Ingredients

• 2 oz gin
• ¾ oz elderflower liqueur (St-Germain)
• ½ oz dry vermouth
• ¼ oz fresh lemon juice
• Lemon twist, for garnish

Instructions

1. Chill a coupe or martini glass — fill it with ice water while you build the drink
2. Combine gin, elderflower liqueur, vermouth, and lemon juice in a mixing glass
3. Add ice and stir 20–30 seconds, until the outside of the mixing glass frosts
4. Dump the ice water, strain into the chilled glass
5. Express a lemon twist over the surface, then drop it in

Notes

Stirred, not shaken — the small amount of citrus doesn't need aeration, and shaking clouds the drink.

Elderflower liqueur is sweet, so keep it at ¾ oz or less unless you like a dessert-leaning martini. For a drier version, drop to ½ oz elderflower and bump the vermouth to ¾ oz.

A vodka base works if you want the elderflower fully forward; a London dry gin gives it a juniper backbone that keeps it from getting floral-syrupy.