The Times notes that it became so ubiquitous, some took to calling it "bartender's ketchup." By his account, his father, Norton J. Cooper, gave him the cold shoulder when he suggested creating an elderflower liqueur like the ones he had encountered in bars in London. St-Germain quickly became a huge success, favored by bartenders and customers. The flowers are all picked in the mornings, when temperatures are at their lowest. It had behind it the passion and energy of Robert Cooper, who at the time was only in his early 30s. Robert J. Cooper, the creator of St-Germain, the elderflower liqueur so ubiquitous that it eventually became known as "bartender's ketchup," has died at the age of 39. When Robert returned from London and approached his father about creating an elderflower liqueur, his father was immediately skeptical. He would have turned 40 on August 3. Cooper died April 25 in California at the age of 39, leaving behind a wife and two children; the cause of his death has not been released. Cooper came from a family that has been making beverages since 1884, when Charles Jacquin et Cie Inc. of which his father is president was founded in Philadelphia. From a tailored suit to hair wax to keep his coif in place, Don't miss this deal on Microsoft Office's full suite of applications and tools, Best Buy, Fable and DAVIDsTEA, to name a few. In fact Cooper Sr. was so convinced the product would flop he told his son he would hire him back in a year 'when you fail', the New York Times reports. Now owned by Bacardi LimitedSt-Germain is one of the most consumed liqueurs in the world and even attracted media attention after Prince Harry and Meghan Markle announced their lemon . 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Robert Cooper was a businessman who built his company on humility, positive thinking, collaboration, a creative approach to problem solving. Cocktail bartenders, hungry for new ingredients and flavors to work with, tossed it into every other new drink. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. It was more [money] than I expected to see in a lifetime, Cooper admitted at the time. In 2007, Cooper launched the elderflower liqueur, similar to ones he had seen in London, and by 2008, bartenders across the country considered it a staple of their repertoire. It wouldnt have sold itself. Cooper was born into the spirits world. The sweet spirit is made from hand-picked elderflower blossoms that only bloom for a month each spring in France; it has been heralded asone of the most influential new cocktail ingredients of the past decade. The death of Robert J. Cooper, the creator of elderflower liqueur St-Germain, is tough news for cocktail lovers everywhere. We have enabled email notificationsyou will now receive an email if you receive a reply to your comment, there is an update to a comment thread you follow or if a user you follow comments. He said, Ill hire you back in a year when you fail, Mr. Cooper once recalled. But one of its best-known roles is in the not-so-creatively named St-Germain Cocktail, which was invented by the company itself and has been unusually, enduringly popular for a drink of such provenance. While St Germain was named by the likes of the Times as one of the most influential drinks of the decade, it also helped to reintroduce enthusiasm in liqueurs to the cocktail market. He is survived by his wife Kaitrin and the couple's two children William and Charlotte. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. [2], St-Germain was created by distiller Robert Cooper, son of Norton Cooper, the owner of Charles Jacquin et Cie, after trying an elderflower-based cocktail at a London bar in 2001. 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The Cooper family as a whole has been heavily involved in the spirits industry since the early 1900s when Maurice J. Cooper, a merchant of imported food and beverage, partnered with the Charles Jacquin et Cie cordial business. And St-Germain served as the rising tide that lifted all bottles: Theres little doubt that its popularity helped escort older, obscure liqueurs back into the glass. In 2012 drinks giant Bacardi came knocking and bought St Germain for an undisclosed sum. For centuries, Pariss Saint-Germain-des-Prs neighborhood has been widely recognized as one of the worlds most prominent meeting places for artistic creation. 