Ich war so frei vor einiger Zeit die Produzenten von St. Germain an zu schreiben bzgl. der Problematik. Die Antwort ließ 1 Monat auf sich warten und ich möchte sie euch nicht vor enthalten, lediglich mein Name wurde durch Freshman ersetzt. Jeder möge sich sein eigenes Urteil darüber bilden :
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St. Germain gone bad
Dear Ladies and Gentlemen of St. Germain,
First, let me compliment you on your marvelous product.
I really like the taste of St. Germain in cocktails but yesterday I have
noticed something. On the bottom of my open bottle I found some sort of
dark brown-red deposit, and the color of the liqueur has considerably
darkened. It is a bottle from 2008, that I had opened approximately 5
months ago, and stored accordingly in a dry, cool, and dark place.
At first, I thought I may have accidently dropped something inside the
bottle while mixing, but a second still unopened bottle shows the same
symptoms.
I understand such things can happen to an opened bottle, but I am a
little disappointed that this happened to a sealed bottle. A refund at
my local store is not an option since I don't have the invoice document
anymore, and all their bottles are from 2008 anyway.
Maybe you have any further suggestion, or can tell me if this is a
common problem. As a student with only a part time job I can't risk
beeing a bona fide purchaser.
Kind regards,
Freshman
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Hi Freshman,
I appreciate your inquiry regarding your bottle of St-Germain.
St-Germain is an all natural product, utilizing highly artisanal, non
commercial production processes. We do not use processed, chemical, or
artificial ingredients. This gives the product a rich, natural depth of
flavor and brightness, which would be impossible to find in a mass
produced and commercial liqueur.
Because of this commitment to quality and integrity, we have knowingly
sacrificed, what is commonly known in our industry as "stability." This
is a bottom line driven objective where manufacturers maximize shelf
life at the expense of interim quality. I would much prefer to have
something truly extraordinary today, rather than a sub-par product that
has lengthily stability. A fresh baguette vs. Wonder Bread, if you
will.
Additionally, the darkening of the color (the natural evolution of the
product in bottle) is the result of oxidization, a natural process that
is completely harmless to one's health, and actually even desirable from
a flavor profile standpoint. In our office, we fight over the "aged
bottles" (sometimes as old as 3-4 years!), as they take on an
interesting, "dry sherry" character. That said, primary expression of
St-Germain is when it is fresh. There are several variables that effect
the speed of St-Germain's natural evolution. However, there are two
ways to absolutely guarantee maximum freshness. First, you could drink
the liqueur quickly (it is so delicious why wouldn't you?). I often
find myself making aperitifs of The St-Germain Cocktail for friends,
depleting a good portion of the bottle in one night (which is only a few
drinks)..... Or, you could choose to refrigerate the bottle after
opening, which will extend the optimum freshness for well over 6 months.
I hope this has helped you further understand and appreciate our
mission.
Best,
Cooper Cheatham
