of every ten drinks on a cocktail menu list include it. I've seen it mixed with champagne, vodka, gin, tequila, bourbon, and pisco. It makes everything better! Let's put it in the water supply!

Like everyone else, I couldn't get enough of the stuff- until I did. Burnout, I guess. I've stopped ordering those drinks in favor of trying new flavors. (Aside: has anyone else noticed that the cocktail with St. Germain is usually the first one on the cocktail list?) St. Germain is still a very popular (and delicious) product, and I hope it will continue to do well.

On the other hand, it's starting to fall off a few cocktail menus. Other bartenders and drinkers are probably experiencing the same flavor fatigue. (Note: Not in Texas- poor Robert Heugel just got it.) Will St. Germain be the peach schnapps of 2007, a product so popular in its era that it will seem dated when used thereafter?

I hope not. St. Germain and I probably just need a little space right now.

Labels: liqueurs