The Aberdeen Hi-flier
100g basil vodka
50g club soda
15g simple syrup
Juice of a quarter of a lemon
Pinch of salt
Top with mint foam
Garnish with seared fennel, watermelon, cucumber, and (optionally) lemon zest
Basil Vodka
Bunch of basil
500mL vodka
2 N20 Chargers
Mint foam
500mL mint-water
2 egg whites
Simple syrup
2 cups water
2 cups sugar
The Aberdeen Hi-flier is an original creation that we will use to illustrate a culinary concept popularized by Chef Grant Achatz of Alinea called “flavour bouncing.” This cocktail was originally inspired by the flavour of seared fennel. To create it, we asked ourselves “what flavours go with seared fennel” to which we answered “basil.” The process is then repeated recursively for each added ingredient while making sure the new ingredient doesn’t introduce any flavour conflicts. After several recursions, we arrived at the final flavour composition of candied fennel, basil, mint, lemon, watermelon, and cucumber. At this stage, the concept could easily be turned into an amuse bouche, starter, or dessert were one preparing a meal; however, as this is a mixology column, we examined how each flavour could be presented in a drink, and decided upon basil infusing vodka, mint foam, lemon juice, and a garnish of the other three ingredients.
One cannot procure basil-flavoured vodka at the LCBO, but even if it were procurable we would still suggest creating it at home as many flavoured vodkas are artificially-created chemical swill. Usually, an infused liquor takes at least a month to prepare (the banal concoction ‘Skittle vodka’ being an exception), but we are making use of a special flash infusing technique to cut this time down to a few minutes. The liquor and basil are placed in a whipped cream maker (often called an iSi), and pressurized with two nitrous cartridges. After steeping for a few minutes shaking occasionally, the nitrous is purged and the resultant flavoured liquor strained into a container.
Mint foam can be created with either an iSi, whisk, or immersion blender (slightly different recipes are often needed for each). We chose to create our foam with a whisk as our agitator since our choice of foam stabilizer, egg whites, can clog an iSi. The water and mint are combined in a saucepan and heated, then reduced. The more extensively the mint ‘tea’ is reduced, the better; if you don’t reduce enough, the foam will have an imperceptibly light flavour. The egg whites are then added and the mixture whisked until a stiff foam forms on top.
Simple syrup is an easily prepared ingredient of many cocktails. It is also sold at grocery stores, but the prices are often absurd and many strange additional ingredients are included (PC simple syrup can contain fish for instance, which is genuinely puzzling). Equal parts sugar and water are brought to a boil while stirring, then cooled. Very simple to make, hence the name.
To candy fennel, cut fennel into desired shapes, and place in a frying pan with simple syrup on a medium heat. After a while, the simple syrup will become a caramel at which point the fennel can be allowed to cool. The watermelon and cucumber require no special processing, however the optional lemon zest is deceptively easy to prepare incorrectly. Examining a lemon (or lime, orange, etc) peel, one can see that it is comprised of two parts – a white flesh called pith, and the coloured flesh that is packed with flavourful oils (the zest). The pith lacks any notable pleasant flavour, so the goal is to remove the pith from the peel and only use the outer, flavourful, layer in garnishing the drink.
Once all ingredients are prepared, stir together the vodka, club soda, and lemon juice liquor with ice (shaking dilutes the drink) and pour into a chilled glass with garnishes. Make sure to remove the garnish from the spike and drop into the drink prior to imbibing – it plays a role in balancing the flavours.
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