Völuspá
Recipe:
- 45ml Botanist Gin
- 20ml Isautier Rhum Agricole Blanc 50%
- 5ml Aalborg Dild Aquavit
- 15ml Diamante Acqua di Cedro
- 4-5 sage leaves
- 4-5 drops saline solution
- 2 dashes honey bitters
Gently activate the sage leaves in your stirring glass, add all the other ingredients, stir on ice for about 25-30 seconds. Strain into your prechilled cocktail glass, garnish with a sage leave.
Suddenly, out of nowhere, I was struck by a strong desire to make a signature Martini exactly to my taste. It should be like how I always imagined a Martini many years ago in my beginner days when I read the descriptions of cold freshness, slightly citrusy and herbal notes (before being disappointed by quite a few I tried and didn't find those in there).
I quickly landed on my much underused Cedro liqueur as a modifier. You have to think of Cedro (Cedro lemons) as a dry, very high-quality triple sec/dry curacao with a very silky, oily lemon peel note. Cedro lemons are a larger, shrivelled, ugly cousin of the better-known standard lemons found in supermarkets. With a much more intense acidity, but they are actually used to produce citronate (Christmas and all that) with extracts from their peel. The dry, stronger rhum should act as a counterpoint to the cedro, which naturally tastes sweeter than vermouth. But the sage and the subtle green garden note of the Dild Aquavit also make a noticeable contribution.
In the nose great fresh greens, sage, lemongrass, coconut flakes discreetly, juniper, mint, hint of citrus zest, dill, hint of sugar cane juice.
Sage and juniper at the start while sipping, then sugar cane juice, citrus zest, ginger, camphor, lemongrass, dill and mint. A hint of coconut and salt is added halfway through. Ginger, sage, lemongrass, a little salt and lime zest linger on in the finish. (Lime is not included, but the green notes with the cedro give the impression of lime zest)
