Summer cocktails taste most refreshing against an inspiring backdrop. For St-Germain elderflower liqueur, that notion flourished amid blooms, fashion and dance in a pop-up located in New York City’s SoHo neighborhood, Aug. 13-15. Fleuriste St-Germain, a flower shop and cocktail bar experience, was inspired by the cultural salons of early modern revolutionary France, and offered inspirational talks with design and performing arts “vanguards” as well as signature sips.
The pop-up opened with an intimate event featuring St-Germain collaborators Laura Kim, a fashion designer for Oscar de la Renta and founder of the New York City-based luxury label MONSE, and James Whiteside, an American Ballet Theater dancer. The two mingled with invited influencers and took part in a “tete-a-tete” (an intimate conversation between two people) on stage with questions inspired by philosopher Marcel Proust. Earlecia Richelle, St-Germain’s national brand ambassador, created three signature cocktails for the pop-up—“Rose Spritz,” “The Ballerino” and the “The Fleurita”—with input from Kim and Whiteside.
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The space then opened to New Yorkers with proof of vaccination from noon to 6 p.m. daily, who were invited in to admire a dramatic floral wall, enjoy a free craft cocktail, watch ballet performances that took place every half hour, socialize, and then leave with a St-Germain-inspired fresh floral bouquet.
St-Germain Brand Director Stacy Belter-Saltiel called Fleuriste St-Germain an “effortless” and “real reconnective space for New Yorkers.”
“Within the bartending community, we are famous for being that olive oil or that salt and pepper—that little dash of St-Germain that elevates any drink and makes it a little bit more special,” Belter-Saltiel says. “So in congruence with what is really that liquid truth for us, and everything that we do, we set out to bring that dash of inspiration.” Agencies: The Gathery (event production); Tin Can Studios (floral décor), both of Brooklyn, NY.
Get a Whiff of the Pop-up:
Photo credit: Hagop Kalaidjian, BFA