Comte de Sureau
The Comte de Sureau is a Negroni that has been rebalanced rather than merely re-flavoured. Elderflower liqueur takes sweet vermouth's place, and the Campari drops to a quarter measure, which is the change that actually matters. Equal parts would not work. Campari at a full 22.5ml simply erases elderflower, which is a delicate floral note with no capacity to fight back. At 7.5ml it becomes a frame instead of a flood: enough bitter orange to give the drink structure and a dry finish, not enough to bury what the drink is for. The gin leads at 45ml for the same reason. This is a blossom drink that wants a spine, not a bitter drink with a floral accent. It was adapted from a 2007 or 2008 creation by Gonçalo de Sousa Monteiro at Le Lion in Hamburg, the bar that also produced the Gin Basil Smash. Most bars that pour it call it an Elderflower Negroni. The proper name means the Count of Elderflower, which ennobles a hedgerow with an admirably straight face.
Glassware: Rocks Glass
Garnish: Orange and lemon twists, both expressed
Ingredients
45ml
The lead rather than an equal partner, at 45ml. A London Dry gives the drink the juniper spine it needs, since neither of the other two ingredients supplies any structure of its own.
15ml
In sweet vermouth’s place, supplying all the sweetness. Fifteen millilitres is the working dose: enough to be the subject of the drink, not so much that the Campari has nothing to push against.
7.5ml
A quarter measure, not an equal one. At a full Negroni pour it erases the elderflower completely. At 7.5ml it works as a frame, giving structure and a dry finish while leaving the blossom audible.
Instructions
Add the gin, elderflower liqueur and Campari to a mixing glass.
Fill the mixing glass with cubed ice and stir for 20 seconds.
Place one large cube in a rocks glass.
Strain over the cube.
Express an orange twist over the surface, then a lemon twist, and drop both in.
Expert Tip
The ratio is the drink. A Negroni is equal parts and this one is not, and if you build it equal parts you will not taste elderflower at all. Campari is one of the most assertive bottles on any back bar and elderflower one of the least. Seven and a half millilitres against fifteen of blossom and forty-five of gin is the balance that lets both survive. Stir it, and stir it properly. There is no citrus juice here, so the drink is entirely spirit and liqueur and needs real dilution to open. Twenty seconds against good cubed ice, then over one large cube. Both twists, in order. Orange first, because it reaches for the Campari, then lemon, which reaches for the elderflower. Doing only one leaves the drink lopsided in whichever direction you chose, and on a three-ingredient drink the garnish is a surprisingly large part of what you smell.
Flavour Profile
Where It Comes From
Gonçalo de Sousa Monteiro built the original at Le Lion in Hamburg in 2007 or 2008. The exact year is reported both ways and we have not been able to settle it.
Le Lion had a remarkable couple of seasons. The Gin Basil Smash came out of the same bar in the same period, and both drinks travelled internationally in a way very few modern cocktails manage.
The version here is adapted rather than transcribed. The name most bars use is the Elderflower Negroni, which is more descriptive and much less fun; Comte de Sureau means the Count of Elderflower.
Why the Ratio Is Not Equal
Campari is aggressively bitter and enormously aromatic. Elderflower liqueur is sweet, floral and quiet. Put 22.5ml of each in a glass and the elderflower is not reduced, it is gone: you have a slightly sweeter Negroni and no blossom at all.
Elderflower in Vermouth’s Place
Sweet vermouth does two jobs in a Negroni. It sweetens, and it supplies a herbal, faintly bitter depth that meets the Campari halfway.
Elderflower liqueur does the first job well and the second not at all. It is sweeter than vermouth, so the measure comes down to 15ml. It has no herbal weight, which is why the gin rises to 45ml to keep any structure in the glass.
What you gain is a drink that smells like a hedgerow in June and finishes dry and bitter, a combination almost nothing else offers. What you lose is the depth a Negroni has at the back. It is a trade rather than an improvement, and it is worth being clear which one you are in the mood for.
The Two Twists
Orange first, then lemon, and both expressed over the surface rather than dropped in whole.
The reason is that the drink has two things to point at. Orange oil sits with the Campari and reinforces the bitter-citrus finish. Lemon oil is sharper and greener and lifts the elderflower. Using only orange gives you something close to a light Negroni. Using only lemon gives you a floral drink with a strange bitter edge.
Together they do more than either does alone, and on a drink with three ingredients the garnish is a genuinely large share of the aroma.
How to Serve It
Over one large cube in a rocks glass, cold, as an aperitif. It has enough bitterness to sharpen an appetite and enough sweetness to be drunk without food, which is close to the definition of the category.
The large cube does what it does in a Negroni: keeps the drink cold without continuing to dilute it. This is a slow drink, and cubed ice would leave the last third thin and floral in a way that does not flatter it.
If elderflower is what you are after but bitterness is not, the Left Bank Martini uses the same bottle at twice the dose with white wine instead of Campari. The same idea, dressed for a completely different evening.
The Spirit
GinA flavour requirement rather than a method. The law asks only that juniper be the predominant taste and that the spirit reach 37.5%, which leaves everything else on the botanical bill to the distiller and permits a gin that was never redistilled at all.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a Comte de Sureau?
A rebalanced Negroni: 45ml gin, 15ml elderflower liqueur and 7.5ml Campari, stirred and served over a large cube with orange and lemon twists. Most bars call it an Elderflower Negroni. The name means the Count of Elderflower.
Why is it not equal parts?
Because Campari would erase the elderflower entirely. Campari is one of the most assertive bottles on a back bar and elderflower one of the least, so at a full Negroni measure you get a slightly sweeter Negroni and no blossom at all.
Do I need both twists?
They do different jobs. Orange oil reinforces the Campari’s bitter-citrus finish; lemon is sharper and lifts the elderflower. On a three-ingredient drink the garnish is a large share of the aroma, and one twist leaves it lopsided.
How does it compare to the Left Bank Martini?
Same bottle, opposite treatment. The Left Bank uses twice the elderflower with dry white wine and no bitterness, shaken and light. This is stirred, bitter and dry. One opens a summer afternoon; the other opens dinner.
Master the Techniques
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The White Negroni came out of an improvisation. Wayne Collins, a British bartender demonstrating at VinExpo in Bordeaux in 2001, was asked to work with French products and did not have Campari or sweet vermouth to hand. He rebuilt the Negroni from what was available: Suze in place of the Campari, Lillet Blanc in place of the vermouth, gin unchanged. It is a translation rather than a substitution. Suze is bitter from gentian root, which is earthy and vegetal where Campari is bitter orange, and Lillet answers with honeyed citrus and a touch of quinine where sweet vermouth brought weight and spice. The structure survives intact and every flavour in it changes. What you get is paler, drier and stranger than the original, and it has done more than anything else to put Suze on back bars outside France. Plenty of people prefer it to a Negroni. The argument is worth having with one of each in front of you.
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Where this one sits
Recipe by Jerry Can Spirits
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