Drink of the Week: Golden Flower at Flight Bistro in Huntington Beach

By Grace Le Fri., Dec. 4 2009 at 8:56 AM

Categories: Drink of the Week

Grace Le

Golden Flower

It's all about the ambiance at Flight Bistro in Huntington Beach. The design concept for this trendy social lounge seems to be "lines over matter," incorporating sparse, geometric furnishings with soft lighting and an elegant plant motif to construct an atmosphere of sumptuous simplicity. This also extends to Flight's cocktail menu, the Golden Flower being a perfect example of liquid luxury. Despite its appearance, this cocktail is more than just a fancy glass. The Golden Flower blends "top shelf" vodka, bubbly champagne, and aromatic elderflower liqueur to create a drink that is as much about the flavor as it is about the presentation.

Living up to its name, the Golden Flower is distinctly floral. You can pick up the cocktail's unique sent as soon as it is placed in front of you. What you smell is the St. Germain Elderflower Liqueur. St. Germain uses fresh European blossoms and old-school distilling techniques to craft a high-quality and extremely potent drink.

The first sip is like sticking your nose into a bouquet. As the liquid hits your mouth, you can immediately taste the quality. The cocktail is slightly effervescent and slides smoothly down the back of your throat. After you swallow, instead of being left with a mouth full of flowers, you taste the pleasant and subtle fruit flavor of Three Olives Pomegranate Vodka.

The only added sugar is frosted around the lip of the glass. In addition to this, St. Germain contains about half the average amount of sugar used in liqueurs and the same can be said for Three Olives flavored vodka. As a result, the Golden Flower is sweet, but not overpoweringly so.

The Golden Flower runs steep at $14 a glass or $18 split. But to give credit where it's due, this drink is 10 ounces of undiluted deliciousness and, damn, does it look good.