For centuries, the Alpine flower gentian has helped shape cocktail culture, and Imbibe Magazine’s latest feature, Elements: Gentian Liqueurs, follows how bartenders are now treating it as a subtle accent rather than a central star. The piece charts how gentian moves between vegetal and sweet flavors, from a Detroit cocktail named after a Phish song to a bright take on the Manhattan.
From Alpine Roots to French Bars
The Alpine gentian root stalks used to make the bittersweet aperitif were first macerated in alcohol by Salers. That release marked the turning point for the drink’s popularity, which had grown two centuries after the plant was believed to have originated in Bavaria in the 1600s.
The French took to an earthy, herbaceous essence, enjoying it poured over ice with fresh lemon. Bartenders hold brands such as Salers, Suze, and Av ze in high regard, alongside gentian-accented liqueurs like Luxardo Bitter Bianco. Each bottle adds its own touch of dusty funk to a cocktail.
A gentian-based drink isn’t always the first choice, though there are notable exceptions to that rule.
Kira Ellington’s Suze Greenburg
Bartender Kira Ellington came up with the name of her Suze Greenburg cocktail at Kiesling in Detroit by borrowing a reference from a Phish song. The drink works as a reverse-engineered build, with gentian acting as the bridge between the vegetal notes of carrot and mezcal and the sweet essence of amaro and honey.
Jeremy Ross, Kiesling’s general manager, explains why gentian works so well. “It makes a killer build, and it sings in a highball,” he says. “In our case, it pulls together our drink perfectly.”
Ellington’s drink shows gentian’s ultimate superpower: centering a cocktail. It is not a supporting player but the architect of the whole thing.
Sean Skvarka’s Southern Gentleman
Sean Skvarka, a bartender, and Matt Ross, his former colleague, were trying to put a fresh spin on a classic drink by adding Suze to it. That experiment produced the Southern Gentleman, which came out as a brighter, patio-ready version of a spirit-forward classic.
“We weren’t looking to reinvent the wheel,” Skvarka says. He also manages Whisler’s upstairs mezcal tasting room Mezcaler a Tobal. “We just wanted to give it a different spin.”
Gentian’s presence cajoles additional spice from the rye and extra sweetness from the amaro. The drink becomes a brighter riff on the Black Manhattan, with gentian’s funk enhancing the rye and amaro notes.
The Remake/Remodel
Gentian’s understated flavors shine best in simple drinks with minimal ingredients. Jim O Shea, co-owner of Rosemary Beauty Queen in Nashville, explains why complexity can work against the plant. “Gentian’s distinctive bitterness and floral funk can get lost or clash in highly complex builds,” he says. “A three- or four-ingredient drink lets it breathe.”
Alise Alicardi, the bartender behind this creation, builds a warm-weather drink around gentian, which adds length and dryness to a vodka base. Equal parts Italian aperitif and fresh lemon juice make up the rest of the mix, turning a simple combination into something that intrigues as much as it refreshes.
This particular cocktail at the bar demonstrates restraint rather than excess. The Remake/Remodel drink stops adding layers before it has too many.
What Gentian Does
The bittersweet quality of Gentian carries over into classic cocktail builds, opening up fresh directions while keeping the familiar feel intact. This adaptability is what the story sets out to document. The note does not command attention; instead it blends gently with both vegetal and sweet flavors alike.
Gentian does not take center stage among the drinks in the feature; instead, it serves as the conductor, coordinating the notes around it to bring harmony between carrot and amaro, rye and lemon.
The Drinks to Try
The drinks below come with their methods set out one after another, in full detail.
- Suze Greenburg — shake all ingredients with ice, double strain into a chilled coupe, garnish
- Southern Gentleman — stir all ingredients with ice, strain into a glass over a large ice cube, twist a lemon peel across the top and rub it onto half the rim, use as garnish
- Remake/Remodel — shake all ingredients (except ginger beer) with ice, strain into an ice-filled glass, top with chilled ginger beer, garnish
The point of every recipe is its plainness. Gentian has a light enough taste to disappear into a crowded drink, yet it is forceful enough to stand on its own in a small mix.
A Plant With a Long History
This element serves as a reminder that the plant has been around for generations, having been an integral part of cocktail culture all along. A host of liqueurs place the plant’s flavor at the forefront, making it a mainstay of mixed drinks.
New drinks are proving that gentian can do more than support a classic, with bartenders finding fresh ways to use it. The story follows bartenders like Kira Ellington and Sean Skvarka using it to connect carrot, mezcal, and amaro into something new.
Source material: “Elements: Gentian Liqueurs,” Imbibe.
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