Are you ready to knock back seafood-infused vodka and gin?
Many of us feel like we’re slightly losing our minds during lockdown, but few of us have used that time to infuse vodka and gin with various varieties of seafood. Some have, though, and when pubs reopen they hope you’ll be switching your Bloody Mary for a caviar-infused vodka, squid-ink gin or oyster voddy on the rocks.
“L’Orbe” claims to be the first vodka naturally infused with caviar, arriving in a presentation box boasting “Impossible Pairings Made Possible.”
Using Polish vodka, Polish Baeri caviar pearls and Dankowski Diamond rye, the caviar is protected in a sphere, allowing it to diffuse its aromas into the vodka without negatively impacting the integrity of either.
The “unique tasting experience” project began in 2012 and has involved master chefs including Kei Kobayashi, bartenders Alessandro Palazzi and Alex Kratena, master distillers, designers and scientists. The project set out to discover methods of infusing and combining sensations that previously only existed in molecular cuisine. Rare ingredients are captured inside a sphere known as the “orb”. This allows the combination of ingredients without any chemical stabilisation, flavouring or additives.
A similar gastronomic pairing can be found in Original Dutch Oyester44 Maritime Vodka, the first oyster essence vodka designed to be the perfect accompaniment to seafood.
Dutch foodie Chris Liebau’s pioneering small batch, hand-crafted botanical maritime “Oyester44” has already won awards on both sides of the Pond. It is made in the seafront distillery on Bruinisse harbour.
“The region has 1000 square mile seawater and has a tradition of Imperial oyster cultivation going back to the Dhooge family business founded in 1906. Oyeste44 celebrates and embraces the terroir and heritage of where I was born and grew up.”
A graduate in Applied Science from Amsterdam University, Liebau is the former commercial director of Christenoff Bieren and was US marketing and export manager for United Dutch Beers.
“We infuse distillates of botanicals such as vervain, lemon balm and allspice. On top of that we add a distillate made of freshly shucked oysters, filtered briny seawater and a tincture of organic potatoes.”
If you prefer to flavour your spirits from the phylum mollusca, consider Dr Squid gin (£49), made in Cornwall from real squid ink. It took eighteen months, sixteen fights, fourteen failed batches, twelve design ideas, ten supply failures, eight missed launch dates, six packing blunders, four days in lockdown and two serious explosions to make Dr Squid.
It has been a three-year labour of love for four men who met in London and moved down to Cornwall. They almost gave up on several occasions but they kept on believing in their dream: to make a gin that poured black but turned pink when mixed with tonic.
“Squid ink is such a powerful ingredient that only a minimal amount is needed both for the distilling and colour infusion of the gin,” says Shaun Bebbington.
“Vanilla was added to the base of the recipe to give a well-rounded mouthfeel and perceived sweetness, coupled with sea buckthorn for a tart, fresh fruit finish,” adds Budapest-born, Balaz Schieber who worked as a chef in the Lukin.