St. Louis is a cocktail with a powerful and warming quality to it. It should be treated with care, but then you don’t need me to warn you about the perils of drinking strong concoctions.
The epic St. Louis which has become a cult classic with some people I’ve served this to over the years was born out of some experimentation I did with some Monin syrups a few years ago. I was interested in mixing peach syrup with Southern Comfort – which contains peach essence in any case. Then believing it would need a bit of dryness from a spirit to prevent it being too cloying, too sweet, brandy became the spirit of choice.
And it has worked. A great drink for fireside nights, for winter, for staying in. Our formulation for the St. Louis is
Shake up some ice and then;
- 35 ml french brandy
- 35 ml Southern Comfort
- 15 ml Monin peach syrup
- add a few dashes of peach bitters to taste
You’ll probably want to add a little ice to your glass too – to provide a little dilution. Serve in an old-fashioned glass (aka a rocks glass or tumbler) for that whiskey sippin’ image!
Enjoy, but definitely don’t go driving or operating no heavy machinery after you’ve had a couple of these! Cheers.