"Stirring Your Soul" Cocktail Design

Belvedere, the super-premium Polish rye vodka, offers a flavour canvas for two of the most exclusive spices in the world – saffron and vanilla.

Three Madagascan Bourbon vanilla pods macerate in a bottle of Belvedere to create a voluptuous base for this provocative painting. Vanilla is the only edible fruit of the largest family of flowering plants in the world (Orchid), while its flowers only bloom for a day. As it increases adrenaline, it is mildly addictive. It is one of the few “comfort” flavours popular across a diverse majority of cultures, and sometimes affects a nostalgic feel. Vanilla is hardly “plain”, which is an alternative adjective of the word. In fact, probably the only spice that is more exclusive than vanilla is saffron.

Perhaps the ‘Queen of spices’, saffron have been cultivated up to five millennia ago. According to legend, Cleopatra of Egypt had used it in her baths in the belief that it would increase sexual pleasures. The stigma (the female sexual organ) of the flower is painstakingly hand-harvested, whereby it takes up to 150 flowers to yield 1 gram of stigmas. And the flowers only bloom during Autumn merely for up to two weeks. It has a most unique hay-like and mildly bitter flavour, and stains a golden-yellow hue. Spanish saffron is reputed to be one of the best, and one of the leading brands (Carmencita, since 1920) has been selected to add complexity to this opulent recipe design.

To balance the bitterness of the saffron, among other undesirables, a touch of salt is used to clean the taste. Had chosen Indian Black Salt, which also offered an intriguing depth to the recipe design. Actually a pinkish volcanic rock salt, it is truly unique among salts for its distinctive sulphuric flavour. With a smell described variously as hard-boiled eggs, garlic or onions, Indian Black Salt is commonly used in Indian cuisines such as chutneys. Its use in cocktails had been suggested by Luca Turin, author of “The Secret of Scent.” Extremely potent like saffron, only the smallest pinch shall be used.

Decided to use one of the most common beverages in the world as another element – (earl grey) tea. Though very recognizable, it is rarely used for cocktails – a most attractive challenge. Named after the British PM (1830s) Charles Grey, it is basically a black tea flavoured with the essential oils of the bergamot orange. Have selected Dilmah single-origin Ceylon earl grey tea for its wonderful ‘furioso’ of flavours that seem to tango through our senses.

Pure fructose, the sweetest naturally occurring sugar, is used. Described as the most delicious sugar by Hervé This (one of the pioneers of molecular gastronomy), fructose has a fruity aroma and tastes somewhat like cane sugar. It is found in items such as fruits and honey, and I must agree that it is truly delectable.

Atop this symphony of flavours, the water chestnut presents a clarity and crunchiness as the garnish. Carved into a tear shape, it is stained magenta with a mix of organic beetroot juice and Monin caramel syrup.

A soda siphon is used to carbonate the libation, designed to enhance the experience of the cocktail’s complex flavours. A highly aromatic frizzante (lightly sparkling), perfectly paired with the elegant LSA (crafted in the same motherland as Belvedere – Poland) “Gabriella” champagne flute, shall be presented in a golden-orange hue. With this delicious colour, the flamboyant magenta of the garnish combines to evoke a dazzling energy (Information from ‘Color Image Scale,’ authored by colour psychologist Shigenobu Kobayashi of the Nippon Colour & Design Research Institue). Stirring your soul…