13:17 EST 29 Apr 2016. The cause of his death is so far unknown. . As such, he was hesitant to allow Robert to use their companys resources to produce the spirit. Chris Pleasance For Dailymail.com, The ultimate sign of respect: Revered Buddhist monk is mummified and covered in gold leaf to become a shrine in China, It really is last orders! You are also agreeing to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. The drink itself is made from flowers of elderberry plants that grow in France and bloom for just one month of the year. QuailBellMagazine.com Last month, there was "sad news in the spirits world" when it was reported by Eater.com and countless other food and beverage blogs that Robert Cooper, the founder of the wildly popular St-Germain elderflower liqueur, died suddenly at the age of 39. He grew his spirits portfolio into the whiskey category with Lock Stock & Barrel, a fine 13-year-old straight rye. Photo courtesy of Cooper Spirits Company, used with permission. Robert Cooper is survived by his wife, Katie, and their two children William Thor and Charlotte Rose. Note: You can hide this box under "Theme>Theme Options>Automation [Editor Only]". By St-Germain was created by Robert Cooper, the son of Chambord inventor Norton "Sky" Cooper. When the news of spirits industry visionary Robert J. Cooper broke, the cocktail community bowed its collective heads. He is survived by his wife, the former Kaitrin Cramm, and their two children, William and Charlotte. With its mysterious flavour, its gracefully grooved art deco bottle and a lovely brand mythology about how its elderflowers were harvested by little old men on bicycles in some idyllic French-speaking location way prettier than wherever you were, it wore a costume of age and continental elegance but was actually a newcomer. Robert James Cooper was born on Aug. 3, 1976, in Manhattan. St-Germain is an elderflower liqueur. Robert J Cooper, the creator of elderflower liqueur St-Germain the he sold to Bacardi back in 2012, has died at home in Santa Barbara, California, aged 39. The cause of his death is so far unknown. Cooper, whose family owns Charles Jacquin et Cie, a Philadelphia-based spirits distiller and producer founded in 1884, left his family . St-Germain has received nearly every major accolade in the spirits industry, and has been hailed as one of the most influential cocktail components of the last decade by the New York Times. Staying true to his legacy of liqueurs, he also reintroduced Crme Yvette, a berry-violet liqueur, from his family's Charles Jacquin et Cie imprint. Activates category 3 section on 'Solar' page layout (e.g., https://www.mysite.com/blog/category/bird.html). His brand Cooper Spirits also makes Crme Yvette, a violet liqueur brought back from obscurity, and serves as the U.S. sales arm for Ilegal brand mezcal. The elderflower liqueur was an instant success, and chances are that if you like cocktails, you've probably had one that included St-Germain. His death was confirmed by Robyn Greene, the senior vice president for marketing and innovation at the Cooper Spirits Company, who said the cause was not immediately known. 2023 NYP Holdings, Inc. All Rights Reserved, His death was confirmed Thursday by the New York Times. Cooper died at home in Santa Barbara, California, on Monday according to Robyn Greene, the senior vice president of marketing and innovation at his spirits firm. His death was confirmed by Robyn Greene, the senior vice president of marketing and innovation at the Cooper Spirits Co., who said the cause was not immediately known. Dennis Michael St. Germain Mr. St. Germain, age 51, of Charlotte, passed away on July 21, 2008. But success was not guaranteed. In news that has shocked the global spirits community, Robert J. Cooper, St-Germain founder, has passed away aged just 39. Considered a pioneer in the cocktail world, Cooper was lauded by the liquor industry for years before he sold his uber-popular elderflower liqueur, St-Germain, to Bacardi in 2012 for an undisclosed sum. Anyone can read what you share. Now owned by Bacardi Limited, St-Germain is one of the most commonly used liqueurs in the world and even garnered a host of media attention after Prince Harry and Meghan Markle . Already connected with a vast network of liquor and liqueur producers due to his familial relationships, Cooper decided to explore the possibility of creating his own elderflower liqueur. Mr. Cooper went on to return to circulation bygone bar ingredients like Creme Yvette, a berry-violet liqueur, and Hochstadters Slow & Low, a form of the common 19th century drink rock and rye. Mr. Cooper was a scion of the family that owns Charles Jacquin et Cie, an old cordials and liqueurs house based in Philadelphia. By entering your email and clicking Sign Up, you're agreeing to let us send you customized marketing messages about us and our advertising partners. It was his love affair with straight whiskey that led him to Alberta, Canada to find, taste and buy barrels of rye whiskey. Launched in 2007 by third-generation distiller Robert J. Cooper, St-Germain Elderflower Liqueur kickstarted an elderflower craze that would span the next decade and a half and revived a sleepy liqueur industry. Two such cutting-edge cocktail bars PDT and Death & Co. had just opened, and bartenders at each were itching to experiment with new ingredients. PDT and Death & Co, two prominent New York cocktail bars, opened around the same time he introduced St-Germain. The St-Germain was delicious, and Robert Cooper was warm and affable, enthusiastic about his product and about the spirits business. Those who had the pleasure of meeting him noted his kind personality. Cooper, a third-generation distiller whose family lineage includes the birth of Crme Yvette and Chambord is most commonly known for creating St-Germain elderflower liqueur